Why learn financial markets?
Financial market knowledge is a critical life skill.
Markets impact almost every aspect of modern life - jobs, mortgages, retirement, investing and money.
They offer many opportunities and can help you to:
✅ Protect your savings from inflation.
✅ Grow your wealth over time.
✅ Earn passive income in a form of dividends and coupons.
BUT! It's not without RISK! There is a very real chance of losing money!
So how do you make the most of opportunities, while minimizing costly mistakes?
Knowledge. You have to know what you're doing.
Understanding how markets work and what it means for your investments is vital for long-term financial success.
Learning markets is not easy.
After all, where do you start?
Good luck figuring it all out...
All beginner investors and traders face the same three problems:
1. IT'S OVERWHELMING!!
Too many different markets and products. It's unclear how it all works and ties together, and where to get started.
2. It'S CoMpL3x.
Lots of jargon and slang, it's all cryptic and vague... You go down the rabbit hole, but it only makes the problem worse! Now you're even more confused than before you started 🥴
3. It's time-consuuuuuuuuuming...
You can learn it all yourself, but it might take years to get to some basic level of understanding of how it works.
In the meantime, investment decisions get postponed, opportunities missed, time wasted...
The struggle is real. But the truth is...
IT IS NOT THAT COMPLICATED!
(if you know where to start👇)
What will this course do for you?
You will understand markets.
You will know how markets work. It will make sense.
🎯 You will be able to make the fundamental connections between financial products, markets, and economics.
🎯 You will know what impacts what. The relationships. The dynamics.
🎯 You will learn exactly what you need to know. Just the important bits about each market.
🎯 You'll gain the mental tools and framework to understand what drives them and why they go up and down.
Covering a vast landscape of topics and theories.
Stocks, bonds, rates, whatever... You got this!
It will help you to:
- Easily find your way around markets.
- Understand the risks and rewards associated with different asset classes.
- Increase your confidence when making investment decisions.
- Make sense of financial news and commentary.
- Cure FOMO and gain the knowledge and understanding to act.
- Take control of your financial future sooner and achieve your goals faster.
- Improve your overall financial literacy.
- Make smarter decisions, avoid costly mistakes, and build a solid foundation for long-term financial success.
All that, without the pain of going through countless textbooks, articles, and other material!
No need to figure out how the puzzle pieces fit together. 🧩
It's all done for you!
You get a clear roadmap so you can effortlessly go through a steep learning curve in the most efficient way possible.
✅ Diagrams and charts.
✅ Stories and graphics.
✅ A few awkward jokes along the way.
All to keep you engaged, interested, and motivated so you can enjoy the learning process and get the most out of it.
LET'S DO THIS!!!! 🔥
Don't wait for someone to translate the markets for you.
Become the translator yourself!
Mastering Financial Markets:
The Ultimate Beginner's Course
From Zero to One in Global Markets and Macro Investing
20
Hours of Video
1,100+
Slides
9
Modules
135
Video-lectures
160
Quiz Questions
A self-paced online course that explores how financial markets work through stories, examples, charts and infographics, giving you enough context to make sure
"it clicks"
It's an intense program covering stocks, bonds, FX, and commodities, along with the macroeconomic variables that drive each market.
The course assumes no knowledge and gradually builds your understanding so you can be confident you won't be left behind.
Even the most complex topics are all laid out in pictures and diagrams along with a story that flows and actually makes sense.
Watch the course trailer
A quick look into what's inside:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
“...one of the best training sessions at the onset of my career in finance.”
— Jovana, Account Executive
What makes this course unique?
All-in-one solution.
- Stop wasting time trying to piece it all together from different sources!
- The financial industry, four major markets, macroeconomics, and central banks. All included.
- A single roadmap covering multiple aspects of financial markets and economics.
The quickest way to learn financial markets.
- Understand how markets work and what drives them in just 20 hours. (That's roughly two seasons of your favourite Netflix show)
- It's a financial markets crash-course. Straight and to the point.
- You can be sure to get up to speed in the quickest and most efficient way possible.
The easiest way to learn about markets.
- Complex ideas are built from the ground up and introduced gradually.
- Terminology defined. Relationships outlined. Complexity simplified.
- With our unique approach to teaching, you can be confident that it will be easy and painless.
Not just more information. More understanding.
- The course takes you beyond the simple market definitions.
- It provides context.
- It guides you through the market dynamics.
- It helps you to connect the dots, understand the relationships and build mental models of how the world of finance really works.
It's f***ing fun.
