About this course: An overview of the ideas, methods, and institutions that permit human society to manage risks and foster enterprise. Emphasis on financially-savvy leadership skills. Description of practices today and analysis of prospects for the future. Introduction to risk management and behavioral finance principles to understand the real-world functioning of securities, insurance, and banking industries. The ultimate goal of this course is using such industries effectively and towards a better society.
Who is this class for: This course is for anyone interested in learning about financial markets and how it impacts the globe today. If you started an older version of Financial Markets prior to April 2017, you can access your course at https://www.coursera.org/learn/financial-markets/home/welcome
Created by: Yale University
Taught by: Robert Shiller, Sterling Professor of Economics at Yale University
Economics
| Level | Beginner |
| Commitment | 7 weeks of study, 3 - 4 hours per week |
| Language | English |
| How To Pass | Pass all graded assignments to complete the course. |
| User Ratings |
Syllabus
WEEK 1
Module 1
Welcome to the course! In this opening module, you will learn the basics of financial markets, insurance, and CAPM (Capital Asset Pricing Model). This module serves as the foundation of this course.
23 videos, 1 reading
- Reading: Pre-Course Survey
- Video: Financial Markets Introduction
- Video: Your Teaching Assistant, Arun!
- Video: Good and Evil
- Discussion Prompt: Why is this course important to you?
- Video: VaR and Stress Tests
- Video: S&P 500
- Video: Joe McNay Story
- Video: Distribution and Outliers
- Video: Chalk Talk - Covariance
- Video: Insurance Fundamentals
- Video: Insurance Milestones
- Video: Insurance is a Local Phenomenon
- Video: Health Insurance
- Video: Disasters
- Video: Eggs in One Basket
- Video: Salon - Risk
- Video: CAPM
- Video: Chalk Talk: Beta
- Video: Chalk Talk: CAPM and Diversification
- Video: Short Sales
- Video: Calculating the Optimal Portfolio
- Video: Efficient Portfolio Frontier
- Video: Chalk Talk - Gordon Growth Model
Graded: Lesson #1 Quiz
Graded: Lesson #2 Quiz
Graded: Lession #3 Quiz
Graded: Lesson #4 Quiz
Graded: Module 1 Honors Quiz
WEEK 2
Module 2
In this next module, dive into some details of behavioral finance, forecasting, pricing, debt, and inflation.
17 videos
- Video: Salon - Innovation
- Video: Limited Liability
- Video: Inflation Indexed Debt
- Video: Unidad de Fomento
- Video: Real Estate: Risk Management Devices
- Video: Forecasting
- Video: Intuition of Efficiency
- Video: Price as PDV
- Video: Doubting Efficiency
- Video: Introduction to Behavioral Finance
- Video: Prospect Theory
- Video: Chalk Talk - More on Prospect Theory
- Video: Logical Fallacies
- Video: The Brain
- Video: Magical Thinking
- Video: Personality Disorders
Graded: Lesson #5 Quiz
Graded: Lesson #6 Quiz
Graded: Lesson #7 Quiz
Graded: Module 2 Honors Quiz
WEEK 3
Module 3
Stocks, bonds, dividends, shares, market caps; what are these? Who needs them? Why? Module 3 explores these concepts, along with corporation basics and some basic financial markets history.
18 videos
- Video: Federal Funds and Interest Rates
- Video: Compound Interest
- Video: Discount Bonds
- Video: Consol and Annuity
- Video: Forward Rates and Expectation Theory
- Video: Inflation
- Video: Leverage
- Video: Market Capitalization by Country
- Video: The Corporation
- Video: Shares and Dividends
- Video: Common vs. Preferred
- Video: Corporate Charter
- Video: Corporations Raise Money
- Video: Dilution
- Video: Share Repurchase
- Video: PDV of Expected Dividends
- Video: Why do firms pay dividends?
Graded: Lesson #8 Quiz
Graded: Lesson #9 Quiz
Graded: Module 3 Honors Quiz
WEEK 4
Module 4
Take a look into the recent past, exploring recessions, bubbles, the mortgage crisis, and regulation.
