RBC selected the best courses on the basics of finance and trading on popular online education platforms recommended by Columbia University, which itself is actively developing the corresponding service. At the same time, we gave preference to courses taught by the best universities in the world: that is, educational institutions that are included in the academic ranking of Shanghai University ARWU-2015 in economics and business (The Academic Ranking of World Universities), as well as in the ranking of world universities according to the Times — (Times Higher Education).
All courses that meet these criteria can be taken in English and are available on three online platforms: Coursera, EdX and Openlearn. In addition, we included in the list the curriculum of the Higher School of Economics, which can be found on the Open Education website, the Russian equivalent of Coursera, since it is the only course on investments in Russian available right now.
“Online courses are good for obtaining a basic level of knowledge about investments,” says Pavel Pakhomov, head of the training center of the St. Petersburg Stock Exchange. According to him, it is reasonable to start with them for those who have not previously had anything to do with finance and do not know how to approach it. At later stages, Pakhomov advises consulting with specialists (for example, professional traders or managers) in person or participating in webinars dedicated to individual instruments.
Head of Asset Management " ZerichCapital Management" Andrey Loskutov agrees that distance courses can help a novice investor gain an understanding of the securities market. However, he warns that these courses are good for general development and in the future future investors will need detailed study of the markets and further education. "Need to seriously study financial statements and balance sheets of companies to understand how attractive they are for investment. Such tools are difficult to obtain in online courses,” explains the financier.
However, there is a place to start. Here are seven online courses on finance and investment from the best universities in the world
Platform: Coursera
(Finance for Non-Financial Professionals)
Who conducts: University of California at Irvine (51-75th in ARWU rankings, 106th in THE rankings)
Start: is already underway, you can join
Price: 3.5 thousand rubles.
Approximate travel time: 4 weeks, approximately 1-2 hours per week
This course is part of the larger Career Success program. Fortunately, you can go through it separately. It is suitable for beginners (the course description emphasizes that no special background is needed) and provides a very basic understanding of personal finance and investing, from the concept of “accounting” to more complex things like assessing market conditions. This course is taught by University of California professor David Standen, who founded one of the first online MBA courses in the world. You can only receive a certificate for the entire program; completion of an individual course is not confirmed in any way.
(Financial Evaluation and Strategy: Investments)
Who conducts:University of Illinois campus at Urbane-Champaign (38th place in the ARWU ranking, 36th place in the THE ranking)
Start: 25th of April
Price: for free
Approximate travel time: 4 weeks 6-8 hours per week
This course is not about finance in general, but about trading. So we are talking about investment tools, ways to create a balanced portfolio and assess the risks of investments. They also promise to equip students with the simplest technical skills: for example, to use the Excel functions necessary for investors. The lecturer is finance professor Scott Weisbenner, who has long been an economist at the US Federal Reserve. After completing the course, you can receive a certificate, but - which is typical for Coursera and other similar platforms - you will have to pay 4.2 thousand rubles for it.
How to Make Strategic Financial Decisions
Who conducts:
Start: 25th of April
Price: 4.2-5.6 thousand rubles. for one course; 25.5 thousand rubles. for the entire program
Approximate travel time: 6 weeks for each course
This is a full-fledged educational program that can be completed in whole or in parts. It involves four courses of about a month each, defending a thesis project and obtaining a certificate. All courses are taught by University of Michigan professor Gautam Koul. He will explain to listeners what the “time value of money” is, how to make financial decisions and carefully diversify a portfolio, and assess the real value of assets. Students who complete the thesis will be given a certificate. You don't need to pay extra for it.
(Financial Markets)
Who conducts: Yale University (4th in ARWU, 12th in THE ranking)
Start: Anytime
Price: for free
Travel time: 8 weeks
The video course “Financial Markets” is available on two platforms: and on the Yale University website. It is hosted by the legendary economist Robert Shiller, Nobel Prize winner in 2013. The curriculum lasts 8 weeks - one for each topic. The student will be told about the basic principles of financial management, psychological aspects of investing, stock and bond markets, futures and options, features of real estate investments, monetary policy and market regulation, as well as the social responsibility of the investor. All video lectures are accompanied by subtitles in English. At the end of each week, the student writes a test based on the material covered, and at the end of the course - an examination test. If you want to skip these formalities, you can download Schiller's courses from Yale University's online education platform or simply view them on the school's YouTube page.
