Developing a career in capital markets takes significant education and training. Fortunately, with the rise of free online learning platforms and resources, it’s now possible to access high quality training at little to no cost.
For finance professionals on a budget or individuals looking to switch careers, here are some of the best capital markets training resources that won’t break the bank.
Coursera for Finance
One of the largest providers of free online courses, Udacity offers numerous finance and capital markets programs. Offerings include courses on financial markets, investing strategies, portfolio management, financial engineering, trading, risk management, and more – all taught by industry professionals and academics from top universities.
Many of the basic courses are available for free. You simply audit the materials – including video lectures, real-world case studies, quizzes and more – without accessing graded assignments or receiving a certificate of completion. For about $40-100 per month, you can upgrade to complete graded assignments and earn an official certificate. For the price, Coursera is an exceptional deal for comprehensive capital markets training.
Finance YouTube Channels
YouTube is loaded with educational finance channels covering capital markets topics. Some top free YouTube channels for capital markets education include:
Wall Street Survivor: Fun, engaging videos explaining stock trading, financial modeling, markets, investing and more. Ideal for beginners.
MIT OpenCourseWare Financial Theory Series: In-depth lecture series focused on advanced capital market and investment theories, taught by MIT professors.
Khan Academy Finance and Capital Markets: Nonprofit channel with hundreds of educational videos on markets, accounting, portfolio management, banking and related topics.
Bloomberg: News network provides market analysis videos, interviews with finance leaders, showcases of industry technology and more.
Goldman Sachs: Investment bank shares market insights, overviews of trading strategies, explanations of financial products and more.
In an hour or two per day following finance education channels, you can gain immense knowledge of capital markets at no cost.
MOOCs and Open Courseware
In addition to Coursera, many universities now offer free massive open online courses (MOOCs) and open courseware related to capital markets through platforms like edX, FutureLearn and more.
Top providers include MIT OpenCourseWare, Yale Courses Financial Markets open series, Wharton Business School courses on corporate finance and financial regulation, and free finance modules from Oxford Saïd Business School, Cambridge Judge Business School and others.
Topics span financial accounting, investment strategy, risk management, fintech and more – often drawing materials straight from these universities’ own Master of Finance degree programs. While you won’t earn credits towards a degree, the knowledge you gain is invaluable.
Public Libraries
Don’t underestimate your local public library for accessing free capital markets training resources. ICMA noted that most libraries offer access to premium licensing databases like Morningstar, Value Line and Mergent Online, which provide in-depth research on stocks, financial analysis tools, and capital market trends. Libraries also stock the latest investing, trading and markets textbooks from top publishers.
You can utilize the library’s resources to continually educate yourself on markets at no cost other than a library card. Some even offer free online courses and video learning platforms. Visit your local branch to uncover all their capital markets training materials.
Financial Modeling Prep Free Trial
For hands-on practice analyzing stocks and building financial models, check out Financial Modeling Prep’s free trial. Their platform provides access to historical and projected financial data on thousands of publicly traded companies, along with Excel and Python interfaces to model trading strategies, forecast valuations, assess risk scenarios and more.
The free trial provides view-only access to all data and modeling tools for seven days – ample time to test drive capital markets modeling capabilities. A paid Professional subscription ($39 and up monthly) then allows full, customizable access to start honing your finance skills.
Trading Simulation Platforms
Simulation trading platforms like Investopedia’s Stock Simulator are hugely valuable for capital markets training while managing investment risks. You’re given a virtual portfolio and simulated access to global financial exchanges to buy, sell and trade stocks, bonds, ETFs, mutual funds and more – with real-time pricing and data.
Best of all, you’re doing so with fake money, so you face no actual financial losses as you learn. Popular options like Investopedia’s simulator game are free to access. Tracking your simulated portfolio performance over days, weeks or months is an intriguing way to rapidly boost capital markets skills without money at stake.
LinkedIn Learning Finance Courses
With over 16,000 video courses taught by industry experts, LinkedIn Learning (formerly Lynda) offers robust finance training content – some available for free. Focus areas include corporate finance, financial analysis, financial modeling, risk management, fintech, and more.
While full access requires a $30 monthly personal subscription (often free through public libraries), LinkedIn provides select course modules at no cost. Capital markets topics featured on their free learning page include blockchain, investment banking, accounting fundamentals and behavioral finance. Each module runs 1 to 3 hours for quality self-paced learning.
Finance Blogs & Podcasts
Hundreds of high-quality blogs and podcasts deliver free capital markets training and insights on a recurring basis. Top picks featuring daily to weekly updates include:
Investopedia Show and Investing Podcast Network: Popular blogs providing news, strategies, explainers and interviews on markets, trading, portfolio management and beyond.
The Capitol Crowd Finance Podcast: Digestible podcast episodes on financial industry careers, resume building, networking and interviews with capital markets pros.
Freakonomics and Planet Money Podcasts: General audience shows frequently feature fascinating episodes on market trends, investment psychology, financial crises and more.
Financial Times Alphaville: Award winning markets blog with alternative perspectives on trading, fintech innovation and current events impacting institutions.
Add a selection of such free resources into your routine for ongoing development supplemented by the other platforms here. Within a year you can vastly strengthen capital market literacy for little to no cost.
Final Words
Developing a career in capital markets necessitates world-class training and education. But as this piece outlines, you needn’t pay exorbitant tuition or training fees to access such learning. Through online courses, videos, simulations, libraries, blogs and more there exists today a wealth of free instructional materials – often taught by finance professionals themselves.
Combining these zero to low-cost capital markets training platforms provides immense value for launching or advancing a finance career. Be diligent yet creative in seeking free resources to elevate your skills, network and job prospects over time. Your dream job in capital markets may be more attainable than once imagined!
