Next cohort (Winter'25) start date: January 18, 2025

The TrendUp Now Program

Explore our program breakdown and understand how you can acquire practical investment skills, become CFOA certified, and gain access to positions in Investment Finance

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L1 Course

Prerequisites: Ambition, drive, and a strong interest in investment strategy.

Course Goal:
To help you develop a solid knowledge and skill base to identify strategic investment decisions quickly using the four schools of analysis: fundamental, technical, event-driven, and volatility analysis.

Course Content at a Glance:
In 3 weeks, you will learn about financial markets, trading tools and concepts, the four methods of analysis, and well as trade development. The L1 course includes a live stock pitch session with an investment fund manager, a leverage exercise, assessments, and one-to-one time with a hedge fund professional — on top of lectures, notes, and forums.

Weekly Commitment: approximately 3-5 hours, fully compatible with full-time study and/or work (see FAQ)

Course duration: 3 weeks (see program calendar)

Fees: $399 ($199 if you qualify for student discount). Financing options are available.

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L2 Course

Prerequisites: L1 Course

Course Goal:
To help you unleash the power of derivatives through option strategies, thereby allowing you to build trades with superior risk/reward and profit probability regardless of the situation.

Course Content at a Glance:
Following L1 course completion, participants will progress to L2, which will focus on strategy in a more applied, hands-on approach. You will learn about options strategies, directional and non-directional derivative techniques, and how to assess and calculate success probabilities as well as risk/reward scenarios in this three-week course. Our fund managers will also share how they implement these different strategies in their own funds. 

Weekly Commitment: approximately 3-5 hours, fully compatible with full-time study and/or work (see FAQ)

Course duration: 3 weeks (see program calendar)

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L3 Course

Prerequisites: L2 Course

Course Goal:
The final course of the development program, L3, will train you for a successful entry into the investment world. This course will teach you complex futures-based derivatives, futures contracts, trade and risk management skills, as well as hedge fund strategies. The course will round out the skills and techniques you have learned throughout the program and apply them to practice, replicating the environment of the industry. 

Course Content at a Glance:
L3 puts everything you’ve learned throughout the L-levels into practice and has a strong focus on replicating the trading environment in a hedge fund. On top of exploring futures contracts and complex futures-based derivatives like options on futures, you will dive deep into different strategies used by hedge funds. You will learn how to master trade management skills, and find alpha through different angles (macro, arbitrage, event-driven etc). L3 gives us the opportunity to closely observe your investment ideas, skills, and actions, allowing us to identify your areas of strength and guiding you towards the right type of investment strategy.

Weekly Commitment: approximately 3-5 hours, fully compatible with full-time study and/or work (see FAQ)

Course duration: 3 weeks (see program calendar)

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CFOA Certification Exam

Prerequisites: L3 Course for full subsidy

The Certified Futures and Options Analyst (CFOA) is offered by the International Council for Derivative Trading (ICFDT) a global initiative of leading industry professionals and institutions from North America, Europe, and Asia. The CFOA was created to offer a specialized credential for professionals and independent investors in the options and futures markets. It is currently the only certification focused exclusively on financial derivatives.

Attempting the CFOA exam is optional for all L3 participants. L3 graduates (with a satisfactory score on the L3 final assessment) will be able to take the CFOA exam for free.

Specialization & Recruitment Program

Prerequisites: L3 Course

Following completion of the L-program, the cohort’s top performers are invited to join TrendUp’s Specialization and Recruitment Program (SRP). The SRP consists of a 10 week analyst/trader internship at one of our partner firms (we’re able to offer both remote and F2F internships, as well as part-time and full-time options), as well as a direct mentoring line, personality assessment, and recruitment and career consulting.

This program is designed to help our top participants immediately stand out from other job applicants in Finance. It gives you the skills, experience, and preparation needed to significantly boost your profile, increasing your employment prospects in this extremely competitive field.

Program Calendar

Testimonials & Sucess Stories

Our objective is to make a real impact for our students. Learn what our past participants have to say about their experience with TrendUp Now.

Investment Fund

TJ Hegedus

A TrendUp Now 2022 summer cohort graduate, currently working as an Analyst in the buy-side at an $80B fund after securing the position upon completion of the program.

Read More »
Investment Banking

James Becker

A TrendUp Now 2022 winter cohort graduate, now working as an investment banking closing analyst at Woodbridge International.

Read More »
Wealth Management

Nick Henry

A TrendUp Now 2023 spring cohort graduate, now working as a wealth management analyst at BMO Wealth Management.

Read More »

How to Enroll

Step 1

Submit a TrendUp application

Complete our TrendUp application. Fill out your contact information in the first form (takes < 30s). You will be redirected to the second form where you answer a few questions about your interest in the program. This will include a quick pre-test to help us assess your current investment knowledge (takes 3-4 min).

Step 2

Make payment to confirm cohort spot

If you qualify for self-enrollment, you will be given the choice to secure your spot right away by making a payment on the spot. If you do not quality for self-enrollment, you will receive a payment/enrollment email in the next few days if you are accepted into the program.

Since we want to make sure the cohort stays small for the best possible learning experience, we recommend enrolling as soon as possible. We confirm spots upon payment and they are always first come first serve.

Visit our Financing page if you are interested in exploring our payment plans and financing options.

Step 3

Make the most out of the TrendUp program

The TrendUp program is an opportunity to network with other bright minds, ask investment/professional questions, and learn life-long investment knowledge from an investment fund manager. This is an opportunity not provided anywhere else, so we highly encourage you to stay engaged throughout the entire TrendUp program and actively participate in our growing community.

