The curriculum

Ten units. Two hundred lessons.

Starts from your first stock quote and goes up to backtesting algorithmic trading strategies. Every lesson has a short quiz and counts toward your progress.

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01

Unit 1: Foundations of Finance & Markets

20 lessons

What markets are, who the players are, and how money moves through the financial system.

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  1. What Is a Financial Market?
  2. Stocks, Bonds & Cash Explained
  3. How Exchanges Work
  4. Primary vs Secondary Markets
  5. Market Participants & Roles
  6. Bid, Ask & the Spread
  7. Order Types: Market vs Limit
  8. Reading a Stock Quote
  9. Indices: S&P 500, Nasdaq, Dow
  10. Bull vs Bear Markets
  11. Risk and Return Basics
  12. The Time Value of Money
  13. Simple vs Compound Interest
  14. Inflation and Purchasing Power
  15. Liquidity Explained
  16. Brokers, Dealers & Market Makers
  17. Trading Hours & Sessions
  18. Dividends 101
  19. Market Capitalization
  20. Building Your First Watchlist
02

Unit 2: Accounting & Financial Statements

20 lessons

Read the three core statements and the ratios analysts live by.

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  1. Why Financial Statements Matter
  2. The Income Statement
  3. The Balance Sheet
  4. The Cash Flow Statement
  5. Revenue Recognition
  6. Gross, Operating & Net Margin
  7. Assets, Liabilities & Equity
  8. Working Capital
  9. Depreciation & Amortization
  10. EBITDA Explained
  11. Free Cash Flow
  12. Earnings Per Share (EPS)
  13. P/E and Valuation Multiples
  14. Return on Equity & Assets
  15. The Debt-to-Equity Ratio
  16. Current & Quick Ratios
  17. Reading a 10-K
  18. Quality of Earnings
  19. Common-Size Statements
  20. Putting It Together: A Company Teardown
03

Unit 3: Valuation & Fundamental Analysis

20 lessons

Estimate what a company is actually worth.

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  1. Intrinsic vs Market Value
  2. Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) Intro
  3. Estimating Cash Flows
  4. Discount Rates & WACC
  5. Terminal Value
  6. Building a Simple DCF
  7. Comparable Company Analysis
  8. Precedent Transactions
  9. The Dividend Discount Model
  10. Growth vs Value Investing
  11. Margin of Safety
  12. Economic Moats
  13. Forecasting Revenue
  14. Scenario & Sensitivity Analysis
  15. Sum-of-the-Parts
  16. Valuing Unprofitable Companies
  17. Common Valuation Mistakes
  18. Reverse DCF Thinking
  19. Sector-Specific Valuation
  20. Capstone: Valuing a Real Company
04

Unit 4: Technical Analysis & Charting

20 lessons

Read price action, trends, and the most-used indicators.

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  1. What Technical Analysis Assumes
  2. Candlestick Basics
  3. Support & Resistance
  4. Trends & Trendlines
  5. Moving Averages
  6. The MACD Indicator
  7. Relative Strength Index (RSI)
  8. Bollinger Bands
  9. Volume Analysis
  10. Chart Patterns: Triangles & Flags
  11. Head and Shoulders
  12. Fibonacci Retracements
  13. Momentum & Oscillators
  14. Gaps and How to Trade Them
  15. Multiple Timeframe Analysis
  16. Backtesting a Simple Signal
  17. Risk of Overfitting
  18. Combining Indicators
  19. Building a Trading Checklist
  20. Capstone: A Technical Trade Plan
05

Unit 5: Probability & Statistics for Quants

20 lessons

The math foundation every quant needs.

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  1. Why Statistics Matters in Finance
  2. Data, Populations & Samples
  3. Types of Variables
  4. Random Variables & Probability Distributions
  5. Mean, Median & Mode
  6. Expected Value
  7. Variance
  8. Standard Deviation
  9. Covariance
  10. Correlation
  11. Independence vs Zero Correlation
  12. The Normal Distribution
  13. Z-Scores & Percentiles
  14. Sampling & Confidence Intervals
  15. Hypothesis Testing & P-Values
  16. Diversification & Portfolio Variance
  17. Modern Portfolio Theory
  18. Systematic vs Unsystematic Risk
  19. Regression, Beta & Alpha
  20. The Sharpe Ratio
06

Unit 6: Portfolio Theory & Risk Management

20 lessons

Build portfolios and manage downside like a professional.

