The best free online Finance course for absolute beginners

If you want to take your chances in the financial markets then you’ll have to learn about the core of finance. And this course deals with exactly that.

The class starts with an auction.

The course teacher bids an item wrapped in paper to the class.

What follows builds the foundation for the rest of the class and the rest of his lectures.

As my major was in finance, I had to go through all the jargon and formulas that an undergrad student needs to know. I had good teachers too. Teachers who made me realize the economic forces behind each item.

But, as I am going through Andrew Lo’s course from MIT, I am convinced that he is on a different level.

The first thing that one notices is how passionate he is about finance. He claims finance to be the most important subject and finds financial equations ‘beautiful’. This kind of passion is contagious.

The second thing you notice is how wide his range of knowledge is. He comes off as well versed in the quantitative and the economic side of finance. There is no lack in his awareness of the current events either.

This makes him an excellent teacher.

His eagerness to show practical examples as well as leaving no question unanswered makes this course a gem.

As the course was recorded just after the crisis of 2008, there was plenty of resource and motivation to go through what happened in those days. Thus, the viewers get to learn from practical events.

Finance is a mystery for most of us. How does all this work? All these stocks, bonds, banks, hedge funds -how do they function?

This is unacceptable as at least some knowledge of finance is necessary for financial freedom. And if you want to try your luck at the stock markets, then you need a solid foundation in finance.

I encourage everyone to at least try the first class and see if this works for you.

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