EXPERT TUTORING IN ALL FACETS OF ECONOMICS AND FINANCE
I offer high level tutoring and mentorship in economics and finance for students and professionals who want instruction grounded in real markets rather than classroom abstractions. The focus is mastery, clarity, and applied skill. Sessions cover everything from core undergraduate theory to advanced graduate coursework, quantitative methods, derivatives, macro strategy, and portfolio management. The approach draws on decades of academic training and frontline experience in global banking, trading, and hedge fund management. This is targeted, serious guidance for people who want to understand the material at a level that is actually useful in academia, in industry, or both.
Who I am
I used to teach economics at Tufts University in Boston. While there I was one of the highest rated instructors they had in the entire university. All of my PhD coursework was done at Harvard and MIT. I left academia to pursue a career on Wall Street. I spent more time there than I care to admit. I ran derivatives desks at several large global banks and managed a variety of portfolios on all asset classes at several hedge funds. For the past 10 years I have been involved in consulting in financial markets as well as tutoring and mentoring undergraduate and graduate students in all facets of economics and finance. My students have come from the finest universities in the world (Harvard, MIT, Stanford, University of Chicago, Oxford, Cambridge, and the London School of Economics to name a few). This is all the way up to the PhD level including helping with thesis development and writing.Testimonials
Object: Reference Letter for Mr. DendunnenPlace des Florentins 1 CH-1204, Geneva Switzerland +41 79 246 83 51 dmitriev.eugenie@gmail.com
I first began lessons with Leonard (Lenny") during my MSc Finance and Economics at the University of Kent, where he helped me navigate a demanding Computational Finance & Mathematics course Coming from a Bachelor in Translation, I initially lacked the technical foundations, but Leonard provided the clarity, intuition, and practical tools I needed to understand the material and progress. His ability to connect theory with real market events-drawing on more than 40 years of professional experience set him apart from every other tutor I approached. Geneva, 1 September 2025 What started as academic support quickly grew into long-term mentorship. Leonard pushed me beyond coursework into applied Finance, from modeling in Excel for my Master’s Thesis to building a strong understanding of financial regulations and market history. These skills proved decisive in securing my first role in Asset Management. Over the past years, Leonard has continued to guide me as l advanced professionally. After four years at Altcoinomy SA, I was promoted to Chief Operating Officer (co0)-a progression I attribute in large part to the analytical and strategic mindset I developed through his lessons. Most recently, from the end of 2024 to now (2025), we have worked intensively on Options and Derivatives following John C. Hull's framework. Leonard taught me to construct a delta-neutral portfolio in Excel, manage risk with all the Greek letters, and apply these models in practice through paper trading on Deribit. For further reference, please contact me directly, Leonard's teaching style is engaging, rigorous, and always forward-looking. He instills not just academic knowledge but the ability to apply it to real-world financial challenges--whether in trading, portfolio management, or leadership. I can recommend him without reservation: his lessons exceed academic standards and provide skills that are invaluable for a career in Finance.
Eugenie Dmitrieva
Toronto, 1 Feb 2023 Subject: Reference letter for Mr. Leonard Dendunnen
I am a senior student specializing in Financial Economics with a Mathematical Science minor at the University of Toronto. I have known Mr. Leonard Dendunnen since the winter of 2020, and since then, we have been working on various economics and finance topics. In 2020, Mr. Leonard Dendunnen and I were researching the economic ramification of COVID19 and the post-Covid recovery for various industries. Our primary research focus was on crude oil and commodity prices. We compared Brent and WTI index to analyze the oil price changes. We used a multi-linear regression model to determine the correlation between factors affecting oil prices and stock indices. His ability to perform extensive analysis using excel and data analysis tools impressed me. He was the essential piece of my project and guided me through the most challenging research period. With his help, I could apply what I have learned in lectures to real life, perform high-level analysis on the Macroeconomic impact of COVID-19, and successfully predict the recovery in many related industries. Mr. Dendunnen also helped me in several other Economics, Finance and investing courses In 2022,
Mr. Leonard Dendunnen and I decided to collaborate and work on a new project trading crypto assets. We were using a delta-neutral, long gamma model to trade on the futures and options of Ethereum (ETH). Mr. Leonard Dendunnen once again demonstrated extensive knowledge in macroeconomics, financial derivatives, and applied statistics. We were able to earn a substantial profit on the kurtosis model and capture the extensive movement of the volatility; over the following three months, we worked to improve the model and correct the delta estimation to more accurately understand the diffusion and generate return.
