During these pressing times, online education has served its purpose in teaching millions across the globe. Various institutes offer specialized training programs and courses to learn every subject through an innovative approach. These online platforms have become a training hub for many to learn subjects like finance, engineering, science & humanities, and much more throughout the years.
And yes, the stream of finance never seems to be on the downfall but has seen a big uprise even during these challenging times.
Moreover, companies keep looking for finance and commerce degree holders with the correct knowledge to help them. The online financial oriented courses are plenty where courses from a beginner level to advanced levels can be attained either free of cost or through a paid course. But to make the most of it, there are multiple free financial education courses scattered all across the web that you can enroll, and we are going to take a closer look into them. Let’s get started!
Beginners Financial Education Courses for Free
Here’s a list of popular financial courses that you can add to your study bucket and expand your knowledge horizon.
1.Financial Markets (Yale University through Coursera)
One of the top free financially oriented online courses globally, Financial markets are taught by Nobel prize winner Robert Shiller through Yale University at Coursera. Fancied the chance of learning through one of the premier universities to seek financial education? Then this is your chance. The entire course comprises topics covering traditional finance and psychological and behavioral theories that depict their financial decisions.
Furthermore, there are different topics, such as options & bonds markets, CAPM, inflation, stock bonds, recessions, and more. All of the mentioned topics are covered in over 130 videos for the course to be completed. The time is taken for the course to be finished around 38 hours and targets individuals from beginners learning to an advanced level.
Certificates are issued if you pay the full fee for the course by anyone who can attend it for free without a certificate at the end.
2.Trading Strategies in Emerging Markets Specialization (ISB through Coursera)
For those aspiring to be specialists in trading, then this course would suffice all their needs. Targeting one major sub-topic of the financial world, the course is offered by one of India’s best B-schools that helps individuals in targeting the five aspects of trading strategies. Although the course isn’t free, you can take up an audit of each five courses and pay for the ones you feel like taking up. Upon completion, you do receive a course completion certification.
The course comprises topics from beginner to advanced level. The different courses taught under this online financial course are trading, trading algorithms, portfolio creation, and trading strategy designing. It starts easy but gets advanced when you move to another level.
3.Financial Theory (MIT through Coursera)
If you have ever dreamt of taking any of the courses taught at MIT business school, then this is your chance. The entire course is free and offers graduate-level financial knowledge that is taught through MIT Open Courseware. However, there are no credits awarded or any certificates as such. However, that experience of learning something valuable is genuinely different.
The course covers the broad boundaries of modern financial management, focusing extensively on capital markets and investments. A few of the topics covered are common stocks, valuation of assets, fixed-income securities, introduction to options, and derivatives, efficient market theories, and more. The course is targeted towards those that have a fair understanding of the financial universe.
If you are up to the challenge, then there is a wealth of information that can be grasped at any given point for free.
4.Financial and Valuation Analysis for Start-ups (Yonsei University through Coursera)
As the name suggests, the course offers an inside edge into methods involved in the valuation of start-ups, their estimations, investment making decisions, and understanding financial statements. Anything from start-up financial analysis, discounted cash flow approach for the valuation of start-ups, start-ups capstone, the investment decision rule for start-ups, you can find it all here.
Any individual looking to take up the class can do so either for free or by paying the fee course for attaining a certificate of course completion. Furthermore, you can take up the topics you find exciting and pay for that alone. You can learn about the valuation and financial analysis of a start-up through this free financial beginner’s online course.
5.Introduction to Corporate Finance (Columbia Business School through edX)
Columbia Business School has a reputation for being one of the best business schools in the world. Aspirants looking forward to learning basic financial concepts and terminologies while using the same for valuation of firms, stocks, and bonds can take this course up. Renowned business instructor Daniel Wolfenzon teaches the course.
The course covers the time value of money, capital budgeting, and capital cost. Using Microsoft Excel, students will gain an overview of IRR, NPV, and get the value of bonds and stocks. The course can be taken up for free or pay the entire fee to get a certificate of completion towards the end. Students should have a fundamental understating of accounts and using Microsoft excel before taking the course.
Other Notable “FREE” Financial Courses
Note: With some of the given online courses, for availing the certificate, you will have to pay the entire course price, which might be an expensive affair.
Different Platforms for Seeking Online Financial Courses
Final Words
Online financial classes are the baby steps an individual can take to kickstart their journey into the world of finance. There are millions of virtual courses on finance and its numerous branches.
However, for someone seeking knowledge towards finance without attending a qualified degree course, these online classes are the perfect alternative in attaining adequate knowledge and information that the world of finance has to offer.
