RBC has chosen 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 that are conducted by the best universities in the world: that is, educational institutions that are included in the academic ranking of the 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 listened to at English language, and they are available on three online platforms: Coursera, EdX, and Openlearn. In addition, we have included in the list the curriculum of the Higher School of Economics, which can be found on the site "Open Education" - the Russian analogue of Coursera, since this is the only investment course in Russian available right now.
“Online courses are good for getting a basic level of knowledge about investments,” says the head training center St. Petersburg Stock Exchange Pavel Pakhomov. According to him, it is reasonable to start with them for those who had nothing to do with finance before and do not know how to approach them. At later stages, Pakhomov advises to consult with specialists (for example, professional traders or managers) in person or participate in webinars dedicated to individual instruments.
Head of asset management ZerichCapital Management” Andrey Loskutov agrees that distance courses can help a novice investor gain insight into the market valuable papers. However, he warns that these courses are good for general development and future investors will need detailed study of the markets and further education in the future. "Need Seriously study the 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.
Nevertheless, there is something to start with. 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: UC Irvine (ARWU 51-75, THE 106)
Start: already underway, you can join
Price: 3.5 thousand rubles
Estimated 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 the most basic understanding of personal finance and investment, from the concept of "accounting" to more complex things like assessing the state of the market. This course is taught by University of California professor David Standen, the one who founded one of the first online MBA courses in the world. You can get a certificate only for the entire program, the passage of a separate course is not confirmed in any way.
(Financial Evaluation and Strategy: Investments)
Who conducts:University of Illinois campus Urbane-Champaign (38th in ARWU, 36th in THE)
Start: 25th of April
Price: is free
Estimated 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 provide students with the simplest technical skills: for example, use the Excel functions necessary for investors. The lecturer is Professor of Finance Scott Weisbanner, who has long been an economist at the US Federal Reserve. After completing the course, you can get a certificate, but - which is typical for Coursera and other similar sites - you will have to pay 4.2 thousand rubles for it.
How to make strategic financial decisions (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 whole program
Estimated travel time: 6 weeks for each course
This is a complete educational program which can be completed in whole or in parts. It involves four courses of about a month each, the defense of a graduation project and the receipt of a certificate. All courses are taught by University of Michigan professor Gautam Cole. He will explain to the audience what the "time value of money" is, how to make financial decisions and carefully diversify a portfolio, as well as evaluate the real value of assets. Listeners who master thesis will issue a certificate. You don't need to pay for it.
(Financial Markets)
Who conducts: Yale (4th in ARWU, 12th in THE)
Start: Anytime
Price: is free
Passing time: 8 weeks
The Financial Markets video course is available on two platforms at once: and on the Yale University website. It is hosted by the legendary economist Robert Schiller, Nobel Prize winner in 2013. Training program It is designed for 8 weeks - one for each topic. The student will be told about the basic principles of financial management, psychological aspects investment, stock and bond markets, futures and options, features of real estate investments, monetary policy and market regulation, as well as social responsibility investor. All video lectures are accompanied by subtitles in English. At the end of each week, the student writes verification work based on the results of the material covered, and at the end of the course - an examination test. If you want to avoid such formalities, you can download Schiller's courses from Yale's online education platform or simply view them on the school's YouTube page.
Economist Robert Schiller. (Photo: AP)
Platform: EdX
Finance for Everyone: Smart Tools for Decision-Making
Who conducts:University of Michigan (12th ARWU, 21st THE)
Start: is free
Price: is free
Estimated travel time: 6 weeks for 5-6 hours
In fact, this course is almost identical to what the University of Michigan runs on the Coursera platform. It is even read by the same lecturer, Gautam Cole. The difference is that the edX course is free, as it is self-guided. That is, the listener gets access to lectures, but does not pass tests and does not write a thesis. At the same time, at the end of the course, you can get 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 purely theoretical knowledge.
Platform: OpenLearn
Managing My Money
Who conducts:Open University in the UK (401st in THE rankings)
Start: Anytime
Price: is free
Passing 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 Open Learn online platform. A major advantage of these programs is that they do not require a fee in most cases. 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 ways of accumulating money, the basics market analysis. At the end of each topic, the student must pass an online test. At the end of the course, it is proposed to write a final test paper for the entire curriculum. To take the course, you need to register on the Open University website.