- No more going through boring and overcomplicated training courses with text-only slides 😴
- Learn through graphics, stories, charts, and examples to help you clearly understand the relationships and make the necessary connections.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
"I didn't even blink for a second during your training!" - Ahmet, Software Developer
Learn it all on the go, via mobile.
No need to dedicate special time. Complete the course on your train ride to work!
This is not just a course.
It's a journey. It's an adventure!
Where will it take you? 👇
- Two sources of financing.
- The difference between capital and financial markets.
- Public and private markets.
- ECM and DCM.
- Primary and secondary markets.
- How do companies raise equity capital?
- Buy-side vs sell-side.
- What does it mean to provide liquidity?
- What do market makers do?
- What's so special about investment banks?
- Fiscal policy and budget deficits.
- Supply and demand for sovereign debt.
- Where do you park one billion dollars?
- Calculating bond prices and yields.
- How do interest rate expectations drive bond prices?
- Nominal and real rates.
- Credit risk and probability of default.
- Economic impact of interest rates.
- Term structure of interest rates.
- Short-term and long-term drivers of the yield curve.
- Price appreciation and total return.
- Global stock market indices.
- What returns can one expect from investing in the stock market?
- The earnings expectations rollercoaster.
- Why do earnings have to constantly grow?
- Navigating earnings estimates and forecasts.
- Stock market and economic cycles.
- Cyclical and defensive stocks.
- Stock multiples and the P/E ratio.
- Relative and absolute valuation.
- Bretton Woods and the gold standard.
- How is fiat currency different from monopoly money?
- FX market structure and conventions.
- How to read a currency quote?
- Fixed vs floating currencies.
- Why do currency pegs fail?
- What drives currency exchange rates?
- How to avoid a currency crisis?
- Where do FX reserves come from?
- Imports, exports and the trade balance.
- Trade and capital flows between countries.
- Structure of the physical supply chain.
- Commodity production, storage and transportation.
- Supply and demand shocks.
- Commodity reserves and inventory.
- How are trading houses different from investment banks?
- Financialization of commodities.
- Crude oil industry structure.
- The role of oil refineries.
- What is a crack spread and what does it show?
- What caused negative oil prices?
- Economic output and GDP.
- What drives economic growth?
- Nominal and real GDP.
- Measuring economic activity via economic indicators.
- Unemployment and labor markets.
- The dangers of inflation and deflation.
- In search of price stability.
- Why does the gold standard fail?
- What are the benefits of a 2% inflation?
- Interpreting headline and core inflation.
- Business and economic cycles.
- Fiscal and monetary policy.
- Three responsibilities of a central bank.
- Controlling interest rates and money supply.
- Dovish vs hawkish guidance.
- Central bank responses to inflation and recession.
- Federal Reserve as the world's central bank.
- What are bank reserves?
- FOMC and the Fed Funds rate.
- Why do central banks do Quantitative Easing (QE)?
- Does Quantitative Easing cause inflation?
- Three side effects of QE.
- Why does macro matter for markets?
- Building a simple macro model.
- Economic impact on financial assets.
- How to position for economic cycles?
- What are risk assets?
- Risk on and risk off investing.
- Bear-market rallies and bull-market sell-offs.
- What kind of scenario is the market pricing?
Watch the first lesson for free
Here is a preview of what the course looks like:
What will you get when you sign up?
The course is packed with value! 👇
20+ hours
of clearly explained video lectures.
1,100+
kick-ass slides.
160 quiz questions
to test your understanding.
Completion certificate
to showcase on your LinkedIn profile.
Access to a
private Discord chat
for course members.
+ Special Bonus!
Free access to institutional quality data and tools from Koyfin Plus for four months (worth almost $200).
100% Satisfaction Guarantee
We want to make sure the course is a good fit for you. If you watch the video lectures, complete all the tasks, and still don't feel like the course delivered the value you expected, email us within 30 days of purchase and we'll refund your payment.
Who is this course for?
- You have a stable job and income, and you want to build an investment portfolio for greater financial security.
- You're interested in learning about markets but too busy to go through countless books, blogs, videos, and other materials.
- You worked hard to save money, but in a world of money printing and inflation, your savings were diluted and inflated away.
- You're looking for better ways to protect your capital and achieve long-term growth.
- You have savings, but avoided investing due to the risk of losing money.
- You want to better understand the markets, risks, and returns, so you can invest more confidently and make your money work for you.
- You're an active trader or investor with expertise in a specific area.
- You want to expand your knowledge of other asset classes and macroeconomic factors to complement your trading.
- You have a finance interview or an internship coming up and need to be on top of how the industry and markets work (and FAST!)
