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Top 10 Investing Courses You Can Take Anywhere, Anytime

Financing and Investing in Infrastructure

Financing and Investing in Infrastructure is a free online finance course offered by the Università Bocconi in Italy. The course is taught in English and is geared toward individuals who have some previous knowledge of finance and wish to learn more about the funding of infrastructure projects. Course material is presented primarily through online video modules; however, the instructor also assigns supplemental readings. Students complete one five-to-six-hour module during the first six weeks of the course. Modules include Project Finance and the Network of Contracts, Syndicate, Risk Analysis, Capital Budgeting, The Financial Sustainability of an Infrastructure Project, and How Can Creditors Protect Themselves. During the last week, students take a final exam.

Lending, Crowdfunding, and Modern Investing

Lending, Crowdfunding, and Modern Investing is a free online finance course offered by the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania in the United States. The course is open to anyone with an interest in the topic, but the instructor does recommend that students take the classes Fintech: Foundations, Payments, and Regulations and Cryptocurrency and Blockchain: An Introduction to Digital Currencies prior to enrollment. Lasting for four weeks, the class is divided into four video lecture modules: Robo-Advising, Crowdfunding, Marketplace Lending, and Case Studies. Students should expect to devote two to three hours of study time to the class weekly. If you are interested in studying blockchain, check out this site.

Introduction to Financial Accounting

Introduction to Financial Accounting is a free online accounting course offered by the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania in the United States. The class is offered as a part of the university’s Wharton Business Foundations Specialization program but can also be taken as a standalone course. Basic knowledge of accounting is necessary to succeed in the class. During each week of the four-week class, students complete one six-to-eight-hour video instruction module. Topics covered include Introduction and Balance Sheet; Accrual Accounting, and the Income Statement; Cash Flows; and Ratio Analysis and final exam.

Financial Planning for Young Adults

Financial Planning for Young Adults is a free online financial planning class offered by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in the United States. The course is intended for twentysomethings and allows students to develop their own financial plan for accomplishing their personal goals. Students complete eight video lecture modules and have two weeks to finish all of the coursework. Those who finish two modules per week will need to devote roughly five to six hours of study time to the class weekly. The modules are: Setting Financial Goals and Assessing Your Situation; Budgeting and Cash Flow Management; Saving Strategies; The Time Value of Money; Borrowing and Credit; Investing; Risk Management; and Financial Planning as a Career.

Personal & Family Financial Planning

Personal & Family Financial Planning is a free online financial planning class offered by the University of Florida in the United States. The class can be beneficial for individuals who want to better manage their own money or are interested in working professionally as financial planners. Taught through online video lectures, the class lasts for nine weeks and involves a weekly time commitment of five to seven hours. The titles of the modules are: Understanding Personal Finance; Financial Statements, Tools, and Budgets; Managing Income Taxes; Building and Maintaining Good Credit; Managing Risk; Investment Fundamentals; Investing Through Mutual Funds; and Personal Plan of Action.

Innovations in Investment Technology: Artificial Intelligence

Innovations in Investment Technology: Artificial Intelligence is a free online fintech class offered by the University of Michigan in the United States. The class provides an introduction to artificial intelligence-based investing and is ideal for individuals who have some previous knowledge or experience with investments. During each week of the four-week class, students work on one module. Each module contains videos and supplemental reading assignments and takes about seven hours to complete. The modules include Introduction, Robo Advising, Stock Selection & Asset Management, and Big Data.

Behavioral Investing

Behavioral Investing is a free online finance class offered by the Indian School of Business in India. The class examines the connections between psychology and investing, giving students insight into how their own thoughts, biases, and emotions may help or hinder their investment strategies. Students receive access to 11 hours of online video lectures divided into four modules. During the first week, students learn about a number of biases including Overconfidence, Base rate neglect, Anchoring and adjustment, Cognitive Dissonance, Availability, Self-Attribution, and Illusion of Control. The second and third weeks delve into additional biases, and the fourth week introduces the concepts of psychographic modeling in finance.

Machine Learning for Trading

Machine Learning for Trading is a free online trading course offered by the Georgia Institute of Technology in the United States. With this course, students learn about how machine learning is deployed in the world of finance and how these technologies work. The class consists of three mini courses: Manipulating Financial Data in Python, Computational Investing, and Machine Learning Algorithms for Trading. Each course includes seven to 10 video lectures, supplemental reading materials, and assignments. Students are given mid-term exams after the first two mini courses and a final exam after the last class. The course is self-paced with flexible deadlines, but all coursework must be completed within 16 weeks.

Long-term Financial Management

Long-term Financial Management is a free online finance course offered by the University System of Maryland in the United States. Students have the option to take this eight-week class on its own or as a part of the school’s Accounting and Financial Management MicroMaster’s program. The certificate given at the end of the program can be applied for credits toward the school’s Accounting and Financial Management master’s degree program. Each week students complete one 8-to-10-hour video instruction module. The titles of the modules include Weighted Average Cost of Capital, Capital Investment Decisions, Capital Structure and Leverage, and Dividends and Share Re-purchase Agreements.