How to Become a Self-Taught Finance Expert

So you want to become a financial expert, but you don’t know where to start? Have no fear, because a wealth of information is at your fingertips, and getting started is easy. From a primer on personal finances to advanced securities analysis, anyone interested in learning can get access to the necessary resources.

Read Up on Financial Topics

The library, your local bookstore, and multiple online retailers offer literally thousands of books on every conceivable financial topic. From financial history and Wall Street villains to hedge fund analysis and day trading strategies, there’s a book for every topic. 

For a basic introduction to sound financial concepts, you can’t do much better than The Richest Man in Babylon. It’s a tiny little book, written in an uncomplicated style. It also captures the wisdom of the ages in an easy-to-follow manner.

Once you’ve covered that, the famous For Dummies series provides insight into everything from budgeting to mutual funds. Managing Your Money for Dummies and Mutual Funds for Dummies are two titles that will help you expand your knowledge of basic concepts.

By the time you finish these three books, you are likely to have identified specific items that you would like to learn more about. For these inquiries, there’s no better place to go for fast, easy access to information than online. Investopedia and similar sites provide access to a wealth of information that will keep you busy for weeks, if not months, including newsletters that will keep you updated on a daily basis. Investopedia’s journeys are particularly notable, as they provide an in-depth look at a wide variety of topics.

Google and other search engines let you hone in on specific topics, and many mutual fund companies and financial services firms offer a wealth of free information. A visit to their websites can offer everything from general education on a wide array of products to economic forecasts and economic insights from professional market-watchers. With just a little effort, you can identify and follow comments from your favorite economists, investment strategists, portfolio managers, and other experts.

Take a Finance Course

Thousands of in-person and online courses are available to help educate you about finance and investing. Many universities offer free or paid online courses that you can take at any time. We created the Investopedia Academy in 2018 to help people learn everything from investing, trading, and money management to personal finance.

Hit the Books Again

After you have covered the basics and want a solid overview at a more detailed level, The Wall Street Journal Guide to Understanding Money & Investing is a great place to start. When you are done with that, your local library or bookstore will contain a variety of magazines covering both timely and general financial services topics.

When you are ready to learn about equities, Value Line is a great research and publishing firm that provides an introduction into how you can begin to research and analyze stocks. Even if you choose not to conduct your own stock analysis, the website is worth a visit.

If you made it this far, you are clearly serious about your endeavor. Now it’s time to make your quest a daily habit. Subscribing to the The Wall Street Journal will give you a daily overview of the issues impacting global business operations. The WSJ also has a great “Personal Finance” section. Barron’s is another fine publication read by many professionals in the financial services industry. There are many other top-quality publications dedicated to various aspects of the financial services world. Find one that matches your interests and read it.

Talk to Financial Services Professionals

Once you have a solid understanding of the various aspects of the financial services world, it is time to spend some time talking to the experts. Financial services professionals make a living with their expertise and can help you learn about everything from mortgages and debt management to retirement planning and estate planning.

Some of these topics are covered in seminars, others in one-on-one consultations. You can even pick up a thing or two just by having an informal conversation. Talk to a professional financial advisor, talk to a banker, talk to an accountant, and talk to an attorney. Then listen and learn as they share their knowledge.

Ready for More?

Like what you have seen and heard and are ready for more? The CFA Institute, a nonprofit organization that offers education, a code of ethics to follow, and several certification programs (including the chartered financial analyst (CFA) and the certificate in investment performance measurement (CIPM) designations), provides access to its curriculum.

The CFA program is an extremely well-regarded curriculum. If articles with titles like Investment Performance Measurement: Evaluating and Presenting Results by Philip Lawton and Todd Jankowski (Wiley 2009) capture your interest, then the CFA Institute has a reading list that you are sure to like.

An Evolving Industry

The financial services field is constantly evolving and changing. Recent decades have seen the rise of exchange traded funds (ETFs), the emergence of cryptocurrencies, and a host of other developments. Change is par for the course as the industry adapts to dynamic economic conditions and changes in what investors want and how they wish to deploy their assets.

In this environment, there is always something new to consider, something old to revisit, and something interesting just beyond the horizon. Keeping up with the industry is an important part of a financial services professional’s life, and continuing education is required for many of these experts to maintain their credentials. What this means for the self-taught expert is that you will always have an opportunity to add to your body of knowledge.

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