- Finance is a highly competetive sector. You want to differentiate yourself from other candidates and give yourself the highest chance of success.
- In today's competetive world, you see investing as an important skill and want to start early.
- You're looking for a crash course to quickly learn about markets and establish a strong foundation from the start.
- You work in the financial industry, but not directly within the markets.
- You're looking to improve your market knowledge to help with a promotion or to transition into a higher-paying role within the markets.
Who is this course NOT for?
This course isn't for everyone, and it's not for you if:
- You're looking for a magic pill to become a financial markets expert overnight. Like any skill, it takes time, effort, and practice. You have to put in the work.
- You believe financial markets are a get-rich-quick scheme. The chances of that happening are like winning a lottery.
- You're searching for secret formulas or trading signals that "just work" and tell you what to buy or sell without you putting in any effort. If only it was that simple...
- You think this course will tell you what the market will do next day/month/year. No course can teach you to predict the future.
The course is delivered by Sergei Perfiliev:
▪️ Trader specializing in equity derivatives and volatility trading.
▪️ Former Goldman Sachs quantitative analyst.
▪️ Working in finance since 2008.
▪️ Professional career includes Nomura, Bloomberg and Goldman Sachs.
▪️ Cross asset-class experience covering equities, fixed income, FX and commodities.
▪️ Delivering financial courses since 2013.
▪️ Taught 1,000+ students on finance and financial markets.
▪️ Holds Masters of Engineering from Imperial College London.
▪️ Holds Masters of Science in Mathematical Finance from University of Oxford.
See what others have to say:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Ahmet, Software Developer
"I tend to get bored and distracted by anything over an hour. I didn't even blink for a second during your training. You're a great great presenter and a great storyteller. I've read and watched about many of those macroeconomics topics before however yours was by far the most engaging one."
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Tommy, Software Engineer
"...as usual I liked your lively presentation style, how you present not only the facts but also put then in context and explain how things link to each other, all using a language that it suitable for engineers. :) That's why repeatedly attend your courses."
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Anna, Accounts Manager
“Sergei led various financial trainings and I really enjoyed his teaching style and dedication to his students. He always made sure students were engaged and understood the topic before moving on. I would recommend Sergei for his professionalism and deep knowledge.”
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Alex, Financial Sales
“As part of a financial training program, Sergei equipped me with the knowledge that I am still benefiting from seven years later. He has an ability to deliver complex subject material in a digestible way.”
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Igor, Data Analyst
“Amazing training! Sergei does a great job at explaining the concepts using simple analogies which makes the complex world of finance very clear.”
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Yoshi, Investment Professional
“Sergei is one of the best instructors I have ever met. He understands people learn in different ways and can adjust his teaching style. I would highly recommend him, especially when you are trying to learn something complicated or you want to learn something quickly.”
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Paul, Software Developer
"An excellent presenter and an enjoyable course, complex material presented in an approachable fashion."
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Eric, Software Engineer
“Sergei’s lucid explanations helped me get a deeper grasp of the concepts I was grappling with, whilst giving me a new perspective on the material. I credit him with getting me up to speed when I needed it most.”
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Babak, Head of Pricing
“Sergei has a dynamic approach to teaching and his ability to breakdown complex commercial concepts makes learning easy and memorable. I still remember his enthusiasm after 7 years and always happy to learn from him.”
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Vlad, Financial Sales
“Sergei is a very good teacher, and is able to explain clearly complex concepts. I felt his course was time well spent.”
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Jovana, Account Executive
“Sergei held one of the best training sessions at the onset of my career in finance. He was able to put together a fully comprehensive and detailed yet digestible programme. His strength is delivering complex concepts in a simplified and engaging manner.”
Ultimately, this course is not about financial markets.
It’s about making better decisions.
🎯
The more information and knowledge you have, the better decisions you can make.
Better decisions about your money.
Better decisions about your investments.
Better decisions about your future.
What differentiates this course from others?
There are many financial courses out there:
❌ Some are too complex.
❌ Some go into unnecessary products and topics.
❌ Some bombard you with dry information.
❌ Some just list financial products without explaining why they exist or why they're needed.
❌ Some overcomplicate things on purpose to give you an illusion of value.
But if something is complex and painful, it doesn't necessarily mean it's valuable!
On the contrary - it takes effort to simplify things and make them easy to understand.
We took a different approach.
Here is what makes our course unique:
1. Comprehensive:
- Covers the four main markets and demonstrates how they fit in the context of the wider economy and central bank policies.
- Explores the relationships and dynamics between markets and macroeconomic drivers.
