Hedge Funds: History, Strategies, and Practice

Harvard Summer School

MGMT S-2784

Section 1

CRN 35162

Begin Registration
While beating the markets was long thought to be impossible, hedge funds have seemingly challenged many financial theories, cracked the mysteries of Wall Street, and made fortunes in the process. They are also one of the fastest growing and least understood areas in the asset management industry. What exactly are hedge funds? How has the sector developed? What do hedge fund managers strive to capture and how do they do it? What are the major hedge fund strategies and their mechanics? What are their hidden risks and unique limitations? How important are hedge funds to investors, regulators, and the public? From both a theoretical and practical perspective, this course is geared to help answer these questions. It surveys the hedge fund industry from its origins in the 1940s, and explores hedge fund strategies including long/short, event-driven, market neutral, relative value, dedicated short-bias, convertible arbitrage, emerging markets, fixed income arbitrage, global macro, managed futures, and multi-sector investing. Students develop an understanding of how hedge fund managers think, operate, and invest. The course tracks a multi-sector hedge fund portfolio throughout the semester and analyzes current events and price action.

Instructor Info

Peter Marber, PhD

Chief Investment Officer for Emerging Markets, Aperture Investors, and Adjunct Instructor, Finance, Johns Hopkins Carey Business School


Meeting Info

6/22 to 8/7

Participation Option: Online Asynchronous

In online asynchronous courses, you are not required to attend class at a particular time. Instead you can complete the course work on your own schedule each week.

Deadlines

Last day to register: June 16, 2025

Additional Time Commitments

Required sections to be arranged. Recordings will be posted for asynchronous viewing for those who cannot attend live.

Prerequisites

The course requires a basic knowledge of finance and modest competency in Excel. Prior coursework or work experience in finance would also be useful.

Notes

Not open to Secondary School Program students. While attendance is not required, this course offers students the opportunity for high-touch weekly online engagement with the instructor. A weekly online session discussing course topics and materials will be hosted by the instructor and recorded for those who do not attend.

Syllabus

All Sections of this Course

CRN Section # Participation Option(s) Instructor Section Status Meets Term Dates
35162 1 Online Asynchronous Peter Marber Open Jun 22 to Aug 7
26575 1 Online Synchronous Peter Marber Open T 5:30pm - 7:30pm
Jan 26 to May 16