Introduction to Financial Mathematics

Objective

This book’s primary objective is to educate aspiring finance professionals about mathematics and computation in the context of financial derivatives. The authors offer a balance of traditional coverage and technology to fill the void between highly mathematical books and broad finance books.

Focus

The focus of this book is twofold:

Partnership of Mathematics and Intuition

To partner mathematics with corresponding intuition rather than diving so deeply into the mathematics that the material is inaccessible to many readers.

Building Reader Confidence

To build reader intuition, understanding and confidence through three types of computer applications that help the reader understand the mathematics of the models.

Content and Approach

Unlike many books on financial derivatives requiring stochastic calculus, this book presents the fundamental theories based on only undergraduate probability knowledge.

A key feature of this book is its focus on applying models in three programming languages – R, Mathematica and EXCEL. Each of the three approaches offers unique advantages. The computer applications are carefully introduced and require little prior programming background.

The financial derivative models that are included in this book are virtually identical to those covered in the top financial professional certificate programs in finance. The overlap of financial models between these programs and this book is broad and deep.