maths in the finance major at UNSW (1 Viewer)

[Reneranger1]

I'm really worried about the level of maths required for the finance major.

I have 2Unit proffiency so I'm just wondering if I need to spend the break learning aspects of 3u and 4u.

So my question is how maths intensive is a major in finance (esp Portfolio)?

Thanks

 

[mreditor16]

Bump

 

[Shadowdude]

can you plug numbers into equations

can you re-arrange equations to solve for variables

do you know how to round numbers


That is the level of maths you need for finance. It's a joke.

 

[Trebla]

can you plug numbers into equations

can you re-arrange equations to solve for variables

do you know how to round numbers


That is the level of maths you need for finance. It's a joke.

Bro do you even do finance?

The answer depends on which branch of finance. If you wanna get into portfolio theory stuff then you should be proficient with differential calculus, series/sequences and probability (and of course normal arithmetic/equations). Maths 2U is sufficient (and is the expected knowledge from the university courses) but you will touch on some 3U stuff (e.g. binomial theorem/probability) in the course but not too much. However, that is the bare minimum. If you want to get into more complex things like pricing financial instruments then the maths gets more complicated.

 

[Shadowdude]

Bro do you even do finance?

The answer depends on which branch of finance. If you wanna get into portfolio theory stuff then you should be proficient with differential calculus, series/sequences and probability (and of course normal arithmetic/equations). Maths 2U is sufficient (and is the expected knowledge from the university courses) but you will touch on some 3U stuff (e.g. binomial theorem/probability) in the course but not too much. However, that is the bare minimum. If you want to get into more complex things like pricing financial instruments then the maths gets a bit more complicated.

I did finance before... remember the good ol' Comm/Adv Maths days?


There's only so much I can take of an entire lecture being devoted on how to get rid of logarithms in your equation to solve for time or whatever


Point is: it's easy.

 

[Trebla]

I did finance before... remember the good ol' Comm/Adv Maths days?


There's only so much I can take of an entire lecture being devoted on how to get rid of logarithms in your equation to solve for time or whatever


Point is: it's easy.

Which finance units have you actually done?

 

[nerdasdasd]

I'm really worried about the level of maths required for the finance major.

I have 2Unit proffiency so I'm just wondering if I need to spend the break learning aspects of 3u and 4u.

So my question is how maths intensive is a major in finance (esp Portfolio)?

Thanks

Quite complex

Entering the first major subject ... I had to get a math tutor and I did 2U

First week was simple graphs , then it was simple algebra >> logs >>exponentials >> integration >>matrices >> Lagrange multipliers with 3 unknowns

 

[Shadowdude]

Which finance units have you actually done?

the highest I did was 2624

After that infamous lecture, I chatted to another maths student about it, and he said, "Yeah dude, this is third year finance in a nut-shell: rearrange equation, plug number in, round it to 2 decimal places or whatever"




can't believe i wasted my time on that

 

[Trebla]

the highest I did was 2624

After that infamous lecture, I chatted to another maths student about it, and he said, "Yeah dude, this is third year finance in a nut-shell: rearrange equation, plug number in, round it to 2 decimal places or whatever"




can't believe i wasted my time on that

Ok well first of all you did 4U Maths in HSC and uni level maths. So obviously the maths in finance would seem relatively 'easy'. Secondly, you haven't actually majored in Finance like I did. Have you done pricing derivative securities or learnt portfolio theory properly (with derivations) before?

That stuff especially at 3rd year level requires some intensive maths. It involves calculus, linear algebra, series, statistics and probability which would be easy for someone who has covered this in uni maths courses, but it would be a challenge to someone who did just 2U Maths.

 

[Shadowdude]

Ok well first of all you did 4U Maths in HSC and uni level maths. So obviously the maths in finance would seem relatively 'easy'. Secondly, have you done pricing derivative securities or learnt portfolio theory properly (with derivations) before? That stuff especially at 3rd year level requires some intensive maths. It involves calculus, linear algebra, series, statistics and probability which would be easy for someone who has covered this in uni maths courses, but it would be a challenge to someone who did just 2U Maths.

See that's third year level though, I'd think by the time the person gets up to that, even with 2u maths, it should be fine. Plus it's not like they go into that much rigour in financial maths anyway - from my experience it's "yeah this formula is correct - use it"

I highly doubt they'd start getting super theoretical in some finance courses one year after the second year Portfolio Management course spent one entire hour on how to re-arrange equations in lecture

 

[nerdasdasd]

See that's third year level though, I'd think by the time the person gets up to that, even with 2u maths, it should be fine. Plus it's not like they go into that much rigour in financial maths anyway - from my experience it's "yeah this formula is correct - use it"

I highly doubt they'd start getting super theoretical in some finance courses one year after the second year Portfolio Management course spent one entire hour on how to re-arrange equations in lecture

Uhh no.

I've had to make proofs for summation theories and derive models.

 

[Shadowdude]

I hope you ripped into them on their evaluation for that

 

[Trebla]

See that's third year level though, I'd think by the time the person gets up to that, even with 2u maths, it should be fine. Plus it's not like they go into that much rigour in financial maths anyway - from my experience it's "yeah this formula is correct - use it"

I highly doubt they'd start getting super theoretical in some finance courses one year after the second year Portfolio Management course spent one entire hour on how to re-arrange equations in lecture

A person with 2U proficiency can cope but the maths is definitely not "a joke" as you claim it to be. It is actually quite challenging for someone without a high level of mathematical proficiency. Again, this depends on which branch of finance you wish to take.

The 3rd year portfolio theory course and 3rd year derivatives course I did required knowledge in differentiation/optimisation, integration, linear algebra, series, probability and statistics. Those courses in particular (which are more mathematical than other branches of finance) are definitely not "a joke" when it comes to the maths.

 

[Shadowdude]

And were there any mathematical prerequisites for these courses to ensure you were thoroughly prepared for the differentiation/optimisation, integration, algebra, series and statistics? Or did they just chuck the stuff in the course and you had to sink or swim

 

[nerdasdasd]

And were there any mathematical prerequisites for these courses to ensure you were thoroughly prepared for the differentiation/optimisation, integration, algebra, series and statistics? Or did they just chuck the stuff in the course and you had to sink or swim

They just chuck it in, sink or swim.

 

[Trebla]

And were there any mathematical prerequisites for these courses to ensure you were thoroughly prepared for the differentiation/optimisation, integration, algebra, series and statistics? Or did they just chuck the stuff in the course and you had to sink or swim

Well, you had to have done some stats and minimum 2U maths. However, it is strongly encouraged that you are proficient in calculus, probability and statistics when taking these types of courses which are more mathematically inclined. That was made very clear in the first lecture. Sometimes they go through those concepts as revision in the first lecture, but it's really intended as just a brief overview/refresher.

 

[Shadowdude]

yeah well that's super dodgy

I hope you ripped into them in the course evaluation

 

[Trebla]

yeah well that's super dodgy

I hope you ripped into them in the course evaluation

Nah fuck that, I loved them having more maths in there. Makes Maths kids like me more interested in Finance and not get some dumbed down shit (which apparently turned you off from Finance). If anything, there isn't enough of it .

It made things more rigorous (and easier to understand) if you can handle the maths. Not to mention that in some areas of the finance industry, you are expected to have that level of mathematical understanding (or it is desirable).

 

[OMGITzJustin]

what on earth are you talking about trebla?

when did you even study finance? I'm studying it right now in 3rd year (and have 1 more elective to complete my major), I completed all the quantitative ones and its nothing like you are saying.. apparently the hardest subject is fins2624 and its extremely basic stats and plugging in, theres been a tonne of course changes since 2007-2009

also nerdasdasd is from uts and their course is actually different (and harder, surprisingly) to unsw's

in short: it is as easy as shadowdude says, not sure exactly what trebla is raving on about, and nerdasdasd info is for uts (so not sure wth he is on about as well)

 

[anomalousdecay]

Note that Trebla studied at USyd, so it might be completely different.