These are questions for discussion presentations in my Capital Markets class at Columbia Business School. A good class presentation should include the following content:
Give the background surrounding the issue
Provide the historical narrative to make the topic more engaging for the class
Potentially share one or two anecdotes to motivate the topic, e.g., "bitcoin used to trade at $100 and now it trades at $105,000," etc.
Reference academic or industry research about this topic
Explain the current situation
What are the pros and cons of the current state of things
If discussing a financial product, talk about the marketing effort, size of market (if known), and the target audience
Give your opinion on what comes next
Come up with one or two out-of-the-box suggestions about what might come next
It is expected that all members of the team contribute equally to the presentation. If some team members are free-riding on the efforts of others, please let me and the TAs know.
During class presentations, please pay attention to the presenting team and be respectful. Also, please do not use your laptop or electronic devices for anything besides taking class notes.
What is SOFR and why did it replace Libor?
Why do 30-year SOFR swaps have rates so much lower than 30-year Treasury bond yields?
How to think about investing in municipal bonds versus Treasuries and corporate bonds?
At what income level does this make the most sense? Are munis more Treasury-like or corporate-bond-like?
Do Treasury basis trades pose a systemic risk to the U.S. Treasury market?
Is the U.S. market overpriced relative to the rest of the world?
Does the cyclically-adjusted price-to-earnings ratio provide a useful investing signal?
Does value investing still work?
Has buying the dip (i.e., buy after large market selloffs) worked historically?
This data set might be useful
Will the Yale model for endowments--i.e., large allocations to alternatives--continue to work well going forward?
What is smart beta? Will smart beta strategies do well again at some point?
What is the role of alternatives for retail investors?
What is the role of alternatives for institutional investors?
How will DeepSeek's introduction impact the AI infrastructure build out?
How will President Trump's tariffs impact markets and inflation?
Are financial stocks a good investment in light of President Trump's deregulatory agenda?
Is the AI revolution analogous to the industrial revolution? Is it good or bad for stocks?
What gives bitcoin value?
How has the introduction of bitcoin ETFs impacted institutional and retail adoption of crypto? How will this play out in the future?
What role will stablecoins play in the financial ecosystem?
Why did gold rally so much in 2024 and 2025?
What are the advantages to the U.S. of the dollar's status as a reserve currency?
What is tax-loss harvesting (TLH) and who benefits from it? How are the products marketed and what are the fees?
What is a Roth IRA and why would people convert a regular to a Roth IRA?
Are downside-protected ETFs (e.g., here and here) a good deal for investors? What about call option writing strategies like JEPI?