Think Like a Market Professional
Frequently Asked Questions

This course is designed for anyone who is passionate about finance and wants to learn how markets really work.

Think Like a Market Professional is perfect for traders, sell-side analysts, wealth managers, RIAs, finance students, econ grads, and anyone outside finance who would like to learn how markets operate in the real world.

The course is divided into five blocks, each containing between two and four lessons. Some, but not all, lessons contain longer form videos, and every lesson ends with a multiple choice quiz of approximately 20 questions. You must score 70% or higher to advance past each quiz and move on to the next lesson. The final exam is composed of 50 questions. You must score at least 70% to pass the final exam and earn your Certificate of Completion. Here is the structure of the course.

Block 1: Cycles

• Big Cycles and Megatrends
• Debt and Financial Cycles
• Surfing the Narrative Cycle
• Bubbles and the Madness of Crowds

Block 2: Money, Debt and Capitalism

• The Evolution of Money
• The Evolution of Economic Theory
• How We Got Here: The Evolution of Financial Markets
• Everything Has Changed: Dramatic and accelerating change in economic theory, policy, geopolitics, technology, and markets

Block 3: Central banks

• A Brief History of Central Banking
• Understand and Interpret Economic Data
• Predict, Analyze, and Trade the Economic Data

Block 4: Non-linear markets

• Volatility and Options
• Liquidity, Fat Tails, and Crashes

Block 5: How to Be a Market Professional

• See the Bias, Don’t Be the Bias
• Communicate Like a Market Professional
• Think Like a Market Professional

Yes. We will record all of the Q&A sessions since we know not everybody will be able to attend each time. We will post the videos on our website or somewhere where students can freely access them.

When you buy the course, you receive one year of access to all materials, updates, and live, interactive AMAs. This includes:

• 16 written lessons
• 8 long-form “Learning from Legends” videos featuring well-known finance experts
• 7 short-form “Behind the Screens” videos covering specific topics on markets and data analysis
• 2 hours per month of live discussion / AMA / Q&A with Brent Donnelly and co-educator Justin Ross
• Online quizzes, a final exam, and certificate of completion
• Additional recommended reading / learning materials to go with the lessons

No. Bring your curiosity and a passion for learning about markets. That’s it.

There are 16 written lessons that will take roughly one hour each and 8 videos that are each around 40 minutes. Total time to complete the course is approximately 20 hours, but this is the bare minimum. There are additional readings, quizzes, and exams that will take extra time if you choose to do the extra work.

You complete the course at your own pace. To receive credit for completion, you must complete all quizzes and the final exam. There are no time limits, and you may retake the quizzes and exams as many times as necessary in order to pass.

Yes. This course contains lessons, stories, and examples that apply to stocks, bonds, foreign exchange, commodities, options, and crypto.

Everything comes to you straight through the Spectra School website. All written, video, and other course materials will be there.

Yes! Upon completion of the final exam, you will receive a personalized certificate that includes information about the course and when you completed it.

Every month, we will run a live Ask Me Anything / Q&A session. Brent will spend a few minutes at the start of each session tying course lessons to current events in global markets. Then, he will answer as many questions as possible over 60 minutes or so. Questions can be submitted in advance via email, or live via chat.

Yes. You can pay by credit card, or we can bill your firm.

Absolutely. If you’d like to ask about group subscriptions, reach out to us directly.

No, we won’t be testing you on anything in the recommended materials. However, we do recommend exploring them for your own growth and knowledge. Even if you don’t go through all of the recommended materials, you’ll find a ton of value in them. Explore the ones that sound most interesting to you.

Yes. If you feel the course did not meet your expectations, reach out to us within 30 days of enrollment and we will give you a full refund. Please note if you wait longer than 30 days, or if you have already completed the course and earned a certificate of completion, you will be ineligible for a refund.

Maybe. We may add updated context or bonus materials to the course. If we do this while you’re still within your 1-year access period, we will update you by email and give you access to those materials free of charge. These new materials will not be required – your certificate of completion will still be valid.