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  1. What Is a Portfolio?
  2. Portfolio Risk and Return
  3. Diversification in Depth
  4. The Efficient Frontier & Minimum-Variance Portfolio
  5. The Risk-Free Asset & the Capital Market Line
  6. The Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM)
  7. Alpha, Beta & Performance Evaluation
  8. The Sharpe Ratio
  9. Sortino & Other Ratios
  10. Asset Allocation
  11. Rebalancing Strategies
  12. Position Sizing
  13. Value at Risk (VaR)
  14. Drawdowns & Recovery
  15. Hedging Basics
  16. Factor Investing
  17. The Kelly Criterion
  18. Behavioral Risk Pitfalls
  19. Stress Testing a Portfolio
  20. Capstone: Build a Risk-Managed Portfolio
07

Unit 7: Derivatives & Options

20 lessons

Options, futures, and the Greeks.

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  1. What Are Derivatives?
  2. Forwards & Futures
  3. Intro to Options
  4. Calls vs Puts
  5. Option Moneyness
  6. Intrinsic vs Time Value
  7. The Option Greeks: Delta
  8. Gamma, Theta & Vega
  9. Implied Volatility
  10. Covered Calls
  11. Protective Puts
  12. Vertical Spreads
  13. Straddles & Strangles
  14. Iron Condors
  15. The Black-Scholes Model
  16. Put-Call Parity
  17. Futures Margin & Leverage
  18. Hedging with Derivatives
  19. Options Risk Management
  20. Capstone: Design an Options Strategy
08

Unit 8: Algorithmic & Quantitative Trading

20 lessons

Turn ideas into testable, rules-based strategies.

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  1. What Is Algorithmic Trading?
  2. Anatomy of a Trading Strategy
  3. Signals & Alpha
  4. Mean Reversion Strategies
  5. Momentum Strategies
  6. Pairs Trading & Arbitrage
  7. Backtesting Fundamentals
  8. Avoiding Lookahead Bias
  9. Transaction Costs & Slippage
  10. Walk-Forward Testing
  11. Overfitting & Robustness
  12. Execution Algorithms
  13. Market Microstructure
  14. Order Books & Latency
  15. Risk Controls in Code
  16. Performance Metrics
  17. Paper Trading
  18. From Backtest to Live
  19. Intro to Python for Quants
  20. Capstone: Backtest a Simple Strategy
09

Unit 9: Macroeconomics & Markets

20 lessons

How the economy drives markets.

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  1. GDP and Growth
  2. Inflation & the CPI
  3. Unemployment & Labor Markets
  4. The Federal Reserve
  5. Interest Rates & the Yield Curve
  6. Monetary vs Fiscal Policy
  7. The Business Cycle
  8. Recessions & Recoveries
  9. Currency & Exchange Rates
  10. Commodities & Oil
  11. Bonds & Credit Markets
  12. Reading Economic Data (FRED)
  13. Sector Rotation
  14. Global Markets & Trade
  15. Geopolitics and Risk
  16. Housing & the Consumer
  17. Market Sentiment Indicators
  18. Bubbles & Crashes in History
  19. Economic Calendars
  20. Capstone: A Macro Market Outlook
10

Unit 10: Behavioral Finance & Professional Practice

20 lessons

Psychology, ethics, and careers in finance & quant.

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  1. Why We Make Bad Decisions
  2. Cognitive Biases in Investing
  3. Loss Aversion
  4. Herding & FOMO
  5. Anchoring & Confirmation Bias
  6. Overconfidence
  7. The Efficient Market Hypothesis Debate
  8. Market Bubbles & Manias
  9. Discipline & Trading Psychology
  10. Building an Investment Thesis
  11. Keeping a Trading Journal
  12. Ethics & Insider Trading
  13. Regulation & the SEC
  14. Careers in Quant Finance
  15. Careers in Investment Banking
  16. Internships & Competitions
  17. Building a Finance Resume
  18. Networking in Finance
  19. Lifelong Learning Resources
  20. Capstone: Your Personal Investment Philosophy

All lessons written and verified by students.