Start Date
27 April, 2024
There will be two meetings Saturday 27 April & Saturday 4 May, 10am - 1pm.
Overview
“Confusion of Confusions” is the first-ever written book on stock trading practice and investors' behaviour; published in 1688 by Joseph de la Vega, an active trader in the Amsterdam stock exchange, it provides us with insights into the life and workings of one of the very first organized stock exchanges in the world. The book's key value hinges on the fact that the practices and trading behaviours it describes are very similar to those observed nowadays - suggesting that, although we have grown more sophisticated technologically over the centuries, our basic instincts have remained largely intact.
This course will run over two classes. In the first class, we will provide a brief overview of Vega’s life, present the economic conditions that led Sephardi Jews (his own community) to migrate to Amsterdam, describe their community's structure and activities in the Dutch capital, show how Dutch colonial expansion (via the Dutch East Indies Company) prompted the rise of the Amsterdam stock exchange and describe the trading practices of the latter. In the second class, we will present key precepts from "Confusion of Confusions" relevant to investment beliefs, motives and patterns, before demonstrating how these precepts tally with modern issues in behavioural finance research.
The course's aim is to showcase that Vega’s assessment of investors’ behaviour of his time is as relevant today (both to research and trading practice), as it was 336 years ago. As a result, it will enable participants to appreciate how modern investors' errors of judgement and patterns of behaviour appear astoundingly similar to those documented in the late 17th century. This course should be of interest to anyone interested in:
- investors' behaviour (regardless of whether they are active investors or not)
- behavioural finance/economics research
- economic/financial history
Saturday 27 April
- Joseph de la Vega’s background and life
- The economic backdrop of his Sephardi Jewish community’s fortunes during the 16th-17th centuries and how this led them to Amsterdam
- The evolution of Amsterdam’s stock exchange and the key features of trading on it
Saturday 4 May
- Discussion on how investors are expected to behave (neoclassical finance) and how and why they actually behave (behavioural finance)
- The structure of “Confusion of Confusions”
- Show how evidence of investors’ behaviour from the book is relevant to modern-day investors’ behaviour and behavioural finance research
Please note that the ‘last date available to book’ date is only a guide. We reserve the right to close bookings earlier if courses are over- or under-subscribed. In order to avoid disappointment, please be sure enrol as soon as possible. Registrations will not be processed until the following day if received after 3pm.
Course Lecturer: Dr Vasileios 'Bill' Kallinterakis
Dr. Vasileios "Bill" Kallinterakis is Associate Professor in Finance at Durham University Business School. Before joining Durham, he was Senior Lecturer in Corporate Finance at the University of Liverpool, where he began working as Lecturer in October 2011. Prior to that, he was working as Teaching Fellow in Finance at Durham University Business School (from where he also obtained his PhD in 2007). He has also taught part-time in several UK universities (Birmingham, Glasgow, Leeds, Reading, and the University College London) and has also delivered a series of lectures as Visiting Researcher at the Bulgarian National Bank. During his career, he has taught a variety of courses related to Behavioural Finance, Neurofinance, Corporate Finance and Econometrics. His research areas include behavioural finance, emerging/frontier markets, institutional Investors, volatility, high frequency trading and neurofinance. He has published to date in several international peer-reviewed academic journals, including the Journal of Financial Economics, Journal of Corporate Finance, Risk Analysis Journal, Journal of Banking and Finance, Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, European Financial Management, International Review of Financial Analysis, Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Quantitative Finance and the Journal of Behavioral Finance. He has also contributed to edited works and professional publications by key publishers (Elsevier; Wiley) and institutions (National Stock Exchange of India). He has served as reviewer for several acclaimed, peer-refereed journals and institutions (Czech Science Foundation; National Stock Exchange of India). He is currently a member of the editorial board of several journals (PLOS ONE; Review of Behavioral Finance; Economic Analysis; International Journal of Economics and Finance) and has received research grants by the National Stock Exchange of India (2008) and The University of Jordan (2019). He has successfully supervised eight doctoral students to completion and he is currently supervising another two doctoral students.
Courses fees: Full fee £46
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