Investing is essentially the allocation of money in hopes that you will get some type of return or benefit in the future. There are many different ways that one can invest, including in the stock market, real estate, gold, bonds, or mutual funds. Even if you don’t have a lot of money to spare, you can start investing by putting away as little as $10 a week. There are really no ways to invest that are absolutely guaranteed to make you money, but there are things you can learn to help you predict the market and choose the right investments.
Featured Programs
- Yale Financial Markets
- edX Introductions to Investments
- Linkedin Learning Managing Your Personal Investments
Disclaimer: Some courses may include an affiliate link. Courses were chosen first based on the methodology with affiliate links only added after the ranking was complete.
We chose the courses listed here based on a methodology we developed to help separate the best free courses from the ones that are just okay. Even if you don’t know anything at all about investing, these courses can help you start from square one and build up your empire! If you’ve been considering learning about how to manage your personal investments, keep reading to see ten of the top online investment courses to get you started.
Ranking Ten Free Online Courses For Investing
1. Financial Markets
Offered by Yale University via Coursera
This course, offered by Yale University through Coursera, offers students an opportunity to learn about the ins and outs of human enterprise. Based in New Haven, Connecticut, Yale University is a research university and one of the most prestigious and highly-regarded in the country. Coursera is what is considered a MOOC, or a massive open online course provider. The site is free to join and offers thousands of courses on popular topics such as investing or finances. This specific course is taught at the beginner level and takes around 32 hours to complete, and 28-percent of students started a new career after finishing this course.
Financial Markets is taught by Robert Shiller, who is a Sterling professor of economics at Yale University. By the end of the course, students will know the basics of financial markets, understand behavioral finance and forecasting, understand stocks and bonds, and explore recessions. Additionally, students will learn about issues like the mortgage crisis and inflation to further their knowledge of financial market history. This free online investing course from Yale has had over 750,000 students thus far and has more than 85-percent five-star reviews.
Cost: Free
Certificate: Yes (with fee)
Time to Complete: Approximately 32 hours
Curriculum: Beginner
User Experience: Excellent
Quality of Instruction: Excellent
Pros:
- Start anytime and go at your own pace
- Offered by one of the most prestigious universities in the country
- Dives deep into the history of financial markets
Cons:
- Certificate does not come free with the course
2. Stock Market Investing 101
Offered by Investing101.com
This free online stock market course was created by Wall Street Survivor to help beginner investing students learn how to efficiently handle their assets. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the company has decided to offer their course completely free of charge. The course has been purchased by thousands of students over the last few years, and the company aims to provide all Americans with an outlet to practice investing.
In the stock market investment course, you’ll have all the materials you need to learn how to trade on your own. The course contains 9 lessons, each of which covers about 10 topics. After you are finished with each lesson, there are also additional materials you can access if you want to dive deeper into the topic. Additionally, downloading the course includes a virtual trading account so you can practice trading stocks or mutual funds in real time. You can use this trading account for as long as you want, even after you complete the course. Upon completion, students will have learned about current hot topics in trading, common charts and terms, and how to understand earnings and cash flow.
Cost: Free
Certificate: No
Time to Complete: Approximately 10 hours, or as long as needed
Curriculum: Beginner
User Experience: Excellent
Quality of Instruction: Excellent
Pros:
- Start anytime and go at your own pace
- Comes with a digital trading account
- Learn about hot topics and current market trends
Cons:
- Certificate does not come with the course
3. Impact Investing
Offered by Future Learn
Impact Investing is the concept of investing for the purpose of monetary gain while also creating a positive change in society or the environment. This course from Future Learn will help students to understand this investment approach, learning how they can play a role in this emerging sector. As mentioned above, Future Learn is a MOOC that offers a rotating selection of courses from preeminent universities and instructors. This course is offered by the Jindal Centre for Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship, who aim to bring together players from all over the world to solve the 21st century’s biggest problems. Future Learn is entirely free for users to access and offers a premium version of courses for a one-time cost per course.