Mr. Leonard Dendunnen has four decades of experience in economics and finance. He is also an expert in the area of Consulting, Trading, and Portfolio Management. With his unique understanding and experience in the financial industry, he would always be able to have extensive oversight of the market movement and economic theories. Unlike many other professors in academia, Mr. Leonard Dendunnen focuses more on applying economic theories and closely relates them to real-life events.
Mr. Leonard Dendunnen is a great teacher, an excellent friend, and a great mentor to me. For further reference, please contact me directly.
Yuhui Li (Richard) Senior Student in Financial Economics, Member of ICUBE University of Toronto Mississauga 3359 Mississauga Rd. | Mississauga, ON L5L 1C6 T: +1 437-227-6665
Lenny is an incredible mentor, tutor, and friend with vast knowledge of the financial industry. As a field veteran, he has developed a broad depth of knowledge as a key investment decision-maker in leadership positions at well-established firms like Barclays, Bankers Trust, CIBC & UBS. While at Tufts, Lenny, a well-versed professor, guided me through my academic courses in Finance and Economics. Lenny helped me through the following courses: Econometrics, Monetary Economics, Macroeconomics, Microeconomics, Economic Development, Ethics, and International Trade. For years, Lenny taught these courses to Tufts students, who look up to him, like me and Anthony Scaramucci.
After I graduated from Tufts, I started working at PanAgora, a leading quantitative asset manager. Lenny helped me fully master the rigorous textbook Options, Futures, and Other Derivatives by John Hull, which we went through cover to cover. His teachings made me more comfortable working with derivatives such as Futures, CDX, ZCIFS, CIRS, and ETRS daily. Lenny's mentorship helped me make informed career decisions, such as pursuing the CFA and CAIA charters. Lenny fully prepared me to pass the well-respected CFA L1 & L2 by reviewing Investments by Bodie, Kane & Marcus. I highly recommend Lenny to any student seeking support with their academic courses in Economics/Finance or business professionals looking for financial consulting. –
Thomas Girdwood, Associate at PanAgora & Tufts alum
NADIA ASIF 30 Morningside Drive, New York, NY 10025 +1 973 216 2636 | nadiaasif531@gmail.com February 3, 2023
Re: Reference Letter for Leonard Dendunnen
Dear reader,
I am currently an investment analyst at a single-family office in Manhattan and have had the pleasure of knowing and working with Lenny for two years. I first started working with him when I was an undergraduate at the University of Toronto, desperately trying to maintain my 4.0 GPA. I was really struggling with my microeconomics class, despite reading the textbook and keeping up with lectures. I had a quirky professor who liked to write problems like Latin riddles and did not find effective helplines within the university. In my search for tutors before my midterm, I found Lenny on Wyzant, a website for freelance tutors. What initially stood out about Lenny was his academic achievements and impressive reviews, but then as I worked with him, I learned he had another impressive ability: making complicated things very simple, maybe even “common sense.” Thanks to Lenny, I finished the semester strong with a competitive application for Columbia University, where I am finishing my undergraduate studies this year. As I became more and more interested in financial markets,
Lenny had become more and more of a resource and mentor. It was only during my summer internship with Citigroup’s Markets division that I learned that Lenny had an extensive and impressive background in the field. As I learned more and more about various products, particularly macro and credit ones, Lenny’s mentorship proved invaluable. For this reason, I asked Lenny to teach me about Economics and Finance from ground up with a practitioner’s perspective. He might not look it, but he has decades of experience in the industry as a trader—pre-DoddFrank—experiencing crisis after crisis, domestically and abroad, with an array of very complicated products, most notably FX options. If you have not worked in markets, know that the FX options traders are some of the smartest people in the division—they must have both a deep knowledge of macroeconomics and risk management, in addition to technical prowess and the ability to react quickly and reliably under-pressure.
Lenny also has an extensive background in microeconomics and market microstructure. Because of Lenny, I was able to talk my way into a graduate “Equity Derivatives” class taught by one of the founding Partners of Goldman Sachs’ Equity Derivatives Research, Mark Zurack (who also worked with Fischer Black there). One of Mark’s most memorable quotes was “those who understand fundamentals are best positioned to trade equity derivatives.” While Mark was referring to fundamental analysis, what perhaps is most fundamental to any form of trading is a market’s underlying structure, in addition to the behavior of its participants, particularly in times of uncertainty and crisis. Lastly, there are two very important assets that Lenny brings to the table: his wide and diverse network of the best and brightest in the industry and, above all, integrity, something that you would hope would be commonplace, when in fact is on the verge of extinction today. Lenny unquestionably will always work toward your best interest or find someone else who can. I hope that you, like myself, look forward to working with Lenny throughout the years to come.
