Is a strong foundation in math necessary for success in finance?

[JimmyJockstrap]

Hey all,

I was studying maths and finance, I dropped the maths after getting a few borderlines. Also I am not sure whether I like the more advanced subjects I like the introduction to calculus, group theory and such but I am not sure what I want to do. Is there any aptitude tests or any sort of tests I can do to see or try to work out how much I enjoy maths?

Thanks

 

[JohnDuck]

I'm not sure you need to take any tests to see if you enjoy math. If you don't enjoy it now, you probably won't enjoy it later on. If you're not yet certain, I'd recommend taking one or two more math classes (or trying a bit of self-study).

 

[arunma]

Advanced math topics tend to be very different from calculus. It's often the case that people will enjoy the four-semester calculus sequence, and then hate everything that comes afterwards, but the reverse is also possible. You could always finish the calculus sequence, take one higher-level math class, and see if you like it. You wouldn't have anything to lose, since calculus is required for such majors as economics and finance (which it seems you're interested in studying).

There is, however, one thing that concerns me here. You said that you were having trouble with calculus. It's OK to not like calculus, but if you can't do well at it, you're not going to do well at higher level math. So even if you decide that you like math, you should make sure that you're good at it. It wouldn't be a good idea to do something you like and get bad grades.

 

[JimmyJockstrap]

Ive done
computational maths- like writing basic formula on maths software
maths science 1b-intro calculus
maths science 1c-group theory,etc.
STATISTICAL DATA ANALYSIS 1- like bell curves,etc.
STATISTICAL MODELLING 1- probability questions slightly more advanced
MATHEMATICS OF FINANCE- just like annuities,etc.

 

[AsianSensationK]

Interesting. When I did mathematics of finance, linear algebra, probability, and multivariate calculus were all requirements. They're necessary to describe very specific ideas in financial economics from areas like portfolio theory (markowitz bullet, capm, etc) as well as pricing models like the famous black-scholes equation.

I'd say certain versions of those three math courses have very different aims from some of the pure mathematics courses like algebra, analysis, and topology. Some versions tend to be more computational than proof based so you might see if these courses are more to your liking. Of course, I've found that advanced finance concepts tend to rely on deeper subjects within probability like conditional expectation and random walks which you won't always get in the easier courses. A couple of things also popped up from linear algebra and multivariable calculus like invertible matrices and lagrange multipliers.

Business schools tend to host courses in "investments" which dumb down the math a lot. That might be a better option if you find out you really don't do well in mathematics. However, if you intend on studying finance with any kind of depth, you'll probably find advanced courses in mathematics and statistics crucial to your success.