- Focuses on what's truly important without going into unnecessary details.
2. All in One Place:
- Combines a wide range of financial topics and themes into a single training.
- Saves time and effort from having to collect important financial knowledge in bits and pieces.
- Offers a one-stop-shop solution for anyone looking to break into markets and investing.
3. Easy to Understand:
- Includes stories, examples, graphics, diagrams, memes and much more!
- Gives you an important context behind products and investments.
- Complex ideas are built from the ground up and introduced gradually.
Features and benefits of an online course:
✅ Full access to recorded lectures and over 1,100 slides.
✅ Flexible learning. Fit the course into your schedule with our user-friendly online platform.
✅ Accessible anywhere. Learn markets on your phone during your train journey to work!
✅ Ask questions and clarify anything in the comments section under every lesson.
✅ Engage with the instructor and other students on a Discord server.
✅ Rewatch and rewind anything you missed.
✅ Lifetime access to future updates.
Order the course and get instant access to these modules:
135 individual video-lectures + over 1,100 awesome slides 👇
- Slides and Resources
- 1. The Rise of Financial Markets (6:21)
- 2. Financing a Start-up (10:49)
- 3. Capital Markets Overview (8:54)
- 4. Debt Capital Markets (5:16)
- 5. Primary and Secondary Debt Markets (6:45)
- 6. Equity Capital Markets (5:03)
- 7. Mechanics of Issuing Shares (7:43)
- 8. Costs and Benefits of Raising Equity (9:11)
- 9. Four Main Financial Markets (9:11)
- Quiz: Test Your Knowledge
- 1. Fiscal Policy and Deficits (13:28)
- 2. Debt Never Gets Repaid (8:02)
- 3. Government Bond Demand (5:19)
- 4. The Special Role of the US Dollar (7:50)
- 5. What Makes Government Bonds Attractive? (8:24)
- 6. Why the Market Buys U.S. Bonds? (6:34)
- 7. Role of the Central Bank in Fixed Income Markets (7:34)
- 8. US Government Debt Holders and Lenders (7:16)
- 9. The Euro and Eurozone Bonds (6:37)
- 10. Role of the Currency in Bond Markets (13:23)
- Quiz: Test Your Knowledge
- 1. Risks When Investing in Bonds (5:34)
- 2. Impact of Interest Rate Expectations (12:40)
- 3. Duration Risk (7:00)
- 4. Real Rates and Inflation Expectations (6:58)
- 5. Credit Risk and Default Probability (5:22)
- 6. Fiscal Spirals and Bond Vigilantes (5:45)
- 7. How Yields Reflect Risk (7:52)
- Quiz: Test Your Knowledge
- 1. Importance of Government Rates (5:54)
- 2. Stimulating the Economy with Low Rates (8:03)
- 3. Fixing Inflation with High Rates (5:34)
- 4. Drivers of Short Term and Long Term Yields (10:23)
- 5. Shapes of the Yield Curve (4:39)
- 6. Why Does the Yield Curve Invert? (10:58)
- 7. Tracking the Yield Curve (5:44)
- Quiz: Test Your Knowledge
- Slides and Resources
- 1. What are Stocks and Shares? (5:17)
- 2. Market Cap and Shares Out (8:15)
- 3. How do Shareholders Benefit? (5:34)
- 4. Calculating Total Return (7:38)
- 5. What are Stock Market Indicies? (8:52)
- 6. ETFs or How to Buy a Stock Market Index? (5:25)
- 7. Long-Term Stock Market Returns (6:46)
- 8. How Long is Long-Term? (8:21)
- 9. The Power of (Love) Compounding (8:17)
- Quiz: Test Your Knowledge
- 1. What are Earnings? (7:44)
- 2. How Earnings Drive the Share Price (10:39)
- 3. Reported Earnings and Income Statement (11:08)
- 4. Earnings Growth is the Key (9:57)
- 5. Earnings Forecasts and Estimates (8:57)
- 6. Earnings Season and Analyst Recommendations (13:21)
- 7. Economic Impact on the Stock Market (8:43)
- 8. Is It Always Good to Own Stocks? (4:59)
- 9. Cyclicals vs Defensives (10:06)
- Quiz: Test Your Knowledge
- 1. How Do You Compare Stocks? (6:01)
- 2. PE Ratio and Earnings Growth (5:53)
- 3. Are Growth Stocks Overpriced? (12:48)
