7 Best Investment Courses Online & Certification (March 2024)

  • Post last modified:23 March 2023
  • Reading time:34 mins read
  • Post category:Best Online Course
Best Investment Courses
Best Investment Courses

Investment essentially means funding or acquiring an asset to build wealth, beat inflation, save money and acquire a return over time. This acquisition of one asset is generally complemented by a sacrifice in some other asset like time, money or effort. The primary objective of investments is to generate a passive source of income and achieve financial freedom by understanding and using the fundamentals of investing.

According to a survey, 10% of Americans own an average of $1 million dollars in stocks, which is just a small proportion of this industry and is not nearly enough to determine its scope. So, if you’re planning to dive deep into this field to practice for yourself or make a living out of it, you’re at the right place. Here we’ve covered the best investment courses and certifications for you to explore.


Best Investment Courses, Certification, Tutorials, Training, Classes Online

Financial Markets by Yale University [Coursera]

This Coursera investment course provides an overview of the ideas, methods, and institutions that permit human society to manage risks and foster enterprise. It emphasises on financially-savvy leadership skills and describes today’s practices while analysing prospects for the future. The course offers an introduction to risk management and behavioral finance principles to help understand the real-world functioning of securities, insurance, and banking industries.

This Coursera investment tutorial is taught by Robert Shiller, Sterling Professor of Economics at Yale University. For more than 300 years, Yale University has inspired the minds that inspire the world and encourages learning as an essential way of life. Yale is a place for connection, creativity, and innovation among cultures and across disciplines.

Key Highlights & USPs

  • Learn the basics of financial markets, insurance, and the Capital Asset Pricing Model. Dive into some details of behavioural finance, forecasting, pricing, debt, and inflation.

  • Study what are stocks, bonds, dividends, shares, market caps and their needs.  Explore these concepts, along with corporation basics and some basic financial markets history.

  • Take a look into the recent past, exploring recessions, bubbles, the mortgage crisis, regulation, options and bond markets which are important components of financial markets.

  • Introduction to investment banking, underwriting processes, brokers, dealers, exchanges, and new innovations in financial markets.

  • Includes lectures about nonprofits and corporations and careers in finance.

  • Get instant access to 33 hours of beginner-level content that is 100% online and can be completed in accordance with your own schedule. Earn a shareable certificate upon completion. 

Who is it for?

This Coursera investing certification is perfect for beginners willing to learn the fundamentals of financial markets. The ultimate goal of this course is to use industries effectively and towards a better society. It is offered by one of the best institutes in the world providing world-class education hence making the content top-notch.

Rating: 4.8/5
Students Enrolled: 22,681
Duration: 33 hours

Coursera $200 Off
Valid Till: 31 Jan

Investment Management Specialization by University of Geneva [Coursera]

This Coursera investment management specialization will teach you how to make smart investment decisions in a global world. Learn how a wealth-generating investment portfolio functions in reality and how investment strategies are designed to reach financial goals in a global context. You will learn about the concepts that underlie strong investment decisions, as well as practical, real-world skills that you can apply when discussing investment proposals with your advisor, managing your personal assets or your client’s investment portfolio.

This Coursera investing class is offered by the faculty of the University of Geneva. The instructors include great professors like Ines Chaieb, Rajna Gibson Brandon, Martin Hoesli, Philip Valta and Mike Ryan along with many others. Devoted to research, education and dialogue, the UNIGE shares the international calling of its host city, Geneva, a centre of international and multicultural activities.

Key Highlights & USPs

  • Learn what the main financial markets and their characteristics are and how they are linked to the economy. Dive into the concepts of rationality and irrationality and understand how they impact our investment decisions and what the consequences can be at the market level.

  • The diversified team of experts will start by teaching you how the price of stocks and bonds are computed and why they move while you will become increasingly aware of the notion of risk and why it matters when measuring an investment’s performance.