Economist Robert Shiller. (Photo: AP)
Platform: EdX
Finance for Everyone: Smart Tools for Decision-Making
Who conducts:University of Michigan (12th in ARWU rankings, 21st in THE rankings)
Start: for free
Price: for free
Approximate travel time: 6 weeks 5-6 hours
In essence, this course is almost identical to what the University of Michigan offers on the Coursera platform. It is even read by the same lecturer - Gautam Koul. The difference is that the course on edX is free because it is self-paced. That is, the student gets access to lectures, but does not take tests and does not write a thesis. At the same time, based on the results of the course, you can receive a certificate, but you will have to pay $49 for it (about 3.3 thousand rubles at the Central Bank exchange rate). In general, a good option for those who want exclusively theoretical knowledge.
Platform: Open Learn
Managing My Money
Who conducts:Open University in the UK (401st place in THE ranking)
Start: Anytime
Price: for free
Travel time: 8 weeks
The pioneer of distance education in the world, the Open University in the UK, which was founded back in 1969, offers a wide range of courses for aspiring investors on its online platform Open Learn. A major advantage of these programs is that in most cases they do not require a fee. According to the Open University, the most popular financial program on its website is the Managing my money course, developed by the True Potential PUFin financial literacy center at the Open University. It includes both video lectures and extensive text materials, including an electronic textbook in Epub format. It is expected that the listener will gain an understanding of financial planning, investment instruments and methods of saving money, and the basics of market analysis. Based on the results of each completed topic, the student must pass an online test. At the end of the course, you are asked to write a final test paper covering the entire curriculum. To take the course, you need to register on the Open University website.
Platform: Open Education
Financial Market Analysis
Who conducts: National Research University Higher School of Economics
Start: April 18th
Price: for free
Travel time: 10 weeks
The online course “Financial Market Analysis”, developed by teachers from the Department of Finance of the Faculty of Economic Sciences of the National Research University Higher School of Economics, can be taken on the “Russian Coursera” - the Open Education platform. The curriculum lasts 10 weeks with a weekly load of 6 hours. As part of the video course, the student will be told about the peculiarities of the functioning of the securities market and the work of its participants, as well as the basics of fundamental and technical analysis of stocks. Among the stated topics are methods of searching for “quality” companies and securities for investment, which is very important for a novice trader or asset manager. In addition, every week the student will have to take 5-10 practice tests and pass at least ten test papers. At the end of the course, the student will have to complete a large final work consisting of tests and calculation problems. Although online training started on April 18, there are still 28 days to enroll in the curriculum.
Lose everything in 9 months
First Deputy Chairman of the Central Bank Sergei Shvetsov said at a conference at the Higher School of Economics that Russian brokers have only 80 thousand active accounts, and the average life of a brokerage account is nine months - during this period a person loses his investments. The regulator added that this is not a problem for brokers: “Since we have a population of 140 million, brokers have something to grind further. They attract new citizens through the Inquisition.”
Learn to invest your money profitably!
4 weeks of training, only practice¸ only working cases!
Who will benefit from this training?
Experienced investors - who are already investing their money, but at the same time understand that “the rules of the game have changed” and they need to act according to new rules in order to preserve and increase their assets in today’s turbulent times.
Beginning investors - who understand the importance of investing their money, but want to do it wisely and choose the right investment instruments based on their current financial situation and goals.
Entrepreneurs and business owners - who already have their own business that generates income, and understand that money needs to be distributed among “different baskets”.
Top managers and executives - who have good active income, and at the same time have a desire to create income from their investments - passive and portfolio income.
Any person - who wants to create his own secure financial future - who understands that strong financial well-being directly depends on competent and informed decisions, and not on emotions and passion!