Platform: Open Education
Analysis of financial markets
Who conducts: NRU graduate School economy
Start: April 18th
Price: is free
Passing time: 10 weeks
Online course "Analysis of financial markets", developed by teachers of the Department of Finance of the Faculty economic sciences NRU HSE, you can go on the "Russian Coursera" - the platform "Open Education". The training program is designed for 10 weeks with a weekly load of 6 hours. As part of the video course, the student will be told about the features of the functioning of the securities market and the work of its participants, as well as the basics of fundamental and technical analysis of shares. Among the topics announced are methods for finding "quality" companies and securities for investment, which is very important for a novice trader or asset manager. In addition, each week the student will have to take 5-10 practice tests and take 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 tasks. Even though online learning started on April 18, there are still 28 days left to join the curriculum.
Lose everything in 9 months
First Deputy Chairman of the Central Bank Sergey Shvetsov at a conference at the Higher School of Economics said that Russian brokers have only 80 thousand active accounts, and the average life brokerage account is nine months - for such a period a person loses his investment. 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 are recruiting new citizens through the Inquisition.”
Such courses are needed not only for men and women in solid suits. The sooner you understand the principles of forming a personal budget, competently planning expenses and creating savings, the better. The Zillion educational platform offers a course for high school students, designed for 70 educational hours. The course includes 12 videos and 13 knowledge tests.
This program was developed by HSE professors to improve the skills of teachers, but anyone can take it. A total of 7 video courses are available on financial topics. They will teach you how to manage personal money, explain the intricacies of the relationship between a person and the state, talk about pyramid schemes and other types of financial fraud. And they will also help you deal with insurance and stock markets, and even inspire you to create a new business. Full collection of video lectures at the link.
More than 50 financial experts took part in the creation of these materials. The course is free and built in the form of a game. Participants will have to complete more than 100 tasks on topics about personal, household, global and corporate finance, as well as financial institutions. Each challenge contains videos, articles and practical tasks. For each completed task, points are awarded, which can then be exchanged for a university certificate.
The Fingram website is generally dedicated to the topic of finance and publishes various news from this area, but we are primarily interested in the "Training Courses" section. There are financial literacy training programs for beginners and advanced, online investment courses and two financial quests. After the theoretical material, the user is offered tests on a given topic. The site also has links to courses by respected educational institutions: The Open University in the UK, Michigan and Yale.
If you have already mastered the basics and are ready to deepen your financial knowledge, take the ABC of Finance course on the Lectorium website. This knowledge will be useful to those who want to understand financial instruments and investment rules. The course instructor has 11 years of experience in financial markets and stock trading. You can get trained for free.
Another basic course from the Higher School of Economics. The program will introduce the basic concepts of financial markets and instruments. No abstract topics - only what every person has to face in life. The course consists of video lessons, tests and lists of additional literature. You can join it for free after registration. If you did not have time to sign up for this course, there are several more similar ones in the site catalog.
The course "Banking and Finance" from "Sberbank" can be taken on the Coursera platform. The course will be useful for those who want to understand how a bank works: about bank loans, loans and other forms of financing. The course includes video materials, additional literature for self-study and practice tests.
In the era of the Internet and the rise of online education, there are many opportunities for us to gain new knowledge through online courses. Since everything here is about finance, we will also look for courses about finance - and not just courses, but free ones and from serious educational institutions. An important caveat: such courses are good for beginners as a start for further, more serious study. In addition, good courses are usually in English, but some of them are accompanied by Russian subtitles. Go!
Analysis of financial markets
NRU Higher School of Economics
Passing time: 10 weeks
The online course "Analysis of Financial Markets", developed by lecturers from the Department of Finance of the HSE Faculty of Economic Sciences, can be taken on the Open Education platform. The training program is designed for 10 weeks with a weekly load of 6 hours. As part of the video course, the student will be told about the features of the functioning of the securities market and the work of its participants, as well as the basics of fundamental and technical analysis of shares. Among the announced topics are methods for finding "quality" companies and securities for investment, which is very important for a novice trader or asset manager. In addition, each 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 tasks.
Managing My Money
Open University in the UK
Passing time: 8 weeks
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 ways of accumulating money, the basics of market analysis. At the end of each topic, the student must pass an online test. At the end of the course, it is proposed to write a final test paper for the entire curriculum. To take the course, you need to register on the Open University website.
How to make strategic financial decisions (Make Strategic Financial Decisions)
Passing time: 6 weeks for each course
This is a full-fledged educational program that can be completed in whole or in parts. It involves 4 courses of about a month each, the defense of a graduation project and the receipt of a certificate (without obtaining a certificate, you can take the course for free). All courses are taught by University of Michigan professor Gautam Cole. He will explain to the audience what the "time value of money" is, how to make financial decisions and carefully diversify a portfolio, as well as evaluate the real value of assets.
Finance for Non-Financial Professionals (Finance for Non-Financial Professionals)
University of California at Irvine
Passing time: 4 weeks, approximately 1-2 hours per week
This course is part of the larger Career Success program. But you can go through it separately. It is suitable for beginners (the course description emphasizes that no special background is needed) and gives the most basic idea of \u200b\u200bpersonal finance and investment: from the concept of " financial statements» to more complex things like assessing the state of the market. This course is taught by University of California professor David Standen, the one who founded one of the first online MBA courses in the world.
Financial markets (Financial Markets)
Yale university
Passing time: 8 weeks
The Financial Markets video course is available on two platforms at once: Coursera and on the Yale University website. It is hosted by the legendary economist Robert Schiller, Nobel Prize winner in 2013. The curriculum is designed for 8 weeks - one for each topic. The student will be told about the basic principles of financial management, the psychological aspects of investing, the stock and bond markets, futures and options, the features of real estate investment, 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 paper based on the results of the material covered, and at the end of the course, an examination test.
Investments: financial strategy and evaluation (Financial Evaluation and Strategy: Investments)
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Passing 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 provide students with the simplest technical skills: for example, use the Excel functions necessary for investors. The lecturer is Professor of Finance Scott Weisbanner, who has long been an economist at the US Federal Reserve.
This is by no means a complete and exhaustive list, but a good start! Good luck with your study of finance! And do not forget that the main thing is to be able to effectively apply knowledge in practice.
The first series of lectures in a series of lectures on various aspects of financial literacy. The main objective of the course "Management of personal finances" is to form in children an understanding that finances accompany them throughout their lives and financial well-being each person depends on himself.
TOPIC 1: Managing personal finances
Lecture 1: Introductory Lecture
At what stages life cycle human there is an excess and lack of financial resources? What is the purpose of personal financial planning? What problems does it solve in the short, medium and long term? financial planning?
Lecture 2: Total personal capital
What measures ensure the achievement of current, medium and long-term goals? What is the structure of total personal capital? What is the purpose of the reserve capital? What capital ensures the achievement of long-term goals?
Lecture 3: Investments in three dimensions
What requirements must be met by the investments we make? Is it possible that in one financial instrument combined all the properties of the investment?
Lecture 4: Bank deposit: advantages and disadvantages
Lecture 5: Deposits in personal wealth management
Lecture 6: Risk and return in the financial market
Under consideration key concept for finance - the ratio of risk and profitability. What is the basis of risk when investing in the financial market? What are the necessary components an investor should have in order to make competent investment decisions? Why, when investing in the Russian stock market, investors analyze the state of the world financial market?
Lecture 7: Measuring risk
Risk assessment indicators. What is variance, standard deviation and coefficient of variation?
Lecture 8: The influence of the time horizon on investment risk
How do risk and return indicators change with the lengthening of the investment time horizon? How do returns on stocks and bonds change as the time horizon of investment is extended?
Lecture 9: Evaluating the effectiveness of investment
What does the Sharpe ratio show? Why does the Sharpe ratio for stocks increase faster than for bonds when the investment horizon is extended?
Lecture 10: Diversification of investments
How can the overall risk of investing be reduced? What is systematic (market) risk? What is top-down diversification?
Lecture 11: The demographic situation in the world and in Russia
The information given in the lecture may be useful for students to understand what awaits them in the future, who will take care of their old age.
A series of lectures on financial literacy was created as part of the project "Promotion of increasing the level of financial literacy of the population and the development of financial education in Russian Federation", in the direction of "Assistance in the creation human resources teachers, methodologists, administrators educational organizations in the area of financial literacy, as well as an effective infrastructure to support their financial literacy activities.”