  • Gain an understanding of the theory underlying optimal portfolio construction, the different ways portfolios are actually built in practice and how to measure and manage the risk of such portfolios.

  • Learn about the famous dichotomy between active and passive investing, how to appropriately measure and analyze investment performance and what the future trends in the investment management industry are.

  • Includes a capstone project wherein you will have to choose between three different characters (each with a unique set of financial constraints and objectives) and design an appropriate wealth plan for them over the next 5 years.

  • Start the course instantly, maintain and set flexible deadlines to complete it at your own pace. Earn a shareable certificate upon completion. 

Who is it for?

This Coursera investment class is for anyone willing to gain knowledge on investment management, risk management, financial markets, overall finance, bond market, interest rates, stocks, portfolio construction, investment style, cognitive bias, investing and portfolio theories. The course provides you with practical insights that the instructors have gathered through years of experience working for the world’s largest wealth manager.

Rating: 4.8/5
Students Enrolled: 72,288
Duration: 5 months, 2 hours/week

The Complete Financial Analyst Training and Investing Course [Udemy]

This Udemy investment course has everything you need to succeed as a financial analyst and investor. It is mindfully designed by an award-winning MBA professor who worked at Goldman, in Hedge Funds and Venture Capital. You would be able to learn about the finance role you are most passionate about and understand the best valuation practices so you can create target prices based on your financial models.

This udemy investment class is taken by Chris Haroun who is the CEO and Founder of the 300+ hour online Haroun MBA Degree Program®. He has sold more than 1,500,000 of his online business & self-improvement courses in 12 languages in 196 countries. He is passionate about education as he believes that it is the solution to all problems.

Key Highlights & USPs

  • Understand how to pick stocks, manage a portfolio, build financial models, risk management working, and value companies. Understand how investment banks can help you be more successful in a hedge fund or mutual fund career.

  • Become an expert in Excel for financial analysts and analyze and understand a balance sheet with no prior experience. 

  • Analyze and understand an income statement, a cash flow statement and other valuation methodologies, including EV/Sales, EV/EBITDA, P/B, EV/FCF, etc. 

  • Create a financial model (projecting the future) for a cash flow statement and learn how to use Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) and how to create the Weighted Average Cost of Capital and Terminal values in order to pick target prices and how to use P/R in order to pick target prices.

  • Learn about 14 different Financial Analyst jobs and how they overlap and work together including Investment Banking, Venture Capital, Private Equity, Private Wealth Management etc.

     
  • Understand from a high-level perspective what a Private Wealth Management firm, a Sales Trader’s firm is, what is venture capital, Mutual Fund, Artificial Intelligence, Hedge Fund, and Large Non-Finance Company, including the pros and cons. 

  • Get full lifetime access to 22.5 hours of on-demand video on mobile and TV, 6 articles, 34 downloadable resources and a certificate of completion. 

Who is it for?

This udemy investment course is for anyone that wants to be a financial analyst at any type of finance firm for any type of finance role (including investment banking, venture capital, equity research, hedge funds, mutual funds, trading, private equity, equity capital markets, private wealth management and many other roles. It is also for learners interested in becoming better investors, stock pickers, portfolio managers, analysts and much more.

Rating: 4.6/5
Students Enrolled: 2,40,407
Duration: 22 hours

Investment and Portfolio Management Specialization by Rice University [Coursera]

With this Coursera investment course, you can build a winning investment portfolio and improve your investment strategies with real-world skills, insights, and analytical tools. Also gain crucial skills like performance attribution, behavioural finance, financial markets, financial markets, behavioural economics, bond valuation, knowledge of finance, investment, risk management, portfolio construction, risk analysis, portfolio optimization and cognitive bias.

This Coursera investment certification is offered by the finance faculty of Rice University. Rice University is consistently ranked among the top 20 universities in the U.S. and the top 100 in the world. The instructors are Arzu Ozoguz and Jill Foote from Jones Graduate School of Business.