At the end of this course on impact investing, students will be able to identify the financial instruments and techniques that are necessary to fund social enterprises and projects. Students will also learn about current market trends and how they affect the impact investment ecosystem. Finally, students can expect tips on how to secure a job in the impact investment industry. This course takes approximately four weeks of study to complete if they study at a rate of about 5 hours per week.
Cost: Free
Certificate: Yes (With $59 fee)
Time to Complete: Approximately 4 weeks
Curriculum: Beginner
User Experience: Excellent
Quality of Instruction: Excellent
Pros:
- Start anytime and go at your own pace
- Perfect for those who are environmentally-conscious
- Discusses global equity markets
Cons:
- Certificate of achievement costs $59
4. Understanding Money: the History of Finance, Speculation and the Stock Market
Offered by Future Learn
Future Learn is a MOOC that offers a rotating variation of courses from prestigious universities and instructors around the world. All of the courses on the site are free, but can be updated for a fee ranging from $30-$100 that provides users with a connection to their instructor and a certificate of achievement. This course on understanding finance is offered by the University of Southampton in the UK and aims to teach students the cultural, visual, and historical perspectives on money and finance.
By the end of the online stock market investment course, students will have a foundational understanding of the debates regarding the function and histories of finance, and will also have had an exploration of the representation of money in art and culture. Additionally, students will be educated on stocks, shares, national debt, and investments. This free online course is definitely designed for those who want a more theoretical perspective on investments and finance, or those who want to look at it from a more historical or cultural perspective. However, these cultural ideas can still be very applicable to modern investments and debt.
Cost: Free
Certificate: Yes (With $59 fee)
Time to Complete: Approximately 3 weeks
Curriculum: Beginner
User Experience: Excellent
Quality of Instruction: Excellent
Pros:
- Start anytime and go at your own pace
- Cultural look at finances and money
- Perfect for those less mathematically-driven
Cons:
- Certificate does not come free with the course
5. Investing Master Class
Offered by Wealthsimple
If you are sick of pretentiousness and financial jargon when you try to get your personal investments under control, this course from Wealthsimple is perfect for you. Becoming financially literate has never been easier than with this 45-minute course, free of any difficult-to-understand concepts. The course consists of 10 short videos that will change your future financially, giving you a strong foundation for investing with real tools you can start using immediately. You have the opportunity to complete the course all at once or go at your own pace with the ability to stop and start at any time.
By the end of the free online investing course, you’ll understand the basics of the stock market and investing, as well as the difference between saving and investing, and how to know when to do them. You’ll also learn about the waterfall method in this course, which details how you can kill debt, build wealth, and make your money work for you. Finally, you’ll learn about how much you actually need to retire and how to start saving for retirement.
Cost: Free
Certificate: No
Time to Complete: Approximately 45 minutes
Curriculum: Beginner
User Experience: Excellent
Quality of Instruction: Excellent
Pros:
- Start anytime and go at your own pace
- Looks at all aspects of personal investment, not just the stock market
- Covers how to plan for your future, including retirement
Cons:
- Certificate does not come with the course
6. Value Investing 2020 Masterclass
Offered by SkillShare
If you feel scared and confused whenever you think about the stock market, this quick course from SkillShare might be perfect for you. This course will teach users how to effectively eliminate loss and consistently profit in the stock market. This is more of an intermediate-level course for those who already have some experience with a broker or have been working on their own investments for a while. As mentioned above, SkillShare is a free MOOC site with thousands of courses on any imaginable subject.
This free online investing course is taught by Gaurav Khullar, who has worked as a professional banker for more than a decade. He teaches multiple SkillShare courses on trading and finance and aims to help his students become financially independent. By the end of his course, you will understand why the common investor loses money in the stock market and why retail investors are often trapped. You’ll also learn how to perform a financial analysis, and when it would be beneficial for you to sell your stock.
