Module 8: Ready Set FinTech!

FinTech combines two fields––finance and technology––both of which move fast and focus on concepts and terms that may be unfamiliar to some students. If you are new to finance or technology, use the following resources to help get up to speed so that you can hit the ground running in class!

Python Fundamentals

FinTech Websites and Online Magazines

  • Investopedia: Investopedia's dictionary is a one-stop shop for understanding the financial terms and acronyms that you will come across in class, from EBITD to DCF.

  • Forbes: Forbes closely follows and regularly reports on the FinTech space. This is a great place to learn about recent developments in blockchain, payments, digital banking, and more.

  • FinTech Magazine: FinTech is a brand-new European magazine that launched in February 2019. It provides a global perspective on how financial companies, both large and small, are incorporating technology.

  • Bitcoin.org: This informative website serves as a central location for learning about all things Bitcoin related.

FinTech Podcasts

Podcasts are a great way to stay up-to-date with the fast-moving field of FinTech, as well as to understand how experts in the FinTech industry communicate with one another. Podcasts are also an effective and engaging way to learn on the go!

Financial Core Concepts

  • Andrew Lo (MIT Finance Professor and founder of AlphaSimplex Group, a $6 Billion Hedge Fund) Basics of Public Equity Markets: Up to the first 19 minutes or so of the video.

  • Robert Shiller (Winner of the 2013 Nobel Prize in Economics; creator of the Case-Swiller House Price Index and pioneer in the research of financial market bubbles) at Yale - Lecture on Portfolio Diversification (These are entertaining lectures, but if time constrained you might skip to Section 4: The Origins of Portfolio Analysis and end at the end of Section 5: Leverage).

  • More Optional: Future Markets (Derivatives and Futures, and what they are; consider watching just the first 15 minutes, unless you want to delve further into the details of financial derivatives)

Google-Fu Tips

As you move forward in your career, you will have questions that you'll often need to find answers for on your own. This is why you need some Google-fu in your life.

Google-fu is a skill in using Google (and other search engines) to find useful information on the internet quickly. Here are a couple of things to keep in mind when googling:

  • Simple is better than complex. Searches should be simple and broad enough to bring you the anticipated results, e.g., “Python remove key from Dictionary."

  • Focus on keywords. A search may not always give you the specific answer you're looking for, but it just might point you to a keyword that will help you get there. Therefore, clicking through multiple pages of a search isn't necessarily a waste of time. Pay attention to recurring terms or phrases that can point you in the right direction. These are little gems that will lead you to the mine.

For more tips on how to perform efficient Google searches, check out this article!

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