Key Highlights & USPs

  • Get a running start in the high-stakes world of financial investment. This course is designed to help you become an informed investor by providing you with the essential concepts for long-term success in managing money. 

  • Learn the basic principles underlying optimal portfolio construction, diversification, and risk management and start by acquiring the tools to characterize an investor’s risk and return trade-off. 

  • Start by learning about the various behavioural biases and mistakes that investors make and understand their reasons. Then learn how to recognize your own mistakes as well as others and understand how these mistakes can affect investment decisions and financial markets. 

  • Study about the latest investment strategies and performance evaluations by learning portfolio performance measures and discuss best practices in portfolio performance evaluation.

  • Act as an investment advisor in a simulated environment recommending strategies for and changes in portfolios based on challenges and issues faced by your clients.

  • Get instant access to this 100% online course which you can start on your own schedule. No prior experience is required for this class and you can set and maintain flexible deadlines. Earn a shareable certificate upon completion. 

Who is it for?

This Coursera investment class will help you learn the best practices in portfolio management and performance evaluation as well as current investment strategies. By the end of your Capstone Project, you will have mastered the analytical tools, quantitative skills, and practical knowledge necessary for long-term investment management success.

Rating: 4.5/5
Students Enrolled: 51,368
Duration: 6 months, 4 hours/week

Financial Management Specialization by University of Illinois [Coursera]

Become a strategic financial manager with this Coursera financial management specialization. Develop an integrated financial management model and master skills in financial mismanagement, risk management, investment, financial aid management, financial accounting, and cash flow statements.

This Coursera investment certification is offered by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and is a world leader in research, teaching and public engagement, distinguished by the breadth of its programs, broad academic excellence, and internationally renowned faculty and alumni. The instructors are Oktay Urcan, Heitor Almeida, Scott Weibenner, and Jeff Flesher.

Key Highlights & USPs

  • Learn the foundations of financial accounting information and start your journey with a general overview of what financial accounting information is and the main financial statements. You will also learn how to code financial transactions in the financial accounting language.

  • Explore advanced topics in financial accounting. and learn in detail how firms account for fixed assets. Then move to financing of assets and discuss accounting for liabilities.

  • Discussion on fundamental principles of trading off risk and return, portfolio optimization, and security pricing. Study and use risk-return models such as the Capital Asset Pricing Model and multi-factor models to evaluate the performance of various securities and portfolios. 

  • Introduction to the two components of stock returns – dividends and capital gains – whilst learning how each is taxed and the incentives provided to investors from a realization-based capital gains tax. 

  • Learn the use of key finance principles to understand and measure business success and to identify and promote true value creation. Understand how to use accounting information to form key financial ratios to measure a company’s financial health to manage short-term and long-term liquidity needs.

  • Learn how companies decide on how much debt to take, whether to raise capital from markets or from banks along with how to measure and manage credit risk and how to deal with financial distress. 

  • Get instant access to this 100% online course which you can start on your own schedule. This is an intermediate level class and you can set and maintain flexible deadlines. Earn a shareable certificate upon completion. 

Who is it for?

This Coursera investment class is for anyone willing to have a solid foundation in developing an integrated framework for strategic financial decision-making. It is for someone wanting a thorough understanding of financial statements. After the course, you would be able to understand the management and evaluation of portfolios and firm valuation techniques.

Rating: 4.7/5
Students Enrolled: 64,694
Duration: 8 months, 4 hours/week

Coursera $200 Off
Valid Till: 31 Jan

A Beginner’s Guide to Investing in the Stock Market [Udemy]

This udemy investing course is to learn the step-by-step process to find, analyze, and value stocks and invest with aabsolute confidence. The course is built in a way so you can learn how to invest on your own and take back control of your financial lives.

Tom Vilord Fund Manager at WSV Capital and Coach at Wall Street Value is the instructor of this udemy online investing class. He created Wall Street Value so the average investor can have the tools necessary to invest successfully just like the professional investors on Wall Street with a goal to help investors take control of their financial future now.