Cost: Free
Certificate: No
Time to Complete: Approximately 2 hours 15 minutes
Curriculum: Intermediate
User Experience: Excellent
Quality of Instruction: Excellent
Pros:
- Start anytime and go at your own pace
- Ideal for someone who is somewhat financially literate already
- Covers common mistakes made when trading
Cons:
- Certificate does not come with the free version of SkillShare
7. Introduction to Investments
Offered by edX
edX is one of the premier online platforms for free courses, and they offer classes on virtually any subject you could think of. This Introduction to Investments course is presented by IIMB, also known as the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore. This course has nearly 100,000 students already enrolled and will take participants about 3-5 hours a week over 5 weeks to complete. This course is full of intermediate-level information for investing, which is perfect for those who are somewhat financially literate and want to take better control of their personal investments.
By the end of the course, students will be able to explain the overall structure of global equity markets and understand how they trade. They will also be able to use tools of financial analysis to apply to their own investments as well as other public companies. The role of professional financial analysts will also be evaluated, and students will be able to assess how these professionals evaluate companies. The course is taught by S.G. Badrinath, who is the Chairperson of the Centre for Capital Markets and Risk Management at IIMB.
Cost: Free
Certificate: Yes (With $50 fee)
Time to Complete: Approximately 5 weeks
Curriculum: Intermediate
User Experience: Excellent
Quality of Instruction: Excellent
Pros:
- Start anytime and go at your own pace
- Ideal for someone who is somewhat financially literate already
- Discusses global equity markets
Cons:
- Certificate of achievement costs $50
8. Managing Your Personal Investments
Offered by LinkedIn Learning
LinkedIn Learning is an online course platform engineered by one of the preeminent social networks for professional connections. LinkedIn Learning is typically a paid platform, however they offer a one-month free trial to any new users, giving access to any and all course materials for that time period. Alternatively, you could qualify for a free membership through your accredited college or university. A one-month free trial is the perfect amount of time to complete this short course from instructor Jane Barratt, which only takes about an hour and a half to finish.
By the end of the online investing course, Barratt will have taught you the reasons why you should invest, how to understand compound interest, how to compare stocks and bonds, how to manage risk and build your portfolio, and how to find where you should invest your money. Jane Barratt shares her personal investment strategies with you in this course, breaking down the market into five simple building blocks that are impossible to forget. You will also find out when it makes sense to work with a financial advisor, which is especially helpful when you are just starting your investment process.
Cost: Free Try a free trial for Linkedin Learning.
Certificate: No
Time to Complete: Approximately 1.5 hours
Curriculum: Beginner
User Experience: Excellent
Quality of Instruction: Excellent
Pros:
- Start anytime and go at your own pace
- Starts from the very basics of investing
- Educates students on when they should invest
Cons:
- Free trial is only a month, course materials are not accessible after that
- No certificate of achievement
9. Stock Market Investing for Beginners
Offered by Udemy
This stock market course from Udemy is one of the most popular ones on the internet and it is currently being offered for free. The course has had over 250,000 students thus far with nearly 25,000 five-star reviews. It’s taught by John Ducas, who is one of the youngest preeminent investors in the country. He is only 22 years old but began investing with play money at Marketwatch when he was 9. The course only takes about an hour and a half to complete and includes on-demand video that is accessible for as long as necessary after you finish the course.
By the end of the stock market investing online course, Ducas will have taught users all about the very exciting world of the stock market. It takes users from the very beginning, talking about what a stock actually is and how to understand different investment strategies. Udemy is a MOOC that is completely free for users to access, offering courses on a variety of different subjects. If you don’t even know where to begin when it comes to investing in the stock market, John Ducas could be the perfect instructor for you.
Cost: Free
Certificate: No
Time to Complete: Approximately 1.5 hours
Curriculum: Beginner
User Experience: Excellent
Quality of Instruction: Excellent
Pros:
- Start anytime and go at your own pace
- Starts from the very basics of investing
- Offered by one of the most preeminent young investors
Cons:
- No certificate of achievement
10. How Not To Suck At Investing: Understanding Stocks
Offered by SkillShare
This course offered by SkillShare is perfect if you just need a quick overview or review of how to understand the stock market. The course takes only 20 minutes to complete and is taught by Business Casual, a digital media company that considers themselves “located at the intersection of culture and capitalism”. SkillShare is one of many MOOC’s, or massive open online course sites. The platform is free for casual users, but SkillShare premium requires a fee and offers access to things like certificates of achievement and connections with instructors.