L1 Course

Course content:

Trading The Markets

  • Learn about financial markets: main elements, types of equities, ETFs & commodities
  • Learn about trading tools: long equity, shorting, derivatives
  • Learn about the types of orders and trading concepts

Quantitative Fundamental Analysis

  • Determine a company’s intrinsic value by analyzing quantitative financial data
  • Learn what to look for in financial statements for quick and effective opportunity identification
  • Interpret stock valuation ratios and stock screening development

Qualitative Fundamental Analysis

  • Analyze a company’s and its products’ qualitative factors
  • Learn about the effects of branding, management, sector, societal trends, business plan, etc. on stock valuation
  • Identify the best investments through business strength analysis

Technical Analysis

  • Focus on the analysis of stock price movement, not of the underlying company
  • Predict future price movement based on studying chart patterns and other quantitative data
  • Strategically discuss chart analysis, volume, and momentum indicators

Event-Driven Analysis

  • Identify events that can affect a company and its stock price
  • Keep an eye on earnings reports, M&As, news stories, insider transactions, scandals, macroeconomic issues, political changes, etc.
  • Develop trade strategy through variable event inputs

Volatility Analysis

  • Analyze the magnitude of stock movements beyond the direction of the stock price
  • Take advantage of statistical mean-reversion to develop direction-neutral trades and increase trading success
  • Develop a non-directional trade strategy

Investment Strategy

  • Strategically use the four schools of analysis for trade development
  • Learn about portfolio allocation and hedge fund strategy
  • Leverage tools such as debt, margin, and derivatives

Course includes:

  • On-demand course lectures & quizzes
  • Downloadable slides/notes
  • Forum & chat messaging with hedge fund manager
  • Live introduction session
  • Group stock pitch session
  • 1-on-1 time with hedge fund manager
  • Skills assessment (to test your agility and allow hedge fund manager to assess
  • Final assessment

Weekly Commitment: 3-5 hours, fully compatible with full-time study and/or work

Course duration: 3 weeks (see program calendar)

Price: US $399

L2 Course

Course content:

Options contracts

  • Learn what options contracts are, how they are priced, and what their uses are.
  • Learn how to set up and design complex trades adapted specifically to any given situation, allowing you to maximize your profit while limiting your risk.

Option Pricing and Characteristics

  • Learn about greeks, deltas, volatility, and time decay.

Directional Derivative Strategies

  • Learn how to set up bullish or bearish derivative strategies that maximize profit potential while limiting risk and increasing probabilities of success.

Non-Directional (Market-neutral) Derivative Strategies

  • Learn how to set up derivative strategies that will profit regardless of price direction.

Order Entry and Close

  • Learn how to gather all the necessary information and set up option strategies on a brokerage platform.

Probabilities of Success

  • Learn how to calculate, interpret and use probabilities of success to know how likely you are to make a profit, and how much exactly you stand to gain or lose before putting on a trade. This can allow you to deliver superior returns regardless of market conditions.

Trade Management

  • Learn how to keep track of the trade and understand statistical data. Each strategy we will discuss comes with detailed instructions as to when it is the best time to use it, how to build it, how to find out your probability of success, and how to manage the trade.

Course includes:

  • On-demand course lectures & quizzes
  • Downloadable slides/notes
  • Forum & chat messaging with hedge fund manager
  • Live trading intro session
  • Option strategy log activity
  • 2-day subsidized trading challenge (you will get to keep your profits with no cost and no downside risk)
  • Equity research publication opportunities
  • 1-on-1 time with hedge fund manager
  • Final assessment

Weekly Commitment: 3-5 hours, fully compatible with full-time study and/or work

Course duration: 3 weeks (see program calendar)

Price: US $499

L3 Course

Course content:

Futures Market

  • Learn what a futures contract is, its main aspects, and how you can successfully operate in the futures market.
  • Focus on developing futures-specific strategies, such as calendar spreads.

Options on Futures

  • Learn what options on futures are, their uses, their main strategies, and how they differ from equity options.

Trade Management

  • Having an exit strategy and knowing how to fix a position that is going against you is critical and mostly overlooked in Financial education.
  • Walk through all the steps needed for a successful trade (applicable to equity, option or future positions).
  • Receive guidance from order entry to exit, with detailed discussion on how to fix a bad position and manage its risk.

Hedge Funds

  • Get a detailed account about hedge funds, how they are organized and created, how they make money, how they deal with investors, and how you can become a part of their world.

Hedge Fund Strategy

  • Discuss the main hedge fund types, their strategies, and how each of the strategies shapes the fund’s style.
  • React to live market events in assigned groups, in order to replicate a hedge fund environment in a synchronous session with our top hedge fund manager.

CFOA Certification Prep

  • Get an overview of the main options and futures concepts seen throughout the L-Courses in order to prepare for a successful result if you choose to take the CFOA.

Course includes:

  • On-demand course lectures & quizzes
  • Downloadable slides/notes
  • Forum & chat messaging with hedge fund manager
  • Live session on futures trading
  • Hedge fund strategy group activity
  • 2-week futures and options trading challenge (using simulated money)
  • Equity research publication opportunities
  • 1-on-1 time with hedge fund manager
  • Final assessment
  • Full subsidy for the CFOA exam (worth US$290) if you pass L3

Weekly Commitment: 3-5 hours, fully compatible with full-time study and/or work

Course duration: 3 weeks (see program calendar)

Price: US $599

Registration Form (copy)

Subsidized student price eligibility requirements

Current students:

You must be enrolled in a 4-year university, either as an undergraduate or graduate student (no specific degree or field of study required).

Recent graduates:

You must have graduated from a 4-year university within the past year (again, no specific degree or field of study required).

Ex. if your graduation date was in May 2022, you won’t be eligible for the Sep 2023 start date. However, you will be if you graduated in Dec 2022.

Student pricing: L1 $199, L2 $299, and L3 $399.