Outline of finance

Last updated October 02, 2025

The following outline provides an overview and topical guide to finance :

Overview
Fundamental financial concepts
History
Finance terms by field
Accounting (financial record keeping)
Banking
Corporate finance
Investment management
Personal finance
Public finance
Risk management
Constraint finance
Insurance
Economics and finance
Finance-related areas of economics
Corporate finance theory
Asset pricing theory
Mathematics and finance
Time value of money
Financial mathematics
Financial markets
Market and instruments
Equity market
Bond market
Money market
Commodity market
Derivatives market
Financial regulation
Designations and accreditation
Litigation
Fraud
Industry bodies
Regulatory bodies
United States legislation
Actuarial topics
Valuation
Underlying theory
Context
Considerations
Discounted cash flow valuation
Relative valuation
Contingent claim valuation
Other approaches
Financial modeling
Portfolio theory
General concepts
Modern portfolio theory
Post-modern portfolio theory
Performance measurement
Mathematical techniques
Quantitative investing
Financial software tools
Financial modeling applications
Corporate Finance 2
Quantitative finance
Financial institutions
Education
See also
Related lists
References
External links

Finance – the field concerned with how individuals, businesses, and organizations raise, allocate, and manage monetary resources over time, while accounting for the risks associated with their activities and investments.

Overview

The term finance may incorporate any of the following:

The study of money and other assets
The management and control of those assets
Profiling and managing related risks

Fundamental financial concepts

Finance

History

History of finance
History of banking
History of insurance
Tulip mania (Dutch Republic), 1620s/1630s
South Sea Bubble (UK) & Mississippi Company (France), 1710s; see also Stock market bubble
Vix pervenit 1745, on usury and other dishonest profit
Panic of 1837 (US)
Railway Mania (UK), 1840s
Erie War (US), 1860s
Long Depression, 1873–1896 (mainly US and Europe, though other parts of the world were affected)
Post-World War I hyperinflation; see Hyperinflation and Inflation in the Weimar Republic
Wall Street Crash of 1929
Great Depression 1930s
Bretton Woods Accord 1944
1973 oil crisis
1979 energy crisis
Savings and Loan Crisis 1980s
Black Monday 1987
1997 Asian financial crisis
Dot-com bubble 1995-2001
Stock market downturn of 2002
United States housing bubble
2008 financial crisis and the Great Recession

Finance terms by field

Accounting (financial record keeping)

Banking

See articles listed under: Bank § See also

Corporate finance

Investment management

Personal finance

529 plan (US college savings)
ABLE account (US plan for benefit of individuals with disabilities)
Asset allocation
- Asset location
Budget
Coverdell Education Savings Account (Coverdell ESAs, formerly known as Education IRAs)
Credit and debt
- Credit card
- Debt consolidation
- Mortgage loan
  - Continuous-repayment mortgage
Debit card
Direct deposit
Employment contract
- Commission
- Employee stock option
- Employee or fringe benefit
- Health insurance
- Paycheck
- Salary
- Wage
Financial literacy
Insurance
Predatory lending
Retirement plan
- Australia – Superannuation in Australia
- Canada
  - Registered retirement savings plan
  - Tax-free savings account
- Japan – Nippon individual savings account
- New Zealand – KiwiSaver
- United Kingdom
  - Individual savings account
  - Self-invested personal pension
- United States
- Pension
Simple living
Social security
Tax advantage
Wealth
Comparison of accounting software
Personal financial management
Investment club
Collective investment scheme

Public finance

Risk management

Constraint finance

Insurance

Economics and finance

Finance-related areas of economics

Corporate finance theory

Asset pricing theory

Asset pricing models

Equilibrium pricing
- Equities; foreign exchange and commodities
- Bonds; other interest rate instruments
Risk neutral pricing
- Equities; foreign exchange and commodities; interest rates
- Bonds; other interest rate instruments

Mathematics and finance

Time value of money

Financial mathematics

Derivatives pricing

Underlying logic (see also #Economics and finance above)
Forward contract
- Forward contract pricing
Futures
- Futures contract pricing
Options (incl. Real options and ESOs)
Swaps
- Swap valuation
Interest rate derivatives (bond options, swaptions, caps and floors, and others)
- Black model
- Short-rate models (generally applied via lattice based- and specialized simulation-models, although "Black like" formulae exist in some cases.)
- Forward rate / Forward curve -based models (Application as per short-rate models)
  - LIBOR market model (also called: Brace–Gatarek–Musiela Model, BGM)
  - Heath–Jarrow–Morton Model (HJM)
  - Cheyette model
Valuation adjustments
- Credit valuation adjustment
- XVA
Yield curve modelling

Portfolio mathematics

Financial markets

Market and instruments

Equity market

Investment theory

Bond market

Money market

Derivatives market

Derivative (finance)
(see also Financial mathematics topics; Derivatives pricing)
Underlying instrument