By the end of the free online stock market investing course, students will understand how the stock market and other exchanges, such as the NASDAQ, work in conjunction with society. Students will also learn why companies choose to go public and how their shares work. Finally, students will learn why brokers exist and how their services can be valuable to the consumer. Students also have the opportunity to take what they’ve learned in the course and apply it to a hypothetical ETF portfolio, which can be shared to the class.
Cost: Free
Certificate: No
Time to Complete: Approximately 20 minutes
Curriculum: Beginner
User Experience: Excellent
Quality of Instruction: Excellent
Pros:
- Start anytime and go at your own pace
- Interactive class project
- Perfect for a quick overview
Cons:
- Certificate does not come with the course
- Only 20 minutes, does not cover topics in-depth
Commonly Asked Questions About Free Online Investing Courses
Investing is a really complicated topic, and it can be incredibly daunting if you don’t know anything about it. If you don’t have a mentor leading the way for you, it can be scary to even know where to start. When it comes to managing personal finances, people usually have a lot of questions. The following section will detail some of the most commonly asked questions about investing courses, and hopefully answer any queries you might have. If you have been feeling questionable about starting one of these investment courses, hopefully these explanations will put your mind at ease.
Who Should Take an Investing Online Course?
If you manage your own personal finances, you could certainly benefit from taking a course in investing. Investing can benefit anyone’s savings toward a purchase or retirement, and you don’t need to have a lot of extra money laying around in order to invest and profit. Also, if you are someone who wants to go into a career in impact investing or finance, knowing the ins and outs of the stock market would certainly be beneficial to you. Even if you just want to passively invest in an iOS app like RobinHood or Acorns, knowing where your money is going and how to make it work for you is extremely important.
What Will I Learn in an Online Investing Course?
While you could learn a variety of things in an online investing course, many courses on this list will discuss the basics of the stock market and delve into topics like the differences between stocks, bonds, and funds. The courses might also discuss market trends and how these trends can impact your personal investment strategy. Other topics discussed in the courses could include the history of the stock market or mutual funds to give a bit of a cultural context to the materials.
No matter what, you will definitely learn how to better manage your personal finances and make your money work for you. Instructors aim to teach their students how to make a profit in these courses, and will detail the different ways to make money by utilizing stock market trends. While these might seem like complicated topics if you don’t know much about the stock market, most of the instructors mentioned above have a long history of simplifying concepts for their students and helping them comprehend the material.
What Will I Gain From an Online Investing Course?
Investing is one of the major sectors of finance and many people make a career through the stock market and market trends. If you complete an investing course and find that you really have a passion for it, you always have the opportunity to study the subject more and make finance your career. By taking an investment course, you could find your new passion! There are plenty of different careers in the investment field, including:
- Investment broker
- Cryptocurrency broker
- Investment analyst
- Investment counselor
- Impact investing
- Financial consultant
Are Online Investing Courses Hard?
Finance can be a challenging topic to master if you don’t have prior experience with it. However, the instructors teaching these online courses are well-versed in teaching beginners and know how to effectively simplify topics to appeal to a novice level of understanding.
Additionally, many of the sites mentioned above allow students to communicate with other students who are also taking the course. By collaborating with other online learners, you may be able to gain a new perspective and understand the material fully.
Are Free Online Investing Courses Worth It?
The short answer is yes, virtually any of the courses on this list will be worthy of your time, no matter your skill level or area of expertise. Since all of these courses are completely free, there is absolutely nothing to lose except for your time! Even if you don’t start a new career after finishing an online course, every class and every instructor has something positive to offer you. Even if it’s just words of encouragement when studying new material, they want you to succeed!
Your time will certainly not be wasted when following along with any of the courses above. Even if you start one of the courses and choose not to finish, watching just one lesson could completely change your perspective on your personal finances and make you a more conscious investor.
Disclaimer: Some courses may include an affiliate link. Courses were chosen first based on the methodology with affiliate links only added after the ranking was complete.
You may also like: