Can I Learn Investing On My Own?

Studying investing is a great way to learn the tools and strategies necessary to expand your wealth by determining which assets to purchase that are expected to increase in value over time. Those interested in learning investing can begin preparing for the future by studying this in-demand skill set on their own through free online resources, such as tutorials and YouTube videos, as well as on-demand coursework. Although it can take additional time and effort to learn investing on your own since no live instructor is present, many resources are available to help with this educational journey. Read on to learn which tools are available for self-teaching investing, as well as some advantages and drawbacks to this educational approach.

Advantages to Self-Teaching Investing

Those who are interested in studying investing can explore a range of educational routes, including live coursework and self-teaching resources. Unlike live training, which requires that students meet at regularly scheduled intervals to attend courses that take place in real-time, self-teaching resources are recorded at an earlier time and placed online. These training materials take different forms. Students can watch short YouTube videos that span just a few minutes pertaining to a specific investing concept, such as the basic elements of financial planning, or watch longer tutorials that are an hour or longer and break down how to invest in the stock market. On-demand classes are also available in investing from many top providers, including Udemy and Coursera. These pre-recorded classes are offered for learners at all levels. Rather than having to rely on the instructor to dictate the training pace, the student has the flexibility to determine their own learning pace with self-teaching resources. They can pause, rewind, or rewatch entire videos as necessary to ensure they’re retaining the concepts. 

One of the main advantages of self-teaching materials is cost. Live training in investing can cost hundreds or thousands of dollars. Since no live instructor is present in self-teaching resources, they’re often a much more affordable alternative (some educators even post free investing training materials). Learners who are just getting started with investing can enroll in a longer on-demand program that teaches the ins and outs of this field and provides an overview and summary of the most common investing tools and practices. They can also combine several shorter lessons to a specific skills gap in topics like mutual funds, dividend stocks, or understanding market fluctuations. This knowledge can provide a solid foundation on which to build later studies. 

Investing Self-Teaching Tools

Studying investing through self-teaching tools like free online content and on-demand classes can be a great way to get started learning how to take calculated financial risks for future payoffs.

Free Online Resources

Those who want to explore investing but don’t want to invest hundreds or thousands of dollars in their training can do so through free online tutorials, videos, and coursework. These resources are perfect for learners who want an overview of the field of investing or wish to explore essential investing concepts and tools. Free online content takes many forms, including short videos, written tutorials, and blogs. There are hundreds of investing videos on YouTube that students can watch to explore the basic concepts of financial literacy. Some materials take just a few minutes to watch or read, whereas other resources are more comprehensive and offer more in-depth investing content. Noble Desktop offers a free Stock Market Investing Fundamentals webinar in which participants spend an hour studying topics like valuation principles, the Capital Gains tax, stocks, and bonds. This short course is perfect for those looking to learn about what principles control the stock market and what moves it. 

Additionally, informational content is available from the Securities and Exchange Commission’s investor education and advocacy branch, investor.org. This page provides an introduction to key financial concepts like risk and return, savings and investment, and diversification.

On-Demand Investing Courses

In addition to free YouTube videos and other online resources, top educators around the world, like Udemy, Skillshare, and Coursera, provide free classes on investing. For those who have busy schedules, on-demand coursework is an excellent alternative to live training because it doesn’t require meeting at a regular time for class. Since all content is pre-recorded and placed online, students who take an on-demand investing class can dictate their own learning speed and pause and rewind as often as necessary. This flexibility is a good option for those who need to balance their investing studies around other professional or personal commitments. 

Udemy offers coursework on investing topics like cryptocurrency or strategies to help beginners start to make sound investments. Coursera’s Fundamentals of Investing is also available for free and provides learners with four modules that teach beginner-level investing concepts like diversification and active vs. passive investing strategies. Because so much on-demand investing coursework is available online, learners can pick and choose the resources that are most useful for them and skip over content they already know or may not find relevant.

Drawbacks to Learning Investing on Your Own

Those who opt to study investing on their own should be aware of several potential hurdles that can pose challenges for some learners. Unlike live investing classes, which provide students with access to an instructor in real time, self-teaching materials are pre-recorded. This means that no instructor is available to provide guidance or support with challenging concepts. For some individuals, in particular, those who are new to investing, it can be hard to master complicated investing concepts through asynchronous materials. 

Another potential struggle some learners face when they attempt to learn investing on their own is motivating themselves to finish coursework. In live training, the instructor dictates lesson speed and may assign homework or other projects that have due dates or deadlines. Online resources like on-demand classes are entirely self-paced and leave it up to the student when they wish to study, how long they want to devote to their coursework, and how long it will take to complete the class or program. While this added level of freedom is an incentive for many individuals, it can present challenges for those who may struggle to find the motivation to complete their studies. Those who work full-time or have very busy schedules may forget to complete lessons or may find it hard to carve out time to practice the investing skills they’re learning. Since no instructor or classmates are present, some students may find it isolating to study investing on their own. This is why some learners opt for self-teaching materials like free webinars or YouTube videos to learn basic investing concepts, then move on to more structured, live coursework to master advanced-level skills.

Alternatives to Learning Investing on Your Own

While studying investing on your own can be a good educational route for some learners, several good alternatives to self-teaching are available as well. For some, asynchronous coursework is a good starting place on a longer path toward learning investing. It can provide a low-cost (or even free) low-stakes way to explore basic investing skills and topics and gain foundational knowledge on which later lessons can be built. Self-teaching resources like YouTube videos can also provide a way to focus on a specific investing concept, such as how to invest in mutual funds, without spending hours on unrelated financial topics.

However, if you’re looking to become familiar with investing concepts and practices for professional reasons or for your own financial planning, a more structured learning approach is often a much more effective and pragmatic alternative. In live classes, such as investing bootcamps or certificate programs, students attend classes in real-time, either at a designated training facility or through a teleconferencing platform like Zoom. The instructor shares their real-world knowledge and investing training with participants. Those enrolled can ask questions in real time and receive immediate clarification and support. They can even share their screen in live online sessions (with permission) for additional guidance. Students who opt for live classes also benefit from the opportunity to learn alongside others in their cohort. Rather than being alone on their educational path, learning investing with other students can provide a sense of community and camaraderie. 

Live investing classes typically cost more than on-demand resources. However, this additional investment is well worth it for most learners for several reasons. Live classes occur at regularly scheduled intervals, which means students will progress through lessons at a set pace and meet predetermined learning goals before moving on to new concepts. This structure can help participants find motivation to complete lessons and master financial concepts rather than put off their studies or prioritize other commitments. It’s often a much faster and more effective approach for aspiring financial professionals to opt for live coursework over self-teaching materials because the weeks or months they spend attending class are all in service of learning the skills they’ll need to succeed professionally. This approach can significantly expedite the learning process for most individuals.

Another incentive to attend live investing classes is that these programs often provide much more than in-class instruction. Graduates of certificates in investing, for example, often receive additional support that extends beyond class instruction. Some of these programs provide learners with professional development incentives like career counseling, access to networking events, LinkedIn profile critiques, or professional portfolio development sessions. Self-teaching materials do not include these professional perks.