Key Highlights & USPs

  • Determine your risk tolerance and investment goals. Understand what to look for in a great potential investment based on value investing and fundamental analysis criteria.

  • Know when to sell a position. That decision will be based on sound facts, not emotions. Proper risk management strategies such as diversification and asset allocation are explained. 

  • Mutual Funds vs Exchange Traded Funds (ETF) discussed and the huge difference between the two. 

  • Know the different types of stock investing categories and the pros and cons of each of them. 

  • Learn when to enter into a position because you will learn how to value a stock using an amazingly simple and effective valuation technique and how to use technical analysis for short-term stock trading.

  • How to build your own portfolio and how often you should rebalance your portfolio.

  • Get full lifetime access to 5 hours of on-demand video on mobile and TV, 16 downloadable resources and a certificate of completion. 

Who is it for?

This udemy investing tutorial is the one for you if you have a desire to invest in stocks, but don’t know where to start. It’s also designed for those who do have some investing experience but aren’t quite seeing the returns that you hoped for, and for those who have used financial professionals in the past but are fed up with paying high fees for low performance. If you are an experienced investor, this is not for you.

Rating: 4.6/5
Students Enrolled: 5,089
Duration: 5 hours

Online Investment Courses [FutureLearn]

These FutureLearn investment tutorials offer a wide range of topics to choose from. Concepts include data analytics for investment, regression and machine learning in investment, how to invest: modern-day financial decisions, home ownership and mortgage, smart financial tools for decision making, and much more.

These FutureLearn investment classes are offered by top institutions like the University of Michigan, Sungkyunkwan University, Auckland University of Technology, Chartered Insurance Institute, RMIT University and RMIT Blockchain Innovation Hub, Grenoble Ecole de Management, and SOAS University of London.

Key Highlights & USPs

  • Discover how to use data analysis and programming for investment strategies and portfolio management and to analyse past return data and make a future return forecasting model using regression.

  • Learn machine learning and regression methodology for investing and improving your decision-making strategies. Begin by gauging investment strategy using backtesting and learning about regression methodology, how to solve classification problems with logistic regression, and analysing data.

  • Ensure your future financial security with a comprehensive course on how to invest in today’s diverse markets. Includes an introduction to modern and traditional investment opportunities, and basic investment concepts.

  • Develop a fundamental understanding of the key aspects of mortgages and the property purchasing process. It provides a clear and simple introduction to the different elements involved in the property buying process.

  • Identify a range of investing and funding approaches used by leading impact investors. Investigate different financial instruments and techniques used to fund social enterprises.

Who is it for?

These FutureLearn investment courses are for financial and social sector professionals, and anyone interested to learn more about the promise and potential of the above-listed topics. These are designed for anyone interested in improving their financial literacy and learning how to think clearly about important financial decisions.

Rating: 4.7/5
Duration: Self-paced

FutureLearn US

FAQ

How do beginners invest?

There can be many options for beginners to start investing with. It is advisable to start with minimum risk options and then make your way up to riskier options offering higher returns with fewer amounts. All the options include public provident funds, employee provident funds, fixed deposits and high-yield savings accounts, mutual funds, individual stocks, government bonds, digital gold, etc.

Is it better to invest or save?

Although saving and investing have their separate benefits but they also come with their own set of limitations. Saving money does look like a safe and sound method to preserve money traditionally but it is affected by the principle of the time value of money. The money being stored for years will lose its value with time. On the other hand, investing will beat inflation but has risk associated with it. Risks can be minimized so investing is always a better option.

When should you start investing?

There is no right or wrong time to start investing, but to see the compounding effects of your investment it is better to start as early as possible. Always start investing after meeting your monthly expenses and saving some surplus. Invest after you’re confident in your decisions and have complete knowledge of your investment plan.

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