We offer training programs for:
- commercial and financial directors,
- heads and employees of financial and economic services,
- financial specialists, economists and analysts,
- top managers of companies in the field of financial management.
Our seminars and courses in finance are dedicated to teaching:
- budgeting,
- management accounting,
- financial reporting standards,
- pricing methods,
- financial management,
- tax planning.
Every third course or seminar on the topic "Financial Management" is a "Hit" program. And 60% of the participants of the subsequent course come to us on the recommendation of former students, their colleagues and financial directors of companies. This is the result of the work of our experts, unconditional professionals in the field of practice and training. financial management.
Lead Authors finance courses and seminars at the SRC Business School - and. The cardinal difference between their training is that the academies teach financial management as a process, and our experts in their courses and seminars build a hierarchy and sequence of actions for students that leads to success in business. M. Serov and E. Ivanchenko have clear and specific answers to 500 questions of financial and strategic management. And already 3,000 participants of their seminars and courses, specialists and directors, were convinced that you can simply explain complex things and teach them in 2-3 days.
Are you planning to upgrade your skills? Are time and money resources limited? Then we are happy to recommend you one special option - the Program professional retraining. It is designed specifically for managers and specialists of financial services, financial controllers, economists, accountants.
7 reasons to choose this course:
- As part of this financial course, you will be able to increase your skill level by 2-3 points.
- The course is taught by practicing experts, heads of 80 consulting projects, authors of courses for economists and financiers, as well as financial management courses for beginners.
- With their help, during the training you will independently develop a project to improve the financial system of your company.
- The course lasts 3 months. In a month - no more than 7 training days.
- The finance course program can be tailored to your skill level.
- Upon completion of the financial management course in Moscow, you will receive a professional retraining diploma.
Other financial courses and advanced training programs for economists Mikhail Serov and Eduard Ivanchenko:
- - this is an opportunity to consider the whole complex of corporate management financial accounting; learn the principles of management reporting; work with financial statements and analyze the effectiveness of the enterprise; understand how to plan financial results and manage traffic Money; understand how to take management decisions in conditions of uncertainty of the external environment.
- . Right at the seminar, you will be able to develop your own algorithm for implementing internal and financial control; choose financial indicators for business analysis and control; to diagnose the internal control system according to the author's method.
- - these are answers to the questions: how will budgeting help to achieve the strategic goals of the organization? What budgeting methods and technologies should be used? How to draw up and consolidate budgets of all levels? How are financial indicators and managerial decisions in the field of procurement, production and marketing interrelated? How to allocate responsibility for the formation, coordination and execution of budgets within the financial structure of the company? How to create and apply the budget regulation?
- The seminar will help you reach the next level of financial management and work in a new way with the company's balance sheet, income statement, manage cash flow, plan and analyze financial results, evaluate the company's activities according to financial documents, and determine the effectiveness of investments.
- This course for financial analyst, chief financial officer and directors of companies is in line with international best practice. At the seminar you will be able to master the skills of quick (intuitive) financial analysis, train them in working with real cases Russian companies, get proven tools that have been repeatedly used in business management. One of the best courses financial analyst in Moscow.
New and updated courses for economists and financiers from our experts:
- . The authors will offer algorithms and methods that will allow making management decisions with the obligatory consideration of risks; integrate risk assessment and risk reporting into management processes; organize risk diagnostics in the mode of constant monitoring; use the most effective methods protecting the company from risks and their consequences.
- Learn in this seminar how to use 5-7 indicators for each area of management to evaluate business performance and make an accurate forecast for 1-3 years.
- . This is a great opportunity to find out modern techniques strategic management, understand how to consolidate "in one package" strategic maps, business plans, budgets and operational plans, analyze real situations from your practice, find ways to solve them.
The most demanded seminar of our course schedule for economists and financiers - Elvira Mityukova, Ph.D. insurance premiums, optimize VAT.Finance for non-financiers
When deciding to participate in our financial management courses in Moscow, you can be sure that We check all programs according to 4 parameters:
- whether the courses and seminars on finance reflect the stated problems sufficiently and deeply;
- whether the cases used in the course are up-to-date and relevant;
- whether the proposed methods of teaching financial management are effective;
- what is the practical experience of our consultants, authors of courses in economics and finance.
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