22 videos
- Video: History of Mortgage Lending
- Video: Commercial Real Estate Vehicles
- Video: Mortgages, part 1
- Video: Mortgages, part 2
- Video: PMI, CMOs, CDOs
- Video: Post Crisis Regulation
- Video: Chalk Talks - Excess Reserves
- Video: The Bubble, part 1
- Video: The Bubble, part 2
- Video: The Bubble, part 3
- Video: Salon - Bubbles
- Video: Regulation Overview
- Video: Salon - Regulation and housing
- Video: Within Firm Regulation, part 1
- Video: Within Firm Regulation, part 2
- Video: Trade Groups
- Video: Local Regulation
- Video: National Regulation, part 1
- Video: National Regulation, part 2
- Video: National Regulation, part 3
- Video: International Regulation
Graded: Lesson #10 Quiz
Graded: Lesson #11 Quiz
Graded: Financialization of Housing
Graded: Module 4 Honors Quiz
WEEK 5
Module 5
Options and bond markets are explored in module 5, important components of financial markets.
16 videos
- Video: Forwards and Futures Introduction
- Video: Forward Contracts
- Video: Futures Contracts
- Video: Rice Futures
- Video: Wheat Futures
- Video: Buying, Selling, and Settlement
- Video: Fair Value in Futures Contracts
- Video: Oil Futures
- Video: SPI & FFR Futures
- Video: Options Overview
- Video: Reading Options Pricing
- Video: Why Options exist
- Video: Ubiquity of Options
- Video: Put / Call parity
- Video: Using Options to Hedge
Graded: Lesson #12 Quiz
Graded: Lesson #13 Quiz
Graded: Module 5 Honors Quiz
WEEK 6
Module 6
In module 6, Professor Shiller introduces investment banking, underwriting processes, brokers, dealers, exchanges, and new innovations in financial markets.
19 videos
- Video: The Underwriting Process
- Video: IPOs
- Video: Goldman Sachs and John Whitehead
- Video: Ratings Agencies
- Video: Glass Steagall
- Video: Net Worth of the US
- Video: The Prudent Person
- Video: Salon - Advisors
- Video: Mutual Funds and ETFs
- Video: Brokers and Dealers
- Video: Exchanges
- Video: Limit Order Book
- Video: High Frequency Trading
- Video: Payment for Order Flow
- Video: Government Debt
- Video: Government involvement in Corporations
- Video: Municipal Finance
- Video: Government Social Insurance
Graded: Lesson #14 Quiz
Graded: Lesson #15 Quiz
Graded: Lesson #16 Quiz
Graded: Module 6 Honors Quiz
WEEK 7
MODULE 7
Professor Shiller's final module includes lectures about nonprofits and corporations, and your career in finance.
15 videos, 1 reading
- Video: Cooperatives
- Video: Alternative Forms
- Video: Salon - Public vs. Private
- Video: Critics of Modern Finance
- Video: Democratization of Finance
- Video: Salon - Democratization of Finance
- Video: Finance and War
- Video: Finance and Population Growth
- Video: The Importance of Financial Theory
- Video: Wealth and Poverty
- Video: Your Career and Finance
- Reading: Post-Course Survey
- Video: Interview with Roger Ferguson
- Video: Interview with Lei Zhang
- Video: Guest Georgia Keohane
Graded: Lesson #17 Quiz
Graded: Lesson #18 Quiz
Graded: Final Exam
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Ratings and Reviews
A good course that on a general level motivates and explains why certain financial markets/instruments have been invented
Thank you Coursera for giving us students of all ages and qualifications an opportunity to learn finance from one of the leading professor on the subject...Prof. Robert Shiller...
Great course with high quality videos, and most importantly Professor Shiller is outstanding.
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partnering with top universities and organizations to offer courses online.
© 2018 Coursera Inc. All rights reserved.
A lot of thanks to Professor Robert Shiller and the whole of the Yale's Financial Markets Team.