Understanding Investments

Watch Understanding Investments

  • 2012
  • 1 Season

Understanding Investments from The Great Courses Signature Collection is a comprehensive educational series hosted by esteemed economist and Duke University Professor Connel Fullenkamp. The course is designed to provide a clear and concise understanding of the complicated world of investments to both novice and seasoned investors alike.

Over the course of 24 lectures, Professor Fullenkamp covers a wide range of topics and explores the fundamental principles of investing. He begins with an overview of the different types of investments available, including stocks, bonds, and mutual funds, and provides a historical overview of the financial markets in the United States.

From there, the course delves into important investment concepts and strategies, such as diversification, asset allocation, and risk management. Professor Fullenkamp illustrates these concepts using real-world examples and practical scenarios to help viewers truly understand how to make informed investment decisions.

Another key focus of the course is investment analysis. Professor Fullenkamp shows students how to conduct a thorough analysis of a company's financial statements by examining key financial ratios and indicators, such as price-to-earnings ratios and return on equity. He also provides guidance on how to read and interpret financial news, market trends, and economic indicators.

Beyond individual investments, Understanding Investments also covers broader investment topics such as global markets, mutual funds, and retirement planning. Professor Fullenkamp explores the benefits and risks of investing in foreign markets and examines the role of mutual funds in building a diversified investment portfolio. He also provides strategies and tools for planning for retirement, including 401(k)s and IRAs.

Throughout the course, Professor Fullenkamp places a strong emphasis on the importance of understanding one's own risk tolerance and investment goals. He stresses the importance of taking a long-term approach to investing, rather than focusing on short-term gains, and encourages viewers to develop a solid investment plan that aligns with their individual needs and objectives.

Overall, Understanding Investments from The Great Courses Signature Collection is an excellent resource for anyone looking to gain a thorough understanding of the complex world of investing. Professor Fullenkamp's engaging and informative lectures, combined with real-world examples and practical advice, make this course a must-watch for anyone looking to make sound investment decisions for their future.

Understanding Investments is a series that ran for 1 seasons (48 episodes) between April 6, 2012 and on The Great Courses Signature Collection

