Prompted Post #1 Introduction to Finance

    Objectives of Ten Concepts of Finance 

• Introduction
• The Risk/return Tradeoff
• Diversification
• Dollar Cost Averaging
• Asset Allocation
• Random Walk Theory
• Efficient Market Hypothesis
• The Optimal Portfolio
• Capital Pricing Model (CAMP)
• Conclusion

FINANCE

    But this post will focus on "The Risk/return Tradeoff" and "Efficient Market Hypothesis."


The Risk/return Tradeoff
      The nickname for " The Risk/return tadeoff " is "ability-to-sleep-at-night test," which means different people handle risks on different levels. So that it is important to "decide what amount of risk you can take while remaining comfortable with your investments." "Low levels of uncertainty (low risk) are associated with low potential returns. High levels of uncertainty (high risk) are associated with high potential returns." 

Risk/Return Tradeoff Chart

    

Efficient Market Hypothesis (EHM)
        "Efficient market hypothesis (EHM) was established by Eugene Fama in the 1960's. The idea emphasizes that "it is impossible to beat the market because prices already incorporate and reflect all relevant information." Most of investors usually begin their work at analyzing past prices because they believe that "pass prices influence future prices." Prices reflect information.

     Finance is totally a new world for me, but these ten concepts give me a big picture of finance and let me see what finance is about. I'm looking forward to looking more deeply about my field and learn more. 

Works Cited 

"Financial Concepts." INVESTOPEDIA. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Jan. 2016. <http://www.investopedia.com/university/concepts/concepts6.asp>.

Open Post #1 Financial Analysts

  "Financial analysts provide guidance to businesses and individuals making investment decisions. They assess the performance of stocks, bonds, and other types of investments (Occupational Outlook Handbook)."
    

Work as a Financial Analyst

    "Occupational Outlook Handbook" is a great website for college students to look through in order to know more about their future careers, also to see what kind of required skills are needed to success in the field. Financial Analysts' work environment can be varied. They can work in banks, national companies, insurance companies or personal business etc. Because "Investing is becoming more global, and some financial analysts specialize in a particular country or region." Financial Analysts mainly focus on analyzing financial data for clients in order to attenuate risk of investments. But more specifically, Financial Analysts also work on exploring the factors that may affect "a specific industry, geographical region, or type of product." In order to be a Financial Analyst, communication skills, analytical skills, computer skills, math skills etc. are required.

      

     Reading through the page about Financial Analysts does not only make me see the world of working as a Financial Analyst, but also reminds me that I should start building up my skills now for my future job. "Occupational Outlook Handbook" includes all of possible jobs that people can have in their filed, which can give college students some ideas about what kind of jobs they can have in the filed they major in. One common question that college students, especially Freshmen, would ask " What kind of job I may have if I major in Finance? or What does Finance actually do?" Well, "Occupational Outlook Handbook" can be a great resource for college students to explore more about their majors and find out the answer by themselves.  

Works Cited

  "Financial Analysts." Bureau of Labor Statistics: Occupational Outlook Handbook. N.p., 17 Dec. 2015. Web. 31 Jan. 2016. <http://www.bls.gov/ooh/business-and-financial/financial-analysts.htm#tab-2>.

About Me

     It is really hard to give a correct answer to the question "who I am," because our roles are changing all the time. For now, I'm a college student. However, when I work, I'm a employee; when I have my own family in the future, I can be identified as a wife. We should all realize that we can not be the same label all the time. Therefore, I regard myself as a person. 
    Sometimes, it is hard for us to give up “who we used to be” and to accept new changes. Studying abroad is a challenging task for international students to accomplish. As an international student, I have to have great English skills in order to communicate with Americans, understand the content of lectures, and write papers in a right form. My family can not be around me all the time so that I have to know how to take a good care of myself. American  Universities usually charge international students more for tuition and this can cause some financial difficulties for my family. I started studying abroad as an exchange student at the age of 17, but being an exchange student is easier than being an college student because I had my host family to depend on. However, things are different in college and everything has to start with zero. New faces, new environment and new life. I have to make some new changes of myself in order to