Goals of our online training
A STEP-BY-STEP SYSTEM FOR COMPETENT PERSONAL FINANCE MANAGEMENT AND PROFITABLE INVESTMENT OF MONEY, WHICH WILL ALLOW YOU TO REALIZE YOUR KEY FINANCIAL GOALS IN THE NEAR TIME!
main financial tools
Personal Financial Plan
Results after completing the training
Personal Financial Plan
Thanks to the compiled LFP, I now see how I can achieve my Key Financial Goals: how much I need to invest monthly, where, in what currency, in what financial instruments. Now I get the excitement of seeing my Capital increase every month. This leads to exceeding your financial goals every month!
Why is it important to take the “Investor School” training?
In this training, which lasts 4 weeks, we will “discuss” the following important topics:
YOU WILL DO ALL THESE POINTS UNDER OUR CLOSE GUIDANCE AND FEEDBACK:
- Determine the effectiveness of your existing assets,
- Set key financial goals for the next 1-3-5-10 years and determine their cost,
- Calculate the optimal monthly investment amount based on your financial situation,
- You will learn how to buy shares and bonds of foreign companies, mutual funds, from shares of large corporations in countries such as the USA, UK, Germany, France, to selecting and purchasing shares of small and medium-sized companies in China, Russia, Latin America, etc.
- Determine the financial instruments with which you will begin your investment in the near future,
- Learn to assess potential returns and risks when investing in major investment instruments (stocks, bonds, mutual funds, real estate, precious metals),
- You will undergo practice on how to search on Internet portals for stocks, bonds, ETF’s in which you would like to invest your capital,
- Learn the criteria by which you should choose banks, insurance companies, stocks, bonds, real estate and securities funds,
- Learn to competently create a personal Investment Portfolio,
- Learn to draw up a Personal Financial Plan that will take into account all the key risks when saving money: market, currency, country
How would this happen:
Recordings are sent every week + homework for each session, for 4 weeks in a row. The format is completely online. That is, you don't need to go anywhere. You can just sit at home in front of your computer, do your homework, create a personal financial plan and successfully implement your investments,
You receive your first session immediately after payment,
You will receive the remaining sessions at the rate of 1-2 Sessions per week.
In total you will receive 8 Sessions, lasting 1.5 - 2 hours each,
Individual approach to each student
In the classroom – theory + practice = result!
Checking the remote control with feedback from the trainer,
Maximum emphasis on results!
Online training program:
Session No. 1 Personal financial reports
- Meeting the Participants
- Main objectives of the “Investor School” training
- Income-Expense Analysis
- Calculation of Assets-Liabilities
- Calculation of net capital after the fact
- Setting Basic Financial Goals
- Determining Your Type of Investor
- Analysis of key mistakes when investing
- Where do we start investing?
- Financial Protection Plan
- Hometasks
Session No. 2 How to increase income by 300% or more
- Determination of personal abilities
- Making a list of hobbies
- Determining a priority direction to increase income
- Examples and analysis of working cases and real ones
Online training "Investor School"
Vladimir Savenok, Vladimir TimchenkoHOW TO CREATE CAPITAL FROM $100,000 TO $500,000 AND MORE
ONLY PROVEN AND EFFECTIVE INVESTMENT OPTIONSWho will benefit from this training?
For experienced investors - who are already investing their money, but at the same time understand that “the rules of the game have changed” and they need to act according to new rules in order to preserve and increase their assets in today’s turbulent times.
For beginning investors - who understand the importance of investing their money, but want to do it wisely and choose the right investment instruments based on their current financial situation and goals.
Entrepreneurs and business owners - who already have their own business that generates income, and there is an understanding that money needs to be distributed among “different baskets.”
Top managers and executives - who have a good active income, and at the same time there is a desire to create income from their investments - passive and portfolio income.
Any person - who wants to create his own secure financial future - who understands that strong financial well-being directly depends on competent and informed decisions, and not on emotions and passion!Goals of online training
A STEP-BY-STEP SYSTEM FOR COMPETENT PERSONAL FINANCE MANAGEMENT AND PROFITABLE INVESTMENT OF MONEY, WHICH WILL ALLOW YOU TO REALIZE YOUR KEY FINANCIAL GOALS IN THE NEAR TIME!Results after completing the training
- Take control of your personal finances
- Take advantage of all the benefits of major financial tools
- Make a Personal Financial Plan
- Become a smart investor
Why is it important to take the “Investor School” training?
