Macro Specialist Designation

A glowing blue digital globe with interconnected network nodes and financial candlestick charts overlaid on a dark blue background, representing global connectivity and financial data.

The Lubar College of Business is now offering the course Macro Specialist Designation, a course that will prepare you to take the Level 1 exam for the M²SD.* The Lubar College is one of only three universities in the world teaching this course.

*The Macro Specialist Designation (M²SD) is a professional education program designed to help people understand how macro trends impact equity markets and apply macro strategy and stock selection techniques when investing. (Macro Institute)

Course Details

The M²SD is a Practical Skills Module (called Practical Macro) of the CFA curriculum.

Wednesdays: 5:30 pm – 8:10 pm
Fall Semester: September 3 – December 18, 2025
Format: This course will be delivered in a hybrid format. In-person meetings will take place every other week in Lubar Hall (room TBD) and on alternating weeks, the class will meet online via Teams.
Instructor: Dr. Kevin Spellman, CFA, aka “Coach”

The Meaning Behind M²SD

The Macro Specialist Designation, or M²SD, is awarded to distinguished financial professionals who have mastered the complexities of macro forces and their impact on financial markets. Below, we break down the meaning behind each component of M²SD, reflecting the profound expertise and status that comes with this respected credential.

Macro is an investment style that begins with analyzing the broad economic backdrop and then drilling down, layer by layer, to build a profitable portfolio of securities that can navigate market peaks and troughs.

The Balance between the opposite but complementary forces of Macro (top-down analysis) and Micro (bottom-up analysis).

Specialist is the distinguished title awarded to new members of The Macro Institute.

Designation honors an investment professional who has gained a deep understanding of the influential role macro principles play in the financial markets.

Become a Macro Specialist

The M2SD program prepares candidates for today’s volatile market realities. You will build a new skill set that is additive and complementary to fundamental research practices. Armed with this new macro toolkit, you can elevate your performance across ever-evolving macro backdrops.

A network diagram on a dark teal background showing interconnected finance career paths, including Risk Analysis, Portfolio Management, Financial Advisors, Investment Banking, and Asset Management, radiating outward from a central hub.

Open larger image

Who Should Consider the M2SD Program?

Designed for the Modern Professional

The Macro Specialist Designation provides a practical and cost-effective alternative to other finance-related degrees. It is the perfect way for CFA Charterholders to complete the investment puzzle. The program can be completed in as little as 6 months, while maintaining a full-time career. M2SD candidates can apply their learnings to almost any career in the financial services industry. Anyone involved in the investment decision-making process or managing client portfolios can benefit from earning the designation.

Common Career Paths for Macro Professionals

Equity Analysts

Broaden the scope of your analysis to understand the macro drivers of a company’s performance and risks in addition to the stock-specific factors.

Financial Advisors

Communicate your knowledge of markets to your clients above and beyond financial planning expertise.

Portfolio Managers

Improve performance by identifying the big-picture trends that may pose a risk to your portfolio positioning.

Quantitative Analysts

Build intuitive but powerful stock-picking models using macro data and factors.

Course Outline

Week	Lessons	Chapters	Essential Reading	Applied Macro
1	The Basics, Practical Economics for Investors	1	“The Business Cycle in a Changing World”	You are the Economist
2	Imperative Data in Macro Analysis	2	“Shadow Statistics”	You are the Strategist
3	The Science of Financial Market Forcasting	3	“Essays on Interest Rates”	You are the CIO
4	The Role of Monetary Policy in Macro Analysis The Misunderstood Role of Fiscal Policy	4, 5	“Unconventional Monetary Policy” “The Yield Curve & Recession”	You are the Central Banker You are the Head of the CBO
5	The Dollar’s Role in the Global Economy	6	“Exorbitant Privilege”	You are a Currency Trader
6	Equity Markets Across the Business Cycle	7	“The Alchemy of Finance”	You are the Portfolio Manager
7	The Inseparable Bond of Earnings & Macro Myths & Misconceptions about P/Es	8, 9	“The Trouble with Earnings & P/Es” “All P/Es Are Not Created Equal”	You are the Equity Analyst
8	The Ultimate Macro Discipline: Fixed Income	10	“How Debt Markets Have Malfunctioned”	You are the Fixed Income PM
9	Behavioral Finance Distortions in Macro Analysis	11	“Behavioral Investing: A Practitioners Guide”	You are the Director of Research
10	Equity Analysis Meets the World Economy	12	“The Global Dollar Cycle”	You are the Global PM
11	The Macro Roots of Asset Allocation	13	“Revising Modern Portfolio Theory”	You are the Asset Allocator
12	The Dynamics of Sector Positioning Navigating the Cycle with Factor Leadership	14, 15	“Super Sectors – Sector Rotation” “Fact Fiction and Factor Investing”	You are the Portfolio Manager

How to Enroll

Undergraduate Students

Lubar undergraduate students can enroll in this course as an elective. Students should enroll in BUS ADM 395 Sec 004 Special Topics in Business: Macro Specialist Designation. Prereq: ECON 104 Macroeconomics; Coreq: BUS ADM 350 Principles of Finance.

Graduate Students

By completing this course, the M2SD course fee of $2,500 is waived by The Macro Institute and students will be able to earn their level 1 designation by passing the exam administered by Pearson VUE for a fee of $70.00.

Student Registration via PAWS

It is recommended that non-degree students have one finance course or the first macroeconomics course or one or more years of experience in investments before taking this course.

Interested community members can take this course for a fee of $1,700.00, with a deposit of $700 due upon registration.

By completing this course for $1,700, the M2SD course fee of $2,500 is waived by The Macro Institute, saving you $800. You will be able to earn your level 1 designation by passing the exam administered by Pearson VUE for a fee of $70.00.

Community Member Registration

If you are a community member, but would like to receive graduate or undergraduate credit for the course, you can apply to the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee as a special non-degree seeking student. Preferred pre-requisite includes ECON 104 Macroeconomics; co-requisite of BUS ADM 350 Principles of Finance OR investment industry experience for undergraduate credit. For graduate credit, co-requisite is BUS MGMT 705 Corporate Finance or professional industry experience.

The Macro Institute

For more information on The Macro Specialist Designation program and exams, please visit The Macro Institute.