Level 4: Sophisticated (Weeks 37-46)

Level Overview

Level 4 is where retail investing meets institutional thinking. You will learn the advanced strategies and risk management techniques used by professional portfolio managers, hedge funds, and quantitative traders -- adapted for individual investor use.

What You Will Learn

Weeks 37-40: Advanced Instruments

• Options leverage strategies with defined risk
• LEAPS -- long-term options that give you time to be right
• Futures markets -- accessing macro exposures and understanding margin
• VIX and volatility trading -- treating volatility as an asset class

• Position sizing, risk budgets, and the 2% rule
• Value at Risk (VaR) and portfolio risk models
• Active portfolio management -- alpha, tracking error, information ratio
• Market microstructure -- how orders flow, spreads form, and execution costs eat returns

• Regression, time series, and statistical tools for investment decisions
• Backtesting and strategy validation -- testing ideas without fooling yourself

What You Will Be Able to Do After Level 4

• Use LEAPS for leveraged long-term positions with manageable time decay
• Trade VIX-related products and understand volatility term structure
• Size positions using professional risk management frameworks
• Calculate and interpret Value at Risk for your portfolio
• Minimize execution costs through understanding of market microstructure
• Backtest investment strategies and detect overfitting

Weekly Lessons