- 99% of participants make a Personal Financial Plan
- 42% are starting to invest abroad
- 33% create an additional source of income
- 69% become investors
IN THIS TRAINING, WHICH LASTS 4 WEEKS, WE WILL "UNDERSTAND" THE FOLLOWING IMPORTANT TOPICS:
- We will teach you the most effective ways to save and invest personal money
- We will help you conduct your investment in real time under our close guidance with feedback
- We will do everything so that you strengthen the habit of saving and investing in the most profitable financial instruments and are able to carry out such investments yourself on an ongoing basis.
- We will show you how to save money during a crisis and what opportunities you need to use in conditions of instability
- You will learn to avoid key mistakes of beginners and experienced investors, which will allow you not to lose your savings
SpoilerTarget"> Spoiler: Online training program
Session No. 1. Personal financial reports
Meeting the Participants
Main objectives of the “Investor School” training
Income-Expense Analysis
Calculation of Assets-Liabilities
Calculation of net capital after the fact
Setting Basic Financial Goals
Determining Your Type of Investor
Analysis of key mistakes when investing
Where do we start investing?
Financial Protection Plan
HometasksSession No. 2. How to increase your income by 300% or more
Determination of personal abilities
Making a list of hobbies
Determining a priority direction to increase income
Examples and analysis of work cases and real stories
Setting income goals for 3-5-7 years
HometasksSession No. 3. From zero to $10,000 per month
Recording a live interview on the topic of increasing income from zero to $10,000 per monthSession No. 4. Basic investment instruments.
Advantages and disadvantages
Banks
Insurance companies
Stock
Bonds
Precious metals
Real estate
Mutual Funds
ETF's
In what order to invest
What are the main criteria for choosing financial instruments?
How to competently form a Personal Investment Portfolio
HometasksSession No. 5. From a salary of $500 to a business with a turnover of 600,000 rubles. per month
Recording of a “live” interview on the topic of increasing income from a salary of $500 to a business with a turnover of 600,000 rubles. per monthSession No. 6. Workshop on drawing up a Personal Financial Plan
Basics for creating an effective physical therapy exercise
Calculation of physical therapy according to the client’s example
Correct determination of the invested amount
Entering data into a table
Preliminary calculations of the Plan, according to the Type of Investor
Analysis of the results obtained and comparison with the Goals
Drawing up a Target Financial Plan for the implementation of Key Financial GoalsSession No. 7. How to increase income by 300% or more? Planning steps monthly
Determining key areas to increase income
Setting Global Goals
Compiling a list of experts in the chosen field
Compiling a list of leading companies
Step-by-step breakdown of tasks by year/quarter/month/week
Planning a meeting with experts
Calculation of the necessary investments (time and money) for the successful implementation of the projectSession No. 8. Investing abroad
Main ways to invest abroad
List of brokers, banks and insurance companies that can be used to invest abroad
Comparative table of advantages and disadvantages of the main instruments for investing abroad
Basic criteria and practices for stock selection
Practice of searching and selecting bonds
Practice of searching and selecting ETFs
Recommended reading
HometasksSpoilerTarget"> Spoiler: Presenters of the online training "Investor School"
Vladimir Timchenko
Independent Financial Consultant.
Conducted more than 200 successful open seminars on personal finance management, created more than 100 personal financial plans, and conducted more than 500 individual financial consultations.
Author of a number of articles in such publications as Dengi UA, Personal Account and other Ukrainian newspapers and magazines.
Co-author of the book “How to Find a Good Job and Manage Your Money,” which you can find in bookstores and libraries of higher educational institutions - Please login or register to view the link
Author of the project: “Investor School” - Please login or register to view the link
Takes an active part in interviews on the topic “Personal Finance Management” on TV channels 1+1, Inter, ICTV.
Basic education: higher. Additional: V. Savenka's author's course "Financial Consultant School", seminars by R. Kiyosaki, B. Schaefer, B. Tracy, Stephen Covey, Alexander Elder, dozens of seminars on investments and financial planning.
Key idea: “Investing money is an important step to receive passive income and increase your savings!”Vladimir Savenok
The first financial consultant in Russia, founder and CEO of the Personal Capital Consulting Group.
Author of articles in well-known Russian publications (“Vedomosti”, “Forbes”, “General Director”, “Russian Newsweek”, “Secret of the Company”, “Personal Budget”, “D”), as well as foreign business magazines and newspapers). A frequent guest on television and radio programs about personal finance and investing, he is a nationally recognized expert in the field of personal finance and participates in the expert councils of many personal finance magazines and communities.
Bestselling author of “How to Make a Personal Financial Plan.” The path to financial independence”, “Investing is easy” and others...
Author of the training courses “Financial Consultant School” and “Stock Market: Fundamental Analysis and Calculation of the Real Value of Shares.”
He has more than 15 years of practical experience in investing, managing money, assessing the reliability of companies, including in the context of two global financial crises. He has been trained on this topic many times in the largest financial institutions in Europe and the USA, and has worked in the banking system for more than 8 years.
Key idea: “Your money works for you!”
The distribution includes all 8 lessons with handouts, plus a bonus.Salesman:
Download:
Before listing the course selections, it's worth making a note: the two largest global platforms where universities host their online courses are Coursera and edX, pay attention to them if you are planning to dive into online education. And leading universities are most fully represented on the National Open Education Platform.
What we chose
We have compiled a list of the best online courses that will help you understand the peculiarities of financial markets and learn how to invest money so that you will have enough for retirement. All courses are designed to provide practical skills.
Almost all of the courses on our list are hosted on the Coursera platform. Coursera allows you to watch video lectures for free, but you will have to pay to review your final work and receive a certificate confirming the successful completion of the course.
You can request financial aid on Coursera (it's real!). The applicant will need to prove that he needs this course by filling out a special form.
On the National Open Education Platform, the cost of a certificate is fixed - for now it is 1 thousand rubles. You can listen to lectures for free.
Online courses in Russian
1. Financial instruments for private investors
University: HSE University together with the investment company Freedom Finance and Otkritie Broker
Price:.
Following the link you will see a whole bunch of short online courses, which together make up the specialization. The HSE specialization in financial instruments for private individuals is primarily suitable for those who want to learn how to manage personal finances.
From the courses in this specialization, you will learn how to invest in stocks and bonds, what portfolio investments are, what the market infrastructure is, how to build a long-term strategy based on fundamental analysis, and how to create a short-term trading strategy by analyzing the market and individual assets.
The specialization consists of 5 courses and a diploma project. If you are going to take all the courses, budget for about 20 weeks, but in reality everything will depend on the time you spend on mastering the material. In addition, you can listen not to the entire course, but to individual parts of it.
To receive a certificate, the student will need to prepare a thesis project. The requirements include forming an investment portfolio according to specified criteria, predicting the increase in capital based on it and adapting it for two economic development scenarios (optimistic and pessimistic). The project will have to be allocated at least another 2-4 weeks.
2.
University: MIPT, American Institute of Business and Economics
Price: access to the materials is free; full course with test tasks and certificate - 2,891 rubles
The course is designed for a wide audience: from students and companies to everyone who wants to better understand the activities of capital markets and modern financial institutions.
The author of the course, Konstantin Kontor, presents the program with the following words: “The course allows you to get acquainted with the basics of the modern capital market in a non-boring manner, analyze its fundamental problems, understand the deep interests of market participants, and understand the true meaning of financial terms and signals.” In addition, the course teaches how to cope with market risks.
The duration of training is 6 weeks, in the last week you need to take final tests and write an essay.
3.
University: National Research University Higher School of Economics
Price: access to the materials is free; certificate - 1 thousand rubles
Another course from HSE, this time on the National Open Education Platform. The duration of the course is only 12 weeks. It can rather be considered as introductory and basic.
The course examines the basic issues of the functioning of financial institutions, the activities of financial institutions, as well as financial instruments that an ordinary person encounters.
Online courses in English
1. Financial Markets
University: Yale University
Price:
A basic course on financial markets from Robert Shiller himself, winner of the 2013 Nobel Prize in Economics, Sterling Professor of Economics at Yale University. The course, divided into 8 thematic weeks, is suitable for beginners who want to understand the basic principles of how financial markets work.
Feature of the course: every week an invited guest appears in the lectures. For example, Lawrence Summers, American economist, member of the Bilderberg Club, Council on Foreign Relations, Secretary of the Treasury under Clinton, chief economist at the World Bank, former president of Harvard University. Or Carl Icahn, an American entrepreneur, financier, corporate raider, included in the Forbes list of richest people.
2. Introduction to Financial Markets
University: Indian School of Business
Price: access to the materials is free; full course with test tasks and certificate - 2,891 rubles per month
The course is aimed at people without special financial knowledge, but is also designed to develop practical skills. In 4 weeks you will learn about stock markets, foreign exchange markets, fixed income markets, and also dive into the basics of macroeconomics. This is the first course in the “Financial Markets and Investment Strategy” specialization.
3. Understanding of the Financial Markets
University: University of Geneva
Price: access to the materials is free; full course with test tasks and certificate - 2,891 rubles per month
This four-week course is an introductory course to the Investment Management major. Course partner - UBS Bank. The team that runs the course is impressive - 7 teachers from the University of Geneva and 8 team members from the transnational bank UBS.
The objective of the course is not only to provide basic knowledge about financial markets, but also to show how they can be applied in work.
4. Global Financial Markets and Instruments (Global financial markets and instruments)
University: Rice University
Price: access to the materials is free; full course with test tasks and certificate - 2,891 rubles per month
Another starting course for the “Portfolio Management” specialization, which introduces students to simple financial instruments, financial assets, the organization of financial markets and securities trading. The course is also designed for 4 weeks. The listener is a novice investor who already has some understanding of financial terminology and basic statistical concepts. The purpose of the course is to teach people how to manage money in a “post-crisis” world.
5. Financial Engineering and Risk Management. Part I (Financial design and risk management. Part 1)
University: Columbia University
Price: access to the materials is free; full course with test tasks and certificate - 1,711 rubles
And finally: a course for advanced investors and financiers. This multidisciplinary course at the intersection of finance, economics, mathematics, statistics and computational methods was prepared by Columbia University. If “Financial Instruments” from HSE talked about the principles of selecting instruments and strategies for using them, then this course is designed for a more advanced audience and is devoted to strategies for using them.
Well: “Online training “Investor School.”” . Powerful exclusive training for serious people. The material is not recommended for beginners. Before completing the training and before taking any action, you need to weigh and think through everything. The material must be studied carefully and carefully. Sent the material WebProwith comment: « Hello. I’ll try to introduce a serious course for site users. Judging by the statistics, there are many serious people here who are ready to do serious things. This material is for you. THE MATERIAL IS EXPENSIVE! If you were interested in the topic of investing funds ( DO NOT BE CONFUSED WITH PYRAMIDS!)- study. The material is, in principle, not intended for children. People who know why this is needed and how to use it will be grateful to me) As for me, the material is valuable.» Material may be removed at the request of the copyright holder! We evaluate
Course Description:
Who will benefit from this training:
- For experienced investors- who are already investing their money, but at the same time understand that “the rules of the game have changed” and they need to act according to new rules in order to preserve and increase their assets in today’s turbulent times.
- For beginning investors- who understand the importance of investing their money, but want to do it wisely and choose the right investment instruments based on their current financial situation and goals.
- Entrepreneurs and business owners- who already have their own business that generates income, and there is an understanding that money needs to be distributed among “different baskets.”
- Top managers and executives- who have a good active income, and at the same time there is a desire to create income from their investments - passive and portfolio income.
- Any person- who wants to create his own secure financial future - who understands that strong financial well-being directly depends on competent and informed decisions, and not on emotions and passion!
In this training we will cover the following important topics:
- We will teach you the most effective ways to save and invest personal money
- We will help you conduct your investment in real time under our close guidance with feedback
- We will do everything so that you strengthen the habit of saving and investing in the most profitable financial instruments and are able to carry out such investments yourself on an ongoing basis.
- We will show you how to save money during a crisis and what opportunities you need to use in conditions of instability
- You will learn to avoid key mistakes of beginners and experienced investors, which will allow you not to lose your savings
Training program:
