Finance, one concept at a time.

Short, plain-English explanations of the ideas that actually run markets — no jargon walls, no prerequisites. Start anywhere.

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How to learn finance (from scratch)

New to all this? The complete beginner’s guide: what to learn first, in what order, and how to actually make it stick.

8 min read
Equities

What is a stock?

What you actually own when you buy a share, and the two ways it makes you money.

4 min read
Equities

What is market capitalisation?

Why the share price alone tells you nothing, and how to size a whole company.

4 min read
Equities

What is the P/E ratio?

The market’s favourite valuation multiple — and why a high one isn’t "expensive".

5 min read
Fixed Income

What is a bond?

Lending, not owning: coupons, face value, maturity, and why bonds sit below equity.

4 min read
Fixed Income

What is the yield curve?

A map of interest rates across time — and why an inverted curve spooks markets.

5 min read
Macro

What do central banks do?

Guardians of money: interest rates, inflation targets, and lender of last resort.

4 min read
Macro

What is inflation?

Why prices rise, how it’s measured, and what it does to stocks and bonds.

6 min read
Accounting

What is a balance sheet?

What a company owns and owes — and the one equation that always holds.

4 min read
Derivatives

Call and put options, explained

The right — not the obligation — to buy or sell, and how calls and puts pay off.

6 min read
Investing

Risk and return: the core trade-off

What "risk" really means, the risk premium, and why your time horizon matters.

5 min read
Equities

What is an IPO?

How a private company sells shares to the public for the first time.

5 min read
Derivatives

What are futures contracts?

Locking in a price for future delivery — where both sides are obligated.

5 min read
Accounting

The income statement, explained

From the top line to the bottom line — how a company turns revenue into profit.

5 min read
Accounting

The cash flow statement, explained

Following the actual cash — and why profit can lie about it.

5 min read
Investing

What is diversification?

The only free lunch in finance — reducing risk without sacrificing return.

5 min read
Investing

What is a hedge fund?

How the "smart money" actually trades — the major strategies, demystified.

6 min read
Investing

What is private equity?

Buying companies outside the public markets, improving them, and selling on.

6 min read
Investing

What is a REIT?

How to invest in property through the stock market — and why REITs pay big dividends.

5 min read
Macro

What is quantitative easing?

When rates hit zero, central banks turn to their balance sheet. Here’s how.

5 min read
Macro

What is GDP?

The headline measure of an economy — what it includes, and real vs nominal.

6 min read
Equities

How to read a stock quote

Bid, ask, spread, volume, ranges — decode the wall of numbers in seconds.

5 min read
Derivatives

Options strategies explained

Covered calls, spreads, straddles — combining options to express a precise view.

6 min read
Derivatives

The Greeks, explained

Delta, gamma, vega, theta — measuring what actually moves an option’s price.

6 min read
Valuation

The time value of money

A pound today beats a pound tomorrow — the idea behind all valuation.

5 min read
Valuation

What is a DCF?

The cornerstone valuation model — from future cash flows to a share price.

6 min read
Valuation

What is WACC?

The blended cost of capital — and the discount rate behind every DCF.

5 min read
Investing

What is beta?

How much a stock moves with the market — and the number behind CAPM.

5 min read
Macro

What is monetary policy?

How central banks use rates and QE to manage inflation and growth.

6 min read
Macro

What is fiscal policy?

Government spending, taxation and debt — the political half of economic policy.

6 min read