Understanding Investing and Portfolio Management

Understanding Investing and Portfolio Management is a self-paced online course that introduces you to the core ideas and tools behind modern investing. You’ll explore financial markets, asset classes, risk and return, portfolio theory, and responsible investing so you can start thinking like an investor. In addition to video lessons taught by Wharton faculty, the program includes related readings, glossary terms, and quizzes to test your learning.

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Overview

Additional registration details coming soon

Overview 

Students in Understanding Investing and Portfolio Management access the program on the Wharton Online learning platform. The course is on-demand and fully asynchronous, so you can move through the material as your schedule allows. 

Student Benefits 

  • Enhance your understanding of investing and portfolio management concepts 
  • Learn from world-class faculty 
  • Engage at your own pace with the convenience of online learning and flexible start dates 
  • Earn a Wharton Global Youth Program certificate of completion to document your learning 

Upon completion of this program, students will be able to: 

  • Explain and apply the core principles of investing. 
  • Calculate and interpret financial statement ratios to assess firm performance. 
  • Compare and construct diversified portfolio strategies. 
  • Evaluate investment strategies and ethical considerations. 
  • Apply financial theory to analyze real-world market behavior. 

Details

Academic Director:

Dr. Chris Geczy

Dr. Chris Geczy has been on the Finance Department faculty at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania since 1997. He is Academic Director of the Jacobs Levy Equity Management Center for Quantitative Financial Research. He is also Academic Director of the Wharton Wealth Management Initiative at Wharton Executive Education. He has a B.A. in economics from the University of Pennsylvania and a Ph.D. in finance and econometrics from the Graduate School of Business at the University of Chicago (now the Booth School). 

Other Faculty:

Dr. David Musto

Headshot of a person in a suit and tie, standing indoors with large windows in the background.Dr. David K. Musto is the Ronald O. Perelman Professor in Finance and faculty director of the Stevens Center for Innovation in Finance at the Wharton School, where he has been on the faculty since 1995. He also served as Senior Financial Economist at the Securities Exchange Commission from 2005 to 2007. He has a BA from Yale University and a PhD from the University of Chicago, and between college and graduate school he worked for Roll and Ross Asset Management in Culver City, CA. Most of his work, both theoretical and empirical, is in the area of consumer financial services, mutual funds and consumer credit in particular. He has also published work on corporate and political voting, option pricing, short selling, and cross-border taxation. 

 Dr. Paul Fischer

Professor Fischer’s research spans two areas of interest: the acquisition and dissemination of information in capital markets, and the design of incentive systems within and between firms. His capital market research has considered the impact of accounting disclosures on security prices, manager disclosure behavior, investor information gathering strategies, pricing bubbles, and the economic determinants and consequences of heuristic behaviors. His research on the design of incentive systems has examined the roles played by insider trading restrictions, risk management activities, peer evaluation systems, monitoring systems, and social norms. His research has appeared in The Accounting Review, Contemporary Accounting Research, Journal of Accounting and Economics, Journal of Accounting Research, Review of Accounting Studies, Journal of Finance, Management Science, and The American Economic Review. 

Time Commitment 

  • Estimated 16-18 hours total. 

Course Structure 

Each module follows a consistent format to support learning and practice:  

  • Glossary terms to build fluency in the language of investing 
  • Video lectures from Wharton faculty 
  • “Check for understanding” quizzes after each lesson 
  • A Wharton insight article that links to research or practitioner perspectives from the Wharton School 

Course Modules 

  • Module 1: Money and Why Investing 
    • Lesson 1: Time Value of Money and Present Value 
    • Lesson 2: What is Investing and Why Invest Early? 
  • Module 2: Investment Fundamental
    • Lesson 1: Capital Providers and User
    • Lesson 2: Financial Markets (Banks, Exchanges, Broker
    • Lesson 3: Asset Classes
    • Lesson 4: Stocks
    • Lesson 5: Fixed Income Investments
    • Lesson 6: Funds
    • Lesson 7: Risk and Reward
    • Lesson 8: Diversification 
  • Module 3: Analysis and Research
    • Lesson 1: Industry Analysis
    • Lesson 2: SWOT Analysis
    • Lesson 3: Financial Statements
    • Lesson 4: Ratios and Screening Tools
  • Module 4: Portfolio Construction
    • Lesson 1: Asset Allocation
    • Lesson 2: Modern Portfolio Theory
    • Lesson 3: Benchmarking
    • Lesson 4: Performance Metrics
    • Lesson 5: Efficient Markets
    • Lesson 6: Active vs Passive Investing
  • Module 5: Ethics and ESG
    • Lesson 1: Ethics in Finance
    • Lesson 2: ESG Considerations 

Requirements

Technical Requirements 

  • Reliable internet connection capable of streaming video lectures. 
  • A modern web browser (such as Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or Edge). 
  • Laptop, desktop, or tablet; the course is viewable on mobile devices but optimized for larger screens. 

