Deciphering Stocks and Bonds in Stanford GSB MOOC: MBA News

By Tim Dhoul Updated Oct 15, 2014

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Introduction
Assessing what investors really get from stocks and bonds

Stanford GSB launch stocks and bonds MOOC

How does the finance industry perform in the new MBA jobs & salary trends report?

A free online course has been released by Stanford GSB on its MOOC platform, aimed at giving the school’s faculty an audience beyond the campus.

‘Stocks and Bonds: Risks and Returns’ will be led by finance professor at Stanford GSB, Joshua Rauh, an expert in corporate investment and financial structures, and known for his research into US pension funds and systems.

The MOOC will cover the finance fundamentals behind stocks and bonds and the role they play in making good investment decisions. It comes at a time when stock market slumps have again highlighted the need to understand how the value of stocks and bonds are determined and affected by fluctuations in the global economy.

Assessing what investors really get from stocks and bonds

The course is aimed at individuals looking to invest or to increase their knowledge of financial markets as well as those interested in pursuing careers in finance. It could therefore be of use to MBA applicants who do not have backgrounds in finance, but might be too basic for those who do.

“Participants will learn how stocks and bonds are valued, what tradeoffs to make when investing in these instruments, and what they’re really getting when they invest,” said Rauh in a press release for Stanford GSB.

The MOOC can be completed in a participant’s own time and consists of five 45-minute videos, each supplemented with exercises designed to take between one and two hours. The course is then rounded off with a panel discussion looking deeper into the topic of asset management and featuring the Stanford GSB professor emeritus and winner of the 1990 Nobel Prize in economics, William Sharpe.

The ‘Stocks and Bonds’ course is an uncertificated MOOC offering from Stanford GSB, but the school does offer online certificate programs, such as the Stanford Innovation and Entrepreneurship Certificate – although for this, tuition fees are applicable.

You can see the ‘Stocks and Bonds’ MOOC instructor, Joshua Rauh, in action, discussing his research into US pension funds in the video below:

Written by

Tim Dhoul

Tim is a writer with a background in consumer journalism and charity communications. He trained as a journalist in the UK and holds degrees in history (BA) and Latin American studies (MA).