There is an unlimited amount of information present across the globe. Moreover, as one begins to learn and sort this information out, industries rise, and various career prospects and jobs emerge. One such role is that of a quantitative analyst. A quantitative analyst job requires an individual to be well versed with the concepts of mathematics, especially statistics and probability and using various models based on his knowledge come up with risk mitigations strategies for businesses.
A handsome salary, a chance for exponential growth, working on Wall Street are just some of the advantages a quant analyst can secure during his career. Impressed? Well, you can also become a quant analyst without spending a buck. Shocked? We have a list of free resources available for you to study, using which you will be able to master some techniques and tools for modeling utilized by experts. Of course, you need a lot more to be qualified and be able to pass the interview and get the job. However, the resources mentioned here will set you on the right path.
Free Financial Data
While many may not know it, however, there are tons of portals available out there that provide you with quality financial data for free. Brokerage firms often tend to give out their historical data to impress and attract new customers. Similarly there a ton of foreign exchange trade data available from multiple sources below:
Quandl
One of the companies working in the data science space is trying to bring together all the numbers available across the internet about the trade of any kind. You can find here data of all sorts related to exchanges, futures, equities, etc. Easy to integrate API makes data readily available for you to use.
Yahoo Finance
Yahoo Finance is one of the best places to download and work with equities data. Its API provides you with day to day data on dividends as well as splits. The quality is not 100% however you can always cross-reference the entries with those of Google Finance etc.
1. Financial Engineering
Wilmott
One of the largest websites as well as forum owned by the famous quant Paul Wilmott, Wilmott has thousands of questions being asked as well as queries discussed. This is best suited for anyone who is already familiar with the basic concepts; however, they are looking forward to practicing and real-life problem-solving.
Mathematical Methods for Quantitative Finance
This course has primarily been designed for computer science or an economics graduate to understand the mathematical variations required as a quantitative financial analyst. After studying this, a student will have a basic idea and can handle things like portfolio management, etc.
2.Programming
Building Skills in Object-Oriented Design
Most free online books on the topic cover a broad segment, leaving the students only with theoretical knowledge. Building skills in object-oriented design while, on the other hand, takes a different approach and by the time you finish this course, you will be able to create some complex applications using Python.
Computing for Data Analysis
This course designed by Roger Peng helps you understand the programming language R. Once you are done understanding the basics, the course will teach you how to find data from non-traditional sources, and then how to compile and analyze it.