Look at the investment choices open to you, and the risks and returns of each. Start managing your financial future effectively
65,651 enrolled on this course
![A coin sits on top of a line graph on a piece of paper – a metaphor for financial investments](https://ugc.futurelearn.com/uploads/images/07/a3/header_07a3f094-19bf-4ad4-a712-fe79e7ca662a.jpg)
Duration
4 weeksWeekly study
3 hours100% online
How it works
Finance Fundamentals: Investment Theory and Practice
Ensure your investments are effective and match your risk-return appetite
Research shows that UK households are poor at investment management, with a limited understanding of choices, risks and returns. This could mean that many people cannot afford to retire in future.
This online course will give you the tools to avoid this nightmare. You will study investment choices, and the risks and returns of each; investment strategies and your risk-return appetite; and behaviours that can impair effective investment decisions.
The Open University’s Centre for the Public Understanding of Finance created this course, with the generous support of True Potential LLP.
Syllabus
Week 1
The Spectrum of Personal Investments
The importance of personal investments
Why should we save and invest for the future? Savings products – what do they offer?
Shares
Understanding and investing in shares (or ‘equities’). What to look for when making decisions about share investments. Introducing the shares that we’ll be following in the course.
Bonds and funds
Investments in bonds. The importance of government bonds (UK ‘gilts’). The relationship between yields on bonds and their prices. Introducing the yield curve – we’ll be tracking this throughout the course. Investments in funds.
Alternative investments, tax, advice and the costs of investing
Other ways of investing – property, commodities and peer-to-peer. Understanding the costs of investing including taxation. When to seek advice about investments – the benefits and costs.
Week 2
Devising investment strategies – principles and practice
Devising your strategies: time horizons and understanding risk
Devising an investment strategy. Time horizons and risk appetite. What are the financial risks and how are they inter-related?
Understanding and applying Portfolio Theory
How to diversify away risk. Getting to grips with Portfolio Theory. How is this theory applied in practice by investment managers?
Understanding and applying the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM)
Managing your investment risk profile. Understanding the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM). How is CAPM applied in practice? What is the role of ‘betas’ in managing risk?
Market tactics and know-how: Can we outperform the market?
The Random walk Prediction. Are financial markets efficient – understanding Efficient Markets Hypothesis (EMH). Can we outperform the markets? Is technical analysis (‘chartism’) a good predictive tool for investors?
Week 3
Investment in practice: practices, styles, history and performance
Investment strategies in practice
How are the theories on investment strategy applied in the real world? What practices do investment managers apply? What are the current features of investment activity – what’s currently fashionable?
Measuring the performance of investments
How do we assess how well our investments have performed? How should we judge investment managers? We look at relative returns and absolute returns on investments.
Investment performance: the lessons from history
We examine the long-term historical evidence about the performance of different asset classes. We look at investment bubbles and at recent personal investment news stories.
More lessons from history: what can we learn from them?
The collapse in supermarket share prices. Have fun reviewing the past century of investment performance – and the drivers of performance in each decade.
Week 4
Investment and human behaviour
Behaviour and risk-taking
How can human behaviour impair financial decision-making? Behaviour in the context of the 2007/08 financial crisis. Understanding the impact of behaviour in the business environment.
Individual behaviour
Individual behavioural biases. Learn about bounded rationality. We look at ‘prospect theory’ and the impact of ‘anchoring’ and overconfidence.
Group behaviour
We study group behavioural biases. We explore ‘contagion’ and ‘herd behaviour’. Do groups make better decisions than individuals? Understanding the pitfalls of ‘group think’.
Rounding-up what we have learned
We complete the course with a summary guide to investment decision making, take one last look at UK yield curve and the prices of the shares we have been tracking. You finish with an extended test covering the entire course.
When would you like to start?
Start straight away and join a global classroom of learners. If the course hasn’t started yet you’ll see the future date listed below.
Available now
Learning on this course
On every step of the course you can meet other learners, share your ideas and join in with active discussions in the comments.
What will you achieve?
By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...
- Explore the different types of personal investments and the returns they offer
- Identify and to understand the key investment management theories
- Identify investment management practices
- Explore and review recent investment management stories
- Identify and to understand the impact of behavioural factors on investment decision-making
Who is the course for?
For further information about registration, the final assessment course, your eligibility and the BA in Business Management, visit the Open University website.
What do people say about this course?
"For me, this short course threw a little more light on several dark corners of investing. Thank you for your efforts in that enterprise."
Who will you learn with?
I am Director of the True Potential Centre for the Public Understanding of Finance (PUFin) at the OU Business School. Previously I was Treasurer of Nationwide Building Society.
Who developed the course?
Established
1969Location
Milton Keynes, UKWorld ranking
Top 510Source: Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2020
Ways to learn | Buy this course | Subscribe & save | Limited access |
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Choose the best way to learn for you! | $109/one-off payment | $244.99 for a whole year Automatically renews | Free |
Fulfill your current learning need | Develop skills to further your career | Sample the course materials | |
Access to this course | tick | tick | Access expires 10 Mar 2025 |
Access to 1,000+ courses | cross | tick | cross |
Learn at your own pace | tick | tick | cross |
Discuss your learning in comments | tick | tick | tick |
Tests to check your learning | tick | tick | cross |
Certificate when you're eligible | Printed and digital | Digital only | cross |
Cancel for free anytime |
Ways to learn
Choose the best way to learn for you!
Subscribe & save
$244.99 for a whole year
Automatically renews
Develop skills to further your career
- Access to this course
- Access to 1,000+ courses
- Learn at your own pace
- Discuss your learning in comments
- Tests to boost your learning
- Digital certificate when you're eligible
Cancel for free anytime
Buy this course
$109/one-off payment
Fulfill your current learning need
- Access to this course
- Learn at your own pace
- Discuss your learning in comments
- Tests to boost your learning
- Printed and digital certificate when you’re eligible
Limited access
Free
Sample the course materials
- Access expires 10 Mar 2025
Find out more about certificates, Unlimited or buying a course (Upgrades) Sale price available until 3 March 2025 at 23:59 (UTC). T&Cs apply. |
Find out more about certificates, Unlimited or buying a course (Upgrades)
Sale price available until 3 March 2025 at 23:59 (UTC). T&Cs apply.
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