Investing Training & Classes for Employees: Review Corporate Training Options

Investing is the act of buying assets like stocks or bonds with the expectation that they will increase in value or generate income over a period of time. The practice of investing involves various risks, depending on the assets that are purchased and the investment strategy that was employed. Learning how to make sound investments is a useful skill that helps individuals and organizations build wealth and outpace inflation. Those who know investing are in demand across industries and professions since most organizations rely on investment strategies to remain competitive in today’s market. Many employers, therefore, will benefit from those within their organization knowing the ins and outs of investing so they can make sound financial decisions.Read on to learn about what to consider when looking for corporate investing training options and find out about options that are available for onsite and online training.

What is Investing?

In the most basic sense, investing involves purchasing an asset at a lower price and selling it for more than this value. The return on this investment is a capital gain. One way to make money investing is to sell assets for profit and earn returns on them. The amount the investment gains between when it’s purchased and sold is referred to as appreciation. Another way investing operates is when individuals purchase and hold assets that generate income. In this instance, the goal isn’t to sell the asset to realize its capital gains but to purchase assets capable of generating cash flow in the long term and hang onto it. 

When they speak about investing, people often refer to financial markets in which investors come together to purchase and sell assets like bonds or stocks. It’s common for stocks to pay Investors dividends, which take the form of additional stock or cash distributed by public companies to shareholders. Those who work in income investing strive to earn a steady income flow from dividends without selling stock shares. Those who invest are looking to make compound interest on their investment. This occurs when the initial investment begins to earn returns of its own. Compound interest helps many individuals reach their investment goals for educational expenses or retirement. 

Investment takes many forms. The most common types are stocks, bonds, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and certificates of deposit (CDs). Stocks, also known as shares or equities, are the most widely known investment type. Those who purchase stock buy ownership stakes in a publicly traded company, such as Microsoft or Apple. When purchasing bonds, individuals lend money to an entity like the government or a business. Local governments issue municipal bonds, and companies issue corporate bonds, and the US Treasury issues Treasury notes, bills, and bonds, all of which are debt instruments purchased by investors. Mutual funds consist of a pool of money from many investors. This pool is broadly invested in many companies and is either actively or passively managed. ETFs operate similarly to mutual funds in that they are a group of investments tracking a market index. However, unlike mutual funds bought through a fund company, ETF shares are purchased and sold on stock markets. CDs are low-risk investments in which the investor provides the bank with a specified amount of money for a determined period and receives interest. 

What Can You Do with Investing Skills?

Knowledge of investing extends well beyond the realm of stock brokers and Wall Street. Today, strategies for investing have both professional and personal applications. Unlike in the past, where investments were largely handled by finance professionals like Stock Brokers, nowadays, anyone with an internet connection can invest in the market using mobile applications. One of the essential components of investing is selecting assets that are expected to increase in value over time. This can include bonds, mutual funds, ETFs, or in physical assets like real estate, cars, watches, or jewelry. 

Those who know how to make sound investments and understand core financial principles can pursue careers in many in-demand fields. Investment Bankers serve as financial advisors for corporations who issue bond shares or stock to help their company raise money or merge with other companies. Financial Analysts are hired to perform tasks like monitoring market trends, studying financial statements, and creating financial models for their organization. Stockbrokers are licensed professionals who purchase and sell securities like stocks on behalf of clients. Within the banking sector, Bankers who have investment knowledge and financial literacy meet individually with clients and help these individuals manage their financial needs. Additionally, investment knowledge is widely used in FinTech. Those who work in this industry design new financial technology, such as banking and investing applications.

Benefits of Corporate Training in Investing

Corporate investing training is an excellent opportunity to teach those at your workplace essential financial concepts and skills. Learning about investing has a range of applications for your employees that won’t only benefit your workplace but will help them achieve their own financial goals. Investing training provides a way for employees to become financially literate. This training covers skills like how to understand the relationship between income, assets, expenses, and liabilities. It also can help them find strategies to mitigate the risks associated with investing so they can make more informed financial decisions.

Another benefit of corporate investing training is the soft skills it provides. This type of training helps your employees learn how to separate their emotions from their investments. This key skill not only reduces the stress that often accompanies investment but also helps them avoid making uninformed decisions that will lead to monetary losses. Corporate investing training prepares your employees to retain emotional control through the investment process, which results in clear, stress-free decisions. Additionally, the self-discipline and time-management skills investing training teaches your employees how to stay on top of their investments without reacting to every market fluctuation or dip.

In addition to the professional benefits of studying investing, your employees will benefit personally from the corporate training they receive. They explore topics that will have personal ramifications for themselves and their families, such as how the money they invest in an IRA or real estate will help their money grow and how best to outpace inflation. A solid understanding of investing is a great way to prepare your employees to be proactive in setting up retirement accounts like IRAs, which compound each year.

Who Benefits Most from Investing Corporate Training?

In 2023, the Federal Reserve noted that the percentage of Americans who invested in stocks was at an all-time high of approximately 58% of households. Because of how commonplace and essential investing is for personal and professional well-being, all individuals who receive investing training will benefit from this knowledge. In particular, those who work in finance-related fields, including investment banking, financial analytics, accounting, and FinTech, will find investment knowledge useful for performing daily tasks for their employer. Because investing training often includes general instruction on financial literacy, these skills are largely transferable and will be an asset to all who learn them.

New Skills or Upskilling?

If you’re trying to decide whether to train some or all of the employees at your workplace in investing, this training will likely be useful to everyone, regardless of the department in which they work and their level of seniority. Knowledge of investing is a core financial competency most adults will benefit from learning. Those who know when and where to invest and how to read the market will be able to use this knowledge to make sound investments for themselves or their employer. This skill can help employees more effectively save money for their children’s college tuition, to purchase cars or homes, or to prepare for retirement. 

Corporate investment training will be particularly useful if you work for a financial institution like an investment bank, insurance company, or brokerage firm. Your employees likely will benefit from a large training seminar in which they can all acquire practical investment training and knowledge of current best market practices. The skills acquired during investment studies will help those at your workplace more effectively perform daily tasks for stakeholders like clients, whose money they may be tasked with investing. The more your employees understand core financial competencies, such as what moves the stock market, how stocks are valued, how to read financial statements, and how to create long-term financial plans, the more valuable they will be to your organization, and the more transferable skills they’ll possess.

Onsite or Online?

One important decision you’ll need to make if you want to train your employees in investing is whether you want the training session onsite or online. This decision will likely depend on several important factors. First is your location. If your workplace is in or near a major city, in-person training at your location is often a possibility. This interactive, engaging training format brings a live instructor with real-world investing experience directly to your workplace. They lead a discussion on investing techniques and teach your employees these skills through hands-on training using real-world financial examples. Participants can ask questions, receive support or guidance, and interact with other coworkers in a supportive learning environment.

Online corporate training is a good alternative to in-person study. In this format, an expert instructor connects with your employees using Zoom or a similar teleconferencing platform. This setup has many of the same benefits as in-person training, including real-time guidance and the opportunity for your employees to ask questions as necessary. One of the main perks of live online corporate training is that those attending a session can do so remotely from any location with a strong internet connection. This training format, therefore, is especially useful for those who don’t work near a major city with a designated training facility. 

Training Options for Employees

If you’re interested in corporate investing training for your employees, let Noble Desktop help. Noble can provide instruction in a range of topics that are relevant for those interested in learning investing. Those interested in exploring Python’s various uses in finance can enroll in Python for Finance Bootcamp, which requires several days to complete. This hands-on program is intended for those who work in careers like financial analytics, risk management, portfolio management, data analysis, or finance technology. Instruction is provided on topics like how to use Python’s financial libraries to collect and manipulate financial data, create risk management models, and apply statistical measures to stock prices. 

Noble also offers Python Machine Learning Bootcamp, which covers a range of in-demand Python machine-learning skills that have applications on Wall Street and beyond. Participants study topics like linear and logistic regression, decision trees, bias, variance, and tips for measuring the accuracy of machine learning models. 

Because some financial professionals work with spreadsheet tools, Noble can also provide training your employees to use Microsoft Excel. Excel Level I: Fundamentals is available for those who are just getting started working with spreadsheets and want to learn the basics of how to work with this app, including core calculations, functions, formatting, and printing skills. Excel Level II: Intermediate is an option for those who already have familiarity with spreadsheets and want to take their knowledge even further. This hands-on program teaches students how to work with PivotTables, split and join text, and sort and filter databases. Advanced-level Excel training is also available in Noble’s Excel Level III: Advanced. This course covers Excel’s most complex features, such as how to work with advanced analytics tools, write macros, and use functions like MATCH and VLOOKUP-MATCH. Each of these short courses can be completed in just one session.

Supplemental Training Options

In addition to in-person and live online group training sessions, Noble also can provide your employees with alternative methods of instruction. These flexible training options are designed to ensure all your employees get the most out of their training and can do so as their schedules permit. Vouchers to group classes can be purchased in bulk at a discount for Noble group classes. These are regularly scheduled in a range of topics and tools that are relevant to investing, including data science, Microsoft Excel, and Python programming. Employees can schedule their training around other commitments, such as full-time work, and opt for evening or weekend training. Coursework can also be customized to meet the needs of those at your workplace, or you can choose from already scheduled courses. If you’re interested in learning more about the exciting training options available from Noble, don’t hesitate to contact Noble today to find out more.