- 4. How Valuation Drives the Share Price? (8:02)
- 5. Limitations of the PE Ratio (5:58)
- 6. Two Approaches to Stock Valuation (2:54)
- 7. Relative Valuation and the Comparable Company Analysis (9:19)
- 8. Absolute Valuation and the DCF (7:21)
- 9. Summary of the Two Methods (5:00)
- Quiz: Test Your Knowledge
- 1. Welcome to Lumino and Kredos (11:09)
- 2. Strong Currency is Good, Right? (4:34)
- 3. The Art of Printing Money (7:52)
- 4. Kredos Fixes the Inflation Problem (4:22)
- 5. Lumino Faces a Currency Crisis (6:44)
- 6. Unintended Consequences (5:56)
- 7. Lumino Manages the Currency Crisis (6:08)
- 8. Financial Crisis Spirals Out of Control (7:30)
- 1. Structure of the FX Market (10:43)
- 2. Important FX Market Conventions (6:42)
- 3. Making Sense of the FX Quote (7:21)
- 4. Currency Regimes (5:12)
- 5. Why Fix a Currency Against Another? (4:48)
- 6. How Are Fixings Maintained? (7:49)
- 7. Example of a Swiss Franc (6:26)
- 8. Why Currency Pegs Fail? (6:49)
- 9. What Drives Currency Value? (5:30)
- 10. Global Trade and FX Markets (8:42)
- 11. U.S. Trade Deficit and Capital Flows (7:07)
- 12. Other Factors Impacting FX Rates (9:42)
- Quiz: Test Your Knowledge
- Slides and Resources
- 1. What are Commodities? (8:10)
- 2. Three Components of Commodity Supply (9:26)
- 3. Supply Shocks and Demand Shocks (5:26)
- 4. Stabilizing Commodity Markets with Reserves and Inventories (5:46)
- 5. Who Trades Commodities? (11:59)
- 6. Trading Commodities OTC and via Futures (10:34)
- Quiz: Test Your Knowledge
- 1. Black Gold: The Largest Traded Commodity (8:53)
- 2. Who Controls the Oil Supply? (6:39)
- 3. Major Historical Events in Crude Oil Markets (12:05)
- 4. From Crude Oil to Refined Products (11:45)
- 5. Is Crude Oil a Financial Market? (7:26)
- 6. Why Did Crude Oil Trade at Negative Prices? (7:40)
- Quiz: Test Your Knowledge
- Slides and Resources
- 1. Why Does Macro Matter? (12:17)
- 2. How to Measure the Economy? (11:05)
- 3. Real vs Nominal GDP (8:30)
- 4. Components of Gross Domestic Product (6:45)
- 5. GDP and Financial Markets (7:48)
- 6. Economic Releases and Indicators (9:48)
- 7. Why Don't You Get a Job? (Labor Markets) (12:24)
- Quiz: Test Your Knowledge
- 1. Why Are Price Levels Important for the Economy (7:09)
- 2. Inflationary Spiral of Doom (9:24)
- 3. The Mystical Deflation (6:06)
- 4. Real Rates Are Making It Worse! (5:57)
- 5. Gold Standard is the Answer! (10:47)
- 6. In Search of Price Stability. Part II. (8:25)
- 7. Yes, But Why Interest Rates? (9:17)
- 8. Inflation Targeting as the Ultimate Solution (9:29)
- 9. Inflation, Disinflation, Stagflation, and Otherflation (12:22)
- 10. Economic and Business Cycles (12:17)
- Quiz: Test Your Knowledge
- Slides and Resources
- 1. Central Bank Tools and Responsibilities (12:24)
- 2. Central Bank's Impact on Economic Cycles (9:55)
- 3. Federal Reserve as the World's Central Bank (9:43)
- 4. Quantitative Easing and the Fed's Balance Sheet (10:55)
- 5. Does Quantitative Easing Cause Inflation? (11:15)
- 6. Quantitative Easing Side Effects (6:43)
- 7. Fed Put and Income Inequality (5:06)
- Quiz: Test Your Knowledge
- Slides and Resources
- 1. Building a Macro Framework (8:38)
- 2. Scenario One: Growth and Stimulative Policy (6:55)
- 3. Scenario Two: Growth and Restrictive Policy (7:10)
- 4. Scenario Three: Recession and Restrictive Policy (3:58)
- 5. Scenario Four: Recession and Stimulative Policy (5:46)
- 6. Risk-On and Risk-Off Market Sentiment (12:56)
- 7. Listening to Market Moves (13:13)
- Quiz: Test Your Knowledge
Got any questions?
If you have any questions or need help making a decision, feel free to drop us an email at [email protected]. The inbox is open 24/7 with no holidays.
We're excited to hear from you!