Investment Analysis & Portfolio Management - Core Finance

Say hello to Financial Analysis done right. You'll master sophisticated investment analysis and portfolio management techniques that are rigorously grounded in academic and practitioner literature.

Explore and master powerful relationships between stock prices, returns, and risk. Quantify and measure your investment risk, from scratch.

Discover what your financial advisor should be doing to manage your portfolio - to manage your investments.

Do all of this, and a whole lot more... manually, as well as on Excel® and Google Sheets, working with real world data.

There’s no prior knowledge required. We’ll start you from the very basics, and build you to a financial analysis PRO thanks to:

5 SECTIONS TO MASTERY (plus, all future updates included).

Introduction: Understanding Investment Security Relationships & Estimating Returns

• Understanding powerful relationships between risk, return, and price.

• Intuitively explore the baseline fundamental law of Financial Analysis - The Law of One Price.

• Calculating stock returns for dividend and non-dividend paying stocks, manually.

• Downloading and working with real world data, and estimating stock returns on Excel® / Google Sheets.

Estimating Expected Returns

• Estimating expected returns using the average (mean) method.

• Estimating expected returns using 'state contingent weighted probabilities'.

• Estimating expected returns using Asset Pricing Models including the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM).

• You'll learn each approach theoretically AND practically, ensuring you fully understand why the formulas work the way they do, and that you're able to download relevant data and conduct the initial financial analysis by computing expected returns for any stock you want.

Understanding and Measuring Risk and Relationships

• Estimating the total risk of a stock.

• Estimating the market risk of a stock.

• As a by-product of learning to measure the market risk, you'll also learn how to quantity the relationships between securities - something that will be a focal theme of portfolio management and investment / financial analysis.

• As with the expected returns, you'll learn to measure risk manually as well as on Excel® / Google Sheets. Thanks to a solid understanding of why the equations work the way they do, you'll see how Google Sheets can get things wrong, and what you can do to make sure you conduct financial analysis without incorrect / inaccurate estimates.

Measuring Portfolio Risk and Return

• Estimating the return of a 2 asset and multi-asset portfolio.

• Measuring the risk of a 2 asset and multi-asset portfolio.

• Discover the 3 factors that influence / impact portfolio risk - 1 of which is more important than the other two combined!

Exploring Diversification & Optimisation

• Risk reduction by diversification.

• Exploring Optimal Diversification - Number of Securities to Hold

• Optimising portfolio weights to achieve a target expected return.

• Minimising your portfolio risk (mathematically) using robust financial analysis techniques.

DESIGNED FOR DISTINCTION

We've used the same tried and tested, proven to work teaching techniques that've helped our clients ace their exams and become chartered certified accountants, get hired by the most renowned investment banks in the world, and indeed, manage their own portfolios. Here's how we'll help you master financial analysis and turn you into an Investment Analysis & Portfolio Management PRO:

A Solid Foundation

You’ll gain a solid foundation of the core fundamentals that drive the entire investment analysis and portfolio management process. These fundamentals are the essence of financial analysis done right.

Example Walkthroughs

Every major concept is taught with example question walkthroughs, so you can literally see how we analyse investments and conduct rigorous financial analysis, one step at a time.

Loads of Practice Questions

Apply what you learn immediately with 150+ practice questions, all with impeccably detailed solutions.

Cheat Sheets & Resources

Mathematical proofs, one page cheat sheets, workable Excel® & Google Sheet spreadsheets – all included.

Say goodbye to information overload.

Engage with carefully thought out, clutter-free, and engaging study materials that focus on the 20% finance fundamentals that drive 80% of the results.

Easily follow through complex financial analysis concepts with great visuals that don’t overdo it.

Explore byte-sized lectures that don’t cut corners – so you receive the right amount of information which will hold you in good stead wherever you go, whatever you move on to do.

Watch your confidence grow.

Apply what you learn immediately in example question walkthroughs and progressively challenging quizzes with impeccably detailed solutions.

Engage with over 150 questions ranging from simple true and false ones to more complex problems that take you outside your comfort zone.

Questions are relevant for Ivy League / Russell Group University students studying any core Finance / Financial Analysis course, as well as professionals studying for the ICAEW CFAB, ACA, ACCA, and CFA qualifications.

All questions designed in-house, by Russell Group Distinction Tutors.

Finally understand why  the math works.

Learn why we divide some variables by something, and multiply other variables by something else. Get past the painful approach of memorising countless equations. Not only will we rip apart each equation one variable at a time, we’ll also give you mathematical proofs that show the equation’s logic one step at a time. Save yourself time and effort by understanding why the equation works the way it does. Then go out and create your own equations, and redefine the way you conduct your own financial analysis.

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We're proud of our students, and inspired by these stories - we decided to share them (unedited) with you...

"I have had a great experience with Fervent tutor as I was taught more of the content and less memorizing. I think their timings and their work is professional as the tutor seeks the most efficient and productive way to help the student. I studied accounting with the tutor and it contributed greatly to my knowledge for the exam."

- Abdulaziz, BA (Hons), International Management

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Fervent provides an exceptional service, the whole process from start to finish was very hands on and supportive – during my final year I needed tuition for a governance paper, essentially I was hoping they would do all the work for me but in the long run I got so much more than I bargained for ….they changed my entire thought process and maintained a complete professional reserve. Working with me every step of the way, I was encouraged to think critically in achieving my objective and inspired to dig deep. As a result I produced a 2000 word essay (which I had them proof read as well) worthy of a distinction. Thank you for all the help and most importantly thank you for believing in me.

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- Duang MSc, Financial Analysis and Fund Management (with CFA®)

Undoubtedly the gains that I have acquired from the studying with Fervent are plentiful and significantly make me different from what I used to be in terms of my expanded knowledge base, improved English skills (e.g. English-writing), as well as being more confident communicating with English speakers and with the improved ability to think differently and critically for dealing with various types of course works in my study in the university more readily.

My tutor is specialized not only in the teaching of Accounting and Finance but also very familiar with the relevant knowledge in the subjects such as Marketing and Management. This is why I trust this person at an initial point along with his kind, friendly and very patient characteristics (e.g. I’m always encouraged by my tutor during the session with him, often to hear: if you really want it and then you can do it and will make it with no doubts).

“Skilled worker ushers in the gate, leads a pious life depending on individual.” This is a Chinese old saying which I can still remember vividly because it was what my tutor had told me in my  with him and made me believe an excellent learning outcome and a constructive learning process requires the hardworking from both of us. The record shows we did it. This is another reason I like Fervent as in the session with my tutor you see his hardworking as for the preparation for each session and in making the sessions distinctive from cliché-ridden teaching-and-listening classes by exploring the best way and the most suitable set of teaching methods to provide the student with the best value for money.

Jiajian BA (Hons), Business and Management