Forward markets and contracts

Forward contract

Futures markets and contracts

Swap markets and contracts

Swap (finance)

Derivative markets by underlyings

Equity derivatives

Interest rate derivatives

LIBOR
Forward rate agreement
Interest rate swap
Interest rate cap
Exotic interest rate option
Bond option
Interest rate future
Money market instruments
Range accrual Swaps/Notes/Bonds
In-arrears Swap
Constant maturity swap (CMS) or Constant Treasury Swap (CTS) derivatives (swaps, caps, floors)
Interest rate Swaption
Bermudan swaptions
Cross currency swaptions
Power Reverse Dual Currency note (PRDC or Turbo)
Target redemption note (TARN)
CMS steepener
Snowball
Inverse floater
Strips of Collateralized mortgage obligation
- Interest only (IO)
- Principal only (PO)
Ratchet caps and floors

Credit derivatives

Foreign exchange derivative

Financial regulation

Designations and accreditation

Litigation

Liabilities Subject to Compromise

Fraud

Industry bodies

United States legislation

Actuarial topics

Actuarial topics

Valuation

Context

Considerations

Discounted cash flow valuation

Bond valuation
- Modeling
- Results
  - Clean price
  - Dirty price
  - Yield to maturity
  - Coupon yield
  - Current yield
  - Duration
  - Convexity
  - embedded options:
- Cash flows
Real estate valuation
- Intrinsic value (finance) § Real estate
- Income approach
Equity valuation

Relative valuation

Contingent claim valuation

Valuation techniques
- general
- as typically employed
Applications
- Corporate investments and projects
  - Real options
  - Corporate finance § Valuing flexibility
  - Contingent value rights
  - Business valuation § Option pricing approaches
  - structured finance investments (funding dependent)
  - special purpose entities (funding dependent)
- Balance sheet assets and liabilities
  - warrants and other convertible securities
  - securities with embedded options such as callable bonds
  - employee stock options

Other approaches

"Fundamentals"-based (relying on accounting information)

Financial modeling

Portfolio theory

General concepts

Modern portfolio theory

Equilibrium pricing models (CAPM and extensions)
- Capital asset pricing model (CAPM)
- Consumption-based capital asset pricing model (CCAPM)
- Intertemporal CAPM (ICAPM)
- Single-index model
- Multiple factor models (see Risk factor (finance))

Post-modern portfolio theory

Approaches
Optimization considerations
- Pareto efficiency
- Bayesian efficiency
- Multiple-criteria decision analysis
- Multi-objective optimization
- Stochastic dominance
  - Second-order Stochastic dominance
  - Marginal conditional stochastic dominance
- Downside risk
- Volatility skewness
- Semivariance
- Expected shortfall (ES; also called conditional value at risk (CVaR), average value at risk (AVaR), expected tail loss (ETL))
- Tail value at risk
- Statistical dispersion
- Discounted maximum loss
- Indifference price
Measures
Optimization models

Quantitative investing

Financial software tools

Financial modeling applications

Corporate Finance

Business valuation / stock valuation – especially via discounted cash flow, but including other valuation approaches
Scenario planning and management decision making ("what is"; "what if"; "what has to be done"^[1])
Capital budgeting, including cost of capital (i.e. WACC) calculations
Financial statement analysis / ratio analysis (including of operating- and finance leases, and R&D)
Revenue related: forecasting, analysis
Project finance modeling
Cash flow forecasting
Credit decisioning: Credit analysis, Consumer credit risk; impairment- and provision-modeling
Working capital- and treasury management; asset and liability management
Management accounting: Activity-based costing, Profitability analysis, Cost analysis, Whole-life cost

Quantitative finance

Option pricing and calculation of their "Greeks"
Other derivatives, especially interest rate derivatives, credit derivatives and exotic derivatives
Modeling the term structure of interest rates (bootstrapping / multi-curves, short-rate models, HJM framework) and credit spreads
Credit valuation adjustment, CVA, as well as the various XVA
Credit risk, counterparty credit risk, and regulatory capital: EAD, PD, LGD, PFE
Structured product design and manufacture
Portfolio optimization ^[2] and Quantitative investing more generally; see further re optimization methods employed.
Financial risk modeling: value at risk (parametric- and / or historical, CVaR, EVT), stress testing, "sensitivities" analysis