Background & Prerequisites 

  • Comfort with basic arithmetic, percentages, and simple formulas; light algebra is helpful but not required.  
  • No prior investing or finance coursework is assumed. 
  • Interest in financial markets and a willingness to engage with real-world examples. 

Coursework Expectations 

To get the most from this course, students should: 

  • Watch all video lessons and review glossary terms and readings. 
  • Complete all “check for understanding” quizzes after each lesson or module. 

Certificate Deadline and Course Access 

After paying the course fee, you will have 180 days to complete the course and earn your certificate.  

You can view your access expiration date in your Enrollments. 

Once the 180-day access period ends, your registration will expire and you will no longer have full access to the course content.  

 

Eligibility

Eligibility 

  • Designed for high school and early college students, typically ages 15 and up. 
  • International students are welcome; all course content is in English. 

Enrollment 

  • No formal application or prerequisites are required. 
  • Students can enroll at any time and begin immediately. 

FAQs

When does the program start? Do I need to apply?

Unlike our other online programs, Understanding Investing and Portfolio Management is an asynchronous, self-paced course. Students in grades 9-12 can enroll immediately via the Understanding Investing and Portfolio Management webpage and can begin the course when ready. Students set their own course completion schedules and work at their own pace, though within the 180 days of the access period. It takes approximately 16-18 hours to complete the entire course. Students are not required to submit an application to enroll in the course.

What language is this program offered in?

This program is offered in English with English captions. A high level of English fluency in reading, writing, and listening is required for successful completion.

Do I need previous experience with investing?

No prior experience is required. The course starts with fundamental concepts and gradually builds toward more advanced topics like portfolio construction and ESG investing.

Is there a lot of math?

You will use percentages, returns, and simple formulas (for example, when working with time value of money or risk/return), but the emphasis is on intuition, concepts, and practical application rather than advanced mathematics.

How are students assessed on what they learn?

Each lesson ends with a brief quiz to assess understanding. Students must complete all unit lessons/pages before taking the quiz. Students may take the quiz more than once; only the highest quiz score will be recorded. A score of 80% or higher must be achieved to advance to the next learning module.

Can I jump around to different modules?

No, students must navigate through each module in the order they are offered. Once modules are complete and a successful quiz score is achieved, students are welcome to return to previous modules.

Will I earn some kind of certification at the end?

Yes! Participants who successfully complete all program modules will earn a Wharton Global Youth Program Certificate of Completion.

Can I receive a letter of recommendation after completing the program?

As this program is offered in a self-paced, online format, unfortunately we cannot offer letters of recommendation.

What is your refund policy?

Cancellation requests must be submitted to wgyp-online@wharton.upenn.edu. If you submit a cancellation request after starting the program, you will not be eligible for a refund. To submit your request, please include your full name and order number in your email request. Refunds will be credited to the credit card used when you registered and may take up to two billing cycles to process. Wharton Global Youth Program has no obligation to issue a refund, but if you believe a refund is warranted, please email us at wgyp-online@wharton.upenn.edu.

Is financial assistance available for this program?

Financial assistance is not available at this time.

Can teachers or club advisors use this with a cohort of students?

Yes. The course structure—video lessons, quizzes, and Wharton articles—works well for classrooms, investment clubs, and other learning groups. Facilitators can assign modules, host discussions around the materials, or integrate the course into broader projects or competitions. Check out our Wharton Global High School Investment Competition!

Will this course teach me how to “beat the market”?

You will learn frameworks for analyzing investments, building portfolios, and understanding performance and risk. Rather than promising “beat the market”, the program focuses on giving you tools, concepts, and ethical guidance that you can apply across many different market environments.

Location

Online