University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Smart Money: Managing Your Portfolio Specialization

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University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Smart Money: Managing Your Portfolio Specialization

Retirement, Investing, and Real Asset Strategies.

Retirement, Investing, and Real Asset Strategies

Dr. Craig Lemoine

Instructor: Dr. Craig Lemoine

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Get in-depth knowledge of a subject

from 10 reviews of courses in this program

Beginner level

Recommended experience

4 weeks to complete
at 10 hours a week
Get in-depth knowledge of a subject

from 10 reviews of courses in this program

Beginner level

Recommended experience

4 weeks to complete
at 10 hours a week

What you'll learn

  • Apply core investment principles, risk and return measures, and time value of money concepts to build diversified portfolios

  • Evaluate land and real estate as alternative investments within broader wealth-building strategies

  • Assess retirement income options, including annuities, to manage longevity risk and support sustainable retirement outcomes

  • Analyze tradeoffs across flexibility, liquidity, costs, risk, and legacy when making long-term financial decisions

Details to know

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Taught in English
Flexible schedule
Learn at your own pace

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Specialization - 3 course series

What you'll learn

  • Identify key financial concepts related to agricultural land, including balance sheets, income statements, and land valuation factors.

  • Summarize how land and real estate can be incorporated into investment portfolios and outline paths for further learning in alternative investments.

  • Recognize different types of real estate investment structures and asset classes, and their characteristics.

  • Describe the roles of various stakeholders in farmland ownership, transfer, and investment, including tax and risk considerations.

Skills you'll gain

Category: Market Liquidity
Category: Real Estate
Category: Property and Real Estate
Category: Financial Statements
Category: Investments
Category: Risk Management
Category: Return On Investment
Category: Portfolio Management
Category: Balance Sheet
Investing and Building Wealth

Investing and Building Wealth

Course 2, 13 hours

What you'll learn

  • Understand the relationship between securities, issuers, stocks and bonds. 

    Demonstrate risk and return outcomes with a two-asset portfolio.

Skills you'll gain

Category: Economics
Category: Portfolio Risk
Category: Investment Management
RiskWise: Annuities and Income

RiskWise: Annuities and Income

Course 3, 5 hours

What you'll learn

  • Explain what annuities are and how they are used to support retirement income, including protection against longevity risk.

  • Compare annuities with traditional investment‑based approaches and describe when guaranteed income may be useful within a retirement plan.

  • Identify and explain key annuity features and tradeoffs, including income options, guarantees, fees, and liquidity.

  • Apply retirement income concepts to realistic scenarios, evaluating long‑term outcomes, survivor considerations, and communication challenges.

Skills you'll gain

Category: Finance
Category: Investments
Category: Risk Modeling
Category: Insurance
Category: Contract Review
Category: Analysis
Category: Portfolio Management
Category: Financial Management
Category: Risk Management
Category: Portfolio Risk
Category: Financial Planning
Category: Risk Analysis
Category: Communication Strategies

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Instructor

Dr. Craig Lemoine
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
13 Courses52,899 learners

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Learner reviews across Smart Money: Managing Your Portfolio

avg. across 3 courses

  • 5 stars

    80%

  • 4 stars

    10%

  • 3 stars

    0%

  • 2 stars

    0%

  • 1 star

    10%

CL
Course: Investing and Building Wealth

Reviewed on Jun 15, 2025

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