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Seasons
Taking Charge of Your Investments
24. Taking Charge of Your Investments
April 6, 2012
Now that you understand the many investment products out there, it's time for practical decision making about turning your financial planning into financial reality. Grasp how to shape your investment choices to match your retirement plans and how to turn those investments into income for living expenses when you do reach retirement.
Taking Charge of Your Investments
24. Taking Charge of Your Investments
April 6, 2012
Now that you understand the many investment products out there, it's time for practical decision making about turning your financial planning into financial reality. Grasp how to shape your investment choices to match your retirement plans and how to turn those investments into income for living expenses when you do reach retirement.
Financial Planning
23. Financial Planning
April 6, 2012
Zero in on the whole point of investing: reaching a particular goal or goals you've decided on. This lecture uses the calculating tools you've already learned to show you how to plan for your retirement, but its techniques can be applied to any financial goal you set for yourself.
Financial Planning
23. Financial Planning
April 6, 2012
Zero in on the whole point of investing: reaching a particular goal or goals you've decided on. This lecture uses the calculating tools you've already learned to show you how to plan for your retirement, but its techniques can be applied to any financial goal you set for yourself.
Time Value of Money
22. Time Value of Money
April 6, 2012
In addition to understanding some basic ideas, you need some key skills for smart investing. This lecture teaches you how to perform the simple calculations that will enable you to compare returns across different investments, project their future value, and estimate a reasonable price to pay for them.
Time Value of Money
22. Time Value of Money
April 6, 2012
In addition to understanding some basic ideas, you need some key skills for smart investing. This lecture teaches you how to perform the simple calculations that will enable you to compare returns across different investments, project their future value, and estimate a reasonable price to pay for them.
Risk, Return, and Diversification
21. Risk, Return, and Diversification
April 6, 2012
The cliche is that high risk brings the potential of high returns. But you learn in this insightful lecture that the cliche isn't true as you explore the two ways risks are classified and the very different expectation of potential rewards that come with each.
Risk, Return, and Diversification
21. Risk, Return, and Diversification
April 6, 2012
The cliche is that high risk brings the potential of high returns. But you learn in this insightful lecture that the cliche isn't true as you explore the two ways risks are classified and the very different expectation of potential rewards that come with each.
Deciding When to Sell
20. Deciding When to Sell
April 6, 2012
Selling an investment - whether a winner or loser - can be emotionally difficult. In addition to learning why this is so, grasp the different reasons that selling is often the right decision, and learn some techniques that can help offset emotional influences.
Deciding When to Sell
20. Deciding When to Sell
April 6, 2012
Selling an investment - whether a winner or loser - can be emotionally difficult. In addition to learning why this is so, grasp the different reasons that selling is often the right decision, and learn some techniques that can help offset emotional influences.
Cycles and Market Timing
19. Cycles and Market Timing
April 6, 2012
What role should three key cycles - price cycles in financial markets, the business cycle, and the interest rate or credit cycle - play in your investment decisions? Learn how these cycles work and the best way to protect yourself against their fluctuations.
Cycles and Market Timing
19. Cycles and Market Timing
April 6, 2012
What role should three key cycles - price cycles in financial markets, the business cycle, and the interest rate or credit cycle - play in your investment decisions? Learn how these cycles work and the best way to protect yourself against their fluctuations.
Real Estate and Commodities
18. Real Estate and Commodities
April 6, 2012
Do real estate and commodities belong in your portfolio? And if they do, what are the best instruments for putting them there? This lecture offers a realistic view of these questions, including a look at real estate investment trusts, or REITs, and commodity-focused ETFs.
Real Estate and Commodities
18. Real Estate and Commodities
April 6, 2012
Do real estate and commodities belong in your portfolio? And if they do, what are the best instruments for putting them there? This lecture offers a realistic view of these questions, including a look at real estate investment trusts, or REITs, and commodity-focused ETFs.
Options Are for Everyone
17. Options Are for Everyone
April 6, 2012
Explore the world of stock and index options and how you can put them to work for you at very low or even zero risk. Learn about call options, put options, strike prices, and how to use the return-enhancing technique known as the covered call strategy.
Options Are for Everyone
17. Options Are for Everyone
April 6, 2012
Explore the world of stock and index options and how you can put them to work for you at very low or even zero risk. Learn about call options, put options, strike prices, and how to use the return-enhancing technique known as the covered call strategy.
Investing in Foreign Assets
16. Investing in Foreign Assets
April 6, 2012
With about $80 trillion of investment opportunities outside the United States, foreign investment can be a tempting option. Learn how the rules for diversifying into these investments are changing, and what you need to know to help ensure that your foreign investment decisions are as sound as possible.