Financial institutions

Education

For the typical finance career path and corresponding education requirements see:
- Financial analyst generally, and esp. § Qualification, discussing various investment, banking, and corporate roles (i.e. financial management, corporate finance, investment banking, securities analysis & valuation, portfolio & investment management, credit analysis, working capital & treasury management; see Financial modeling § Accounting)
- Quantitative analyst, Quantitative analysis (finance) § Education and Financial engineering § Education, specifically re roles in quantitative finance (i.e. derivative pricing & hedging, interest rate modeling, financial risk management, financial engineering, computational finance; also, the mathematically intensive variant on the banking roles; see Financial modeling § Quantitative finance)
Business education lists undergraduate degrees in business, commerce, accounting and economics; "finance" may be taken as a major in most of these, whereas "quantitative finance" is almost invariably postgraduate, following a math-focused Bachelors; the most common degrees for (entry level) investment, banking, and corporate roles are:
- Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA)
- Bachelor of Commerce (BCom)
- Bachelor of Accountancy (B.Acc)
- Bachelor of Economics (B.Econ)
- Bachelor of Finance – the undergraduate version of the MSF below
- The tagged BS / BA "in Finance", or less common, "in Investment Management" or "in Personal Finance"
At the postgraduate level, the MBA, MCom and MSM (and recently the Master of Applied Economics) similarly offer training in finance generally; at this level there are also the following specifically focused master's degrees, with MSF the broadest – see Master of Finance § Comparison with other qualifications for their focus and inter-relation:
- Master of Applied Finance (M.App.Fin)
- Master of Commerce in Finance (MCom)
- Master of Computational Finance
- Master's in Corporate Finance
- Master of Finance (M.Fin, MIF)
- Master's in Financial Analysis
- Master of Financial Economics
- Master of Financial Engineering (MFE)
- Master of Financial Planning
- Master's in Financial Management
- Master of Financial Mathematics
- Master's in Financial Risk Management
- Master's in Investment Management
- Master of Mathematical Finance
- Master of Quantitative Finance (MQF)
- Master of Science in Finance (MSF, MSc Finance)
- MS in Fintech
Doctoral-training in finance is usually a requirement for academia, but not relevant to industry
- quants often enter the profession with PhDs in disciplines such as physics, mathematics, engineering, and computer science, and learn finance "on the job”
- as an academic field, finance theory is studied and developed within the disciplines of management, (financial) economics, accountancy, and applied / financial mathematics.
For specialized roles, there are various Professional Certifications in financial services (see #Designations and accreditation above); the best recognized are arguably:
- Association of Corporate Treasurers (MCT / FCT)
- Certificate in Quantitative Finance (CQF)
- Certified Financial Planner (CFP)
- Certified International Investment Analyst (CIIA)
- Certified Treasury Professional (CTP)
- Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA)
- Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA)
- Chartered Wealth Manager (CWM)
- CISI Diploma in Capital Markets (MCSI)
- Financial Risk Manager (FRM)
- Professional Risk Manager (PRM)
Various organizations offer executive education, CPD, or other focused training programs, including:
See also qualifications in related fields:

Related lists

References

↑ Joel G. Siegel; Jae K. Shim; Stephen Hartman (1 November 1997). Schaum's quick guide to business formulas: 201 decision-making tools for business, finance, and accounting students. McGraw-Hill Professional. ISBN 978-0-07-058031-2 . Retrieved 12 November 2011. §39 "Corporate Planning Models". See also, §294 "Simulation Model".
↑ See for example: Low, R.K.Y.; Faff, R.; Aas, K. (2016). "Enhancing mean–variance portfolio selection by modeling distributional asymmetries" (PDF). Journal of Economics and Business. 85: 49–72. doi:10.1016/j.jeconbus.2016.01.003.; Low, R.K.Y.; Alcock, J.; Faff, R.; Brailsford, T. (2013). "Canonical vine copulas in the context of modern portfolio management: Are they worth it?" (PDF). Journal of Banking & Finance. 37 (8): 3085–3099. doi:10.1016/j.jbankfin.2013.02.036. S2CID 154138333.

External links

Prof. Aswath Damodaran – financial theory, with a focus in Corporate Finance, Valuation and Investments. Updated Data, Excel Spreadsheets.
Web Sites for Discerning Finance Students (Prof. John M. Wachowicz) -Links to finance web sites, grouped by topic
studyfinance.com – introductory finance web site at the University of Arizona
SECLaw.com – law of the financial markets

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[SiegelShim1997-1] Joel G. Siegel; Jae K. Shim; Stephen Hartman (1 November 1997). Schaum's quick guide to business formulas: 201 decision-making tools for business, finance, and accounting students. McGraw-Hill Professional. ISBN 978-0-07-058031-2 . Retrieved 12 November 2011. §39 "Corporate Planning Models". See also, §294 "Simulation Model".

[2] See for example: Low, R.K.Y.; Faff, R.; Aas, K. (2016). "Enhancing mean–variance portfolio selection by modeling distributional asymmetries" (PDF). Journal of Economics and Business. 85: 49–72. doi:10.1016/j.jeconbus.2016.01.003.; Low, R.K.Y.; Alcock, J.; Faff, R.; Brailsford, T. (2013). "Canonical vine copulas in the context of modern portfolio management: Are they worth it?" (PDF). Journal of Banking & Finance. 37 (8): 3085–3099. doi:10.1016/j.jbankfin.2013.02.036. S2CID 154138333.

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