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Ask HN: Good resources for learning+getting into Finance / Trading?

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Ask HN: Good resources for learning+getting into Finance / Trading?

#1
I'm starting to be intrigued by Finance/Trading/Stock Market, but sadly know nothing about it from a professional perspective. I don't even know what to ask for, the same way a complete luddite wouldn't know how to ask for more than "What are some good resources to learn to start building computer programs?" So with that said, where would one start?

Re: Ask HN: Good resources for learning+getting into Finance / Trading?

#3
The Hacker News + Slashdot of finance/trading is http://wilmott.com/. Check out the articles, peruse the forums. http://tickerforum.org is also superb, no-bs.

I'd also recommend reading Nassim Taleb's books Fooled By Randomness and The Black Swan (info at his website http://fooledbyrandomness.com/) along with one he recommends:

What I Learned Losing a Million Dollars

http://infraredpress.com/

Those will all teach you what not to do, which is just as, if not more important in investing and trading than what to do.

Re: Ask HN: Good resources for learning+getting into Finance / Trading?

#4
Another good book I've read recently is Liar's Poker by Michael Lewis. I thought it was a good look into Wall Street and it's culture and how 'the system' is still susceptible to human judgment and misjudgment.

http://www.amazon.com/Liars-Poker-Rising-Through-Wreckage/dp...

Re: Ask HN: Good resources for learning+getting into Finance / Trading?

#5

The Hacker News + Slashdot of finance/trading is http://wilmott.com/ . Check out the articles, peruse the forums. http://tickerforum.org is also superb, no-bs. I'd also recommend reading Nassim Taleb's books Fooled By Randomness and The Black Swan (info at his website http://fooledbyrandomness.com/ ) along with one he recommends: What I Learned Losing a Million Dollars http://infraredpress.com/ Those will all teach y…

I agree - The Black Swan is great. It's a great read with an interesting viewpoint on the Finance world and investment strategies that are sometimes contrary to what the so-called experts say.

Re: Ask HN: Good resources for learning+getting into Finance / Trading?

#6
Check out this video:

http://python.mirocommunity.org/video/1531/pycon-2010-python...

Doing a search for "Panel data" yields some interesting courses.

MIT's OCW and Apple U should also have lots of material.

As far as books go, I've been recommended "Lords of Finance" "Too Big to Fail" and "My Life as a Quant".

Re: Ask HN: Good resources for learning+getting into Finance / Trading?

#7
Since "Finance/Trading/Stock Market" is a bit of a wide net to cast, I will offer my opinion on a small chunk. To understanding modern automated US equity trading, it pays off to understand the basic mechanics underpinning the market, and get a feel for the opportunities this structure presents.

I would suggest reading up on the national market structure, and reading "Inside the Black Box" by Narang for a good overview of how automated trading is structured.

Re: Ask HN: Good resources for learning+getting into Finance / Trading?

#8
I run http://Newsley.com. We're pivoting away from social news we're rebuilding the back end to turn it into a real time search engine for financial and economic news. The front page is populated with financial news and macro economic articles of interest

Re: Ask HN: Good resources for learning+getting into Finance / Trading?

#9
For the love of all that is holy go to Amazon right now and buy a copy of Trading and Exchanges: Market Microstructure for Practioners by Larry Harris.

I'm not a trader, or an exchange, but I've been forced to get very, very intimate with the technological plumbing of both, and I've interviewed many of their developers, and you'll find the architects of match engines, order routing systems, and clearing backends recommending this book just as much as I do.

It is exceedingly well written, too.

Investing strategy? Stick with Malkiel, like everyone here is (and is going to) recommend.

Another suggestion: you can download the recordings of Schiller's Yale Financial Markets class from iTunes (and from Yale); I listened to it on the way to/from a client in the suburbs for a couple weeks and enjoyed it, particularly the guest speakers.

Re: Ask HN: Good resources for learning+getting into Finance / Trading?

#10
You're going to have to figure out what style of trading fits your personality. Value, growth, income; long term, swing, daytrading; futures, stock, options, forex; quant or discretionary; and so on. There are some quintessential resources for each "bucket" which are fairly well known-- Graham, Livermore, O'Neil-- I'd start with the classics and go deeper into what your interested.

I do this for a living, if you want to talk more just google my name

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