Investing in Foreign Assets
16. Investing in Foreign Assets
April 6, 2012
With about $80 trillion of investment opportunities outside the United States, foreign investment can be a tempting option. Learn how the rules for diversifying into these investments are changing, and what you need to know to help ensure that your foreign investment decisions are as sound as possible.
Picking Mutual Funds
15. Picking Mutual Funds
April 6, 2012
Today's marketplace contains an amazing variety of mutual funds from which to choose. You can navigate this often-bewildering array of choices with confidence as you learn the key categories of differentiating them, including assets, goals, balance of growth vs. value, and diversification.
Picking Mutual Funds
15. Picking Mutual Funds
April 6, 2012
Today's marketplace contains an amazing variety of mutual funds from which to choose. You can navigate this often-bewildering array of choices with confidence as you learn the key categories of differentiating them, including assets, goals, balance of growth vs. value, and diversification.
Bond School
14. Bond School
April 6, 2012
Although bonds are often part of a buy-and-hold investment strategy, they can also be as actively traded as stocks, with just as great a risk. This lecture explains the descriptive terms, jargon, pricing, price-yield relationships, and standard practices you can encounter in the potentially confusing marketplace for bonds.
Bond School
14. Bond School
April 6, 2012
Although bonds are often part of a buy-and-hold investment strategy, they can also be as actively traded as stocks, with just as great a risk. This lecture explains the descriptive terms, jargon, pricing, price-yield relationships, and standard practices you can encounter in the potentially confusing marketplace for bonds.
Choosing Bonds
13. Choosing Bonds
April 6, 2012
Gain the analytical tools to intelligently navigate the wide ocean of choices faced by anyone contemplating an investment in bonds. This lecture guides you through the three critical issues that can help shape your selection: default risk, inflation protection, and how your earnings may be taxed.
Choosing Bonds
13. Choosing Bonds
April 6, 2012
Gain the analytical tools to intelligently navigate the wide ocean of choices faced by anyone contemplating an investment in bonds. This lecture guides you through the three critical issues that can help shape your selection: default risk, inflation protection, and how your earnings may be taxed.
Using Leverage
12. Using Leverage
April 6, 2012
Although using leverage - borrowing a portion of the purchase price of an investment - can offer tempting rewards, the level of risk can be high. Explore how leverage works as you learn about margin requirements, short sales, and how leverage impacts both potential profits and potential losses.
Using Leverage
12. Using Leverage
April 6, 2012
Although using leverage - borrowing a portion of the purchase price of an investment - can offer tempting rewards, the level of risk can be high. Explore how leverage works as you learn about margin requirements, short sales, and how leverage impacts both potential profits and potential losses.
Why Should You Care about Dividends?
11. Why Should You Care about Dividends?
April 6, 2012
Interpreted correctly, dividends can be an extremely revealing indicator of a company's value. Explore not only dividends, but several other ways by which companies can reward their shareholders, including preferred stock, dividend reinvestment programs, and stock splits.
Why Should You Care about Dividends?
11. Why Should You Care about Dividends?
April 6, 2012
Interpreted correctly, dividends can be an extremely revealing indicator of a company's value. Explore not only dividends, but several other ways by which companies can reward their shareholders, including preferred stock, dividend reinvestment programs, and stock splits.
Startup Companies and IPOs
10. Startup Companies and IPOs
April 6, 2012
The glamour of initial public offerings can obscure their realities. This lecture explains how most IPOs are done, the "Dutch auction" method that is sometimes used instead, and what you need to know if you get the opportunity to participate in an IPO.
Startup Companies and IPOs
10. Startup Companies and IPOs
April 6, 2012
The glamour of initial public offerings can obscure their realities. This lecture explains how most IPOs are done, the "Dutch auction" method that is sometimes used instead, and what you need to know if you get the opportunity to participate in an IPO.
Fundamentals-Based Analysis of Stocks
9. Fundamentals-Based Analysis of Stocks
April 6, 2012
Add another stock-pricing model to your toolbox - the Dividend Discount Model. You learn that such fundamentals-based models rest on two ideas: that an investment's price should depend only on what it will pay you, and that future cash is worth less than present cash.
Fundamentals-Based Analysis of Stocks
9. Fundamentals-Based Analysis of Stocks
April 6, 2012
Add another stock-pricing model to your toolbox - the Dividend Discount Model. You learn that such fundamentals-based models rest on two ideas: that an investment's price should depend only on what it will pay you, and that future cash is worth less than present cash.
P/E Ratios and the Method of Comparables
8. P/E Ratios and the Method of Comparables
April 6, 2012
Your skills broaden as you gain an additional tool for drilling down into a company to evaluate its investment potential. This lecture introduces the concept of valuation models, beginning with the popular Method of Comparables, which uses ratios like price-to-earnings, or P/E, to value stocks.
P/E Ratios and the Method of Comparables
8. P/E Ratios and the Method of Comparables
April 6, 2012
Your skills broaden as you gain an additional tool for drilling down into a company to evaluate its investment potential. This lecture introduces the concept of valuation models, beginning with the popular Method of Comparables, which uses ratios like price-to-earnings, or P/E, to value stocks.
Financial Statement Analysis
7. Financial Statement Analysis
April 6, 2012
In the first of three lectures introducing standard tools for analyzing and selecting stocks and other possible investments, learn how to read a typical financial statement. Grasp the meaning of concepts like income statements and balance sheets, and learn what they can tell you about a company's strengths and weaknesses.
Financial Statement Analysis
7. Financial Statement Analysis
April 6, 2012
In the first of three lectures introducing standard tools for analyzing and selecting stocks and other possible investments, learn how to read a typical financial statement. Grasp the meaning of concepts like income statements and balance sheets, and learn what they can tell you about a company's strengths and weaknesses.
What Are Exchange-Traded Funds?
6. What Are Exchange-Traded Funds?
April 6, 2012
Learn how this relatively new option for investors differs from mutual funds and about the advantages they may have over mutual funds for those making investments outside of tax-advantaged plans such as 401(k)s. You also learn what depository receipts are, and the key role they play in ETFs.
What Are Exchange-Traded Funds?
6. What Are Exchange-Traded Funds?
April 6, 2012
Learn how this relatively new option for investors differs from mutual funds and about the advantages they may have over mutual funds for those making investments outside of tax-advantaged plans such as 401(k)s. You also learn what depository receipts are, and the key role they play in ETFs.
Introduction to Mutual Funds
5. Introduction to Mutual Funds
April 6, 2012
Mutual funds are one of several types of so-called "pooled investments," which allow small investors to hold securities they perhaps couldn't afford individually. Explore how these pooled investments work, with the focus on the most popular type, the open-end mutual fund, and learn what to look for in a summary prospectus.
Introduction to Mutual Funds
5. Introduction to Mutual Funds
April 6, 2012
Mutual funds are one of several types of so-called "pooled investments," which allow small investors to hold securities they perhaps couldn't afford individually. Explore how these pooled investments work, with the focus on the most popular type, the open-end mutual fund, and learn what to look for in a summary prospectus.
The Basics of Bonds
4. The Basics of Bonds
April 6, 2012
In this first lecture about bonds - with the focus on a "buy-and-hold" strategy - grasp the variety of available bonds and the features most important to an investor: who issued them, whether they are secured, and the timing of payments. You also learn how to "ladder" your holdings for a consistent income stream.
The Basics of Bonds
4. The Basics of Bonds
April 6, 2012
In this first lecture about bonds - with the focus on a "buy-and-hold" strategy - grasp the variety of available bonds and the features most important to an investor: who issued them, whether they are secured, and the timing of payments. You also learn how to "ladder" your holdings for a consistent income stream.
Starting with Stocks
3. Starting with Stocks
April 6, 2012
Learn why stocks, though often not the best place for a newcomer to begin investing, can be the best means of learning about investing. Explore key ideas like dealers vs. brokers, the different kinds of buy-or-sell orders, and what stocks really are.
Starting with Stocks
3. Starting with Stocks
April 6, 2012
Learn why stocks, though often not the best place for a newcomer to begin investing, can be the best means of learning about investing. Explore key ideas like dealers vs. brokers, the different kinds of buy-or-sell orders, and what stocks really are.
How Investors Make Money
2. How Investors Make Money
April 6, 2012
Can anyone actually beat the performance of the stock market? Grasp what the Efficient Market Hypothesis and the debate over its validity can reveal about the answer - and how your own opinion can shape your investment strategy.
How Investors Make Money
2. How Investors Make Money
April 6, 2012
Can anyone actually beat the performance of the stock market? Grasp what the Efficient Market Hypothesis and the debate over its validity can reveal about the answer - and how your own opinion can shape your investment strategy.
How to Stop Worrying and Start Investing
1. How to Stop Worrying and Start Investing
April 6, 2012
In this introduction to investing, learn some of investing's fundamental ideas and the basic impediments that can interfere with sound investment decisions. Also, learn that there are ways to protect yourself, and that the path to becoming a sound investor is available to anyone willing to learn. #Literature & Learning
How to Stop Worrying and Start Investing
1. How to Stop Worrying and Start Investing
April 6, 2012
In this introduction to investing, learn some of investing's fundamental ideas and the basic impediments that can interfere with sound investment decisions. Also, learn that there are ways to protect yourself, and that the path to becoming a sound investor is available to anyone willing to learn. #Literature & Learning
Description
Where to Watch Understanding Investments
Understanding Investments is available for streaming on the The Great Courses Signature Collection website, both individual episodes and full seasons. You can also watch Understanding Investments on demand at Apple TV Channels, Amazon Prime, Amazon, Kanopy and Hoopla.
  • Premiere Date
    April 6, 2012
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