Trustees and finance directors who have seen the value of charities' investments plunge over the past year will soon be able to study the reasons why.
Scottish charity the Stewart Ivory Foundation is to set up a distance learning course at the Edinburgh Business School to examine the reasons behind stock market booms and busts.
The foundation is putting £150,000 into the project, which will be a wholly owned subsidiary of the charity.
Project consultant Russell Napier said: "There wasn't anyone teaching the history of what happened in financial markets, explaining for example the internet boom by looking at previous booms and busts."
Napier will approach professional bodies, including those in the charity sector, to see if they want to offer the course to their members. Investment managers and independent financial advisers will also be targeted.
Work is beginning on a textbook for the new course, which is set to start in September 2003.
