Rooms and Suites

Free online Stock Market courses

Market Courses / June 7, 2016

Self-paced course taught by Stanford GSB finance expert Josh Rauh focuses on how to make smart decisions as an investor.

Joshua Rauh Stanford GSB Finance Professor Joshua Rauh | Stanford/Steve Castillo

With the stock market slumping since mid-September, investors are once again left with the perplexing problem of how to understand the relationship between stocks, bonds, and global economics as they look at keeping their investment portfolios balanced. In an effort to share more broadly the dynamics behind investment, the Stanford Graduate School of Business has launched a free, self-paced online course open to anyone called "Stocks and Bonds: Risks and Returns".

Led by Finance Professor Joshua Rauh, the course focuses on the finance fundamentals behind stocks and bonds, as well as how to make smart decisions as an investor. Prospective participants may find more information, including a video overview, and register for the course online.

“Stocks and bonds have always been a critical part of any investment portfolio, and my goal is to help people understand how they work so they can make better decisions about how to invest their assets, ” says Rauh, whose research on public pensions has received academic honors and national media attention. “Participants will learn how stocks and bonds are valued, what tradeoffs to make when investing in these instruments, and what they’re really getting when they invest.”

Content covered by Rauh during the course will include an overview of the bond market, with special attention to corporate and municipal bonds; interest rates and their impact on the valuation of treasury bonds; the fundamentals of the stock market; and an analysis of how to make smart decisions as an investor. He explains that the course will be useful to individual investors, as well as those considering a career in finance or individuals interested in how financial markets work.

Source: www.gsb.stanford.edu