It involves developing models and algorithms to price derivatives, manage risk, and make investment decisions based on quantitative analysis of market data.
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3 articles · 35 min
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Standard Deviation in Finance: Volatility Explained
Standard deviation measures the dispersion of investment returns, quantifying how much a stock or portfolio’s performance varies over time.
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Portfolio Diversification: What It Is, How It Works, and Why It Matters
Learn how portfolio diversification reduces risk, the diversification ratio formula, and practical strategies for building a well-diversified portfolio.
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Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM): Formula and Example
The Capital Asset Pricing Model describes the relationship between systematic risk and expected return, providing a framework for pricing risky assets.
Portfolio Analytics
8 parts · 1½ hours
Beta in Finance: What It Is, How to Calculate It, and Why It Matters
Beta is one of the most important risk metrics in finance. Whether you’re evaluating a single stock, building a diversified portfolio, or studying for the CFA…
Sharpe Ratio: Formula, Interpretation, and Examples
The Sharpe ratio measures risk-adjusted return per unit of total volatility, making it the most widely used performance metric in finance.
Correlation vs Covariance in Finance: Key Differences
Correlation and covariance quantify how two assets move relative to each other, forming the foundation of portfolio diversification and risk management.
Efficient Frontier: Portfolio Optimization Explained
Learn what the efficient frontier is, how Markowitz mean-variance optimization works, and how to identify optimal portfolios using the Capital Allocation Line.
Treynor Ratio: Formula, Interpretation, and Treynor vs Sharpe
The Treynor ratio measures risk-adjusted portfolio performance by dividing excess return by beta, making it the standard metric for evaluating well-diversified…
Jensen’s Alpha: Definition, Formula, and Example
Jensen’s Alpha measures a portfolio’s risk-adjusted performance by comparing its actual return to the return predicted by the CAPM, isolating the portion…
Maximum Drawdown: What It Is, How to Calculate It, and Why It Matters
Maximum drawdown measures the largest peak-to-trough percentage decline in a portfolio or investment before a new peak is established — the worst cumulative…
Monte Carlo Simulation in Finance: How It Works and Why It Matters
Learn how Monte Carlo simulation generates probability distributions of portfolio outcomes for retirement planning, risk estimation, and scenario analysis.
Statistics for Finance
10 parts · 1½ hours
Descriptive Statistics: Central Tendency and Dispersion
Learn how to use descriptive statistics in finance including arithmetic mean, geometric mean, median, variance, standard deviation, and coefficient…
Skewness and Kurtosis: Understanding Fat Tails in Return Distributions
Learn how skewness measures return asymmetry and kurtosis measures tail thickness. Understand why normal distribution assumptions can understate extreme event…
Probability Distributions in Finance: Normal, Lognormal, Binomial, and Student’s t
Learn which probability distributions describe financial variables, how to read PDFs and CDFs, and when each assumption fails.
Bayesian Updating in Finance: Revising Probabilities with New Evidence
Learn how to use Bayesian updating to revise probability estimates when new evidence arrives, with practical finance examples including credit risk signal…
Central Limit Theorem and Sampling Distributions
The Central Limit Theorem explains why sample averages become normally distributed as sample size grows, enabling confidence intervals and hypothesis tests…
Confidence Intervals: Statistical Estimation in Finance
Learn how confidence intervals quantify estimation uncertainty for means, proportions, and financial statistics.
Hypothesis Testing in Finance: z-Tests, t-Tests, and p-Values
Learn how to apply hypothesis testing to evaluate investment performance, test portfolio strategies, and interpret statistical significance in finance.
Type I and Type II Errors, Statistical Power, and p-Hacking
Every statistical test in finance carries the risk of two types of errors. A Type I error means acting on a signal that isn’t real — like hiring a manager…
Simulation Methods: Historical, Bootstrap, and Monte Carlo
Compare historical simulation, bootstrap simulation, and Monte Carlo simulation methods in finance. Learn when to use each approach, their assumptions…
Cholesky Decomposition for Correlated Asset Simulation
Learn how Cholesky decomposition converts independent random draws into correlated simulation inputs for multi-asset Monte Carlo analysis.
Interest Rate Models
4 parts · 37 min
Vasicek Model: Mean-Reverting Interest Rates & Bond Pricing
The Vasicek model is the foundational framework for stochastic interest rate modeling. Learn the mean-reverting SDE, bond pricing formulas, yield curve…
CIR Model: Square-Root Diffusion and Non-Negative Interest Rates
The Cox-Ingersoll-Ross (CIR) model uses square-root diffusion to ensure interest rates stay non-negative. Learn the CIR SDE, Feller condition, and bond pricing…
Hull-White Model: Calibration to the Yield Curve
The Hull-White model extends Vasicek by adding a time-varying mean reversion level, enabling exact calibration to the initial term structure for interest rate…
HJM Framework: Heath-Jarrow-Morton Forward Rate Modeling
The Heath-Jarrow-Morton (HJM) framework models the entire forward rate curve directly, with drift determined by volatility through the no-arbitrage condition.
Value at Risk
2 parts · 25 min
Value at Risk (VaR): Formula, Methods, and Examples From Financial Risk Management
Value at Risk (VaR) measures the loss threshold not expected to be exceeded at a given confidence level over a specified time horizon.
Expected Shortfall (CVaR): Formula, Calculation, and Examples From Financial Risk Management
Expected Shortfall (CVaR) measures the average loss in the worst-case tail of a portfolio return distribution, answering the question VaR leaves open: how bad…
Volatility Modeling
2 parts · 22 min
Historical Volatility: Parkinson, Garman-Klass & Rogers-Satchell
Learn efficient volatility estimation using OHLC data with Parkinson, Garman-Klass, and Rogers-Satchell estimators.
Stochastic Volatility: Heston Model Explained From Options & Derivatives
Learn how the Heston stochastic volatility model treats variance as a random process, explains the volatility smile through correlation, and compares to GARCH…
More articles
2 articles · 21 min
Finite Difference Methods for Option Pricing From Options & Derivatives
Learn how finite difference methods solve the Black-Scholes PDE on a discrete grid. Covers explicit, implicit, and Crank-Nicolson schemes with stability…
Kelly Criterion: Optimal Position Sizing for Traders
The Kelly Criterion is a mathematical formula that determines the optimal fraction of capital to risk on each trade to maximize long-term portfolio growth.
Tools for this topic
- Portfolio Variance CalculatorFree online calculator
- Beta CalculatorFree online calculator
- CAPM CalculatorFree online calculator Excel model: CAPM Calculator
- Correlation CalculatorFree online calculator
- Sharpe Ratio CalculatorFree online calculator
- Confidence Interval CalculatorFree online calculator Excel model: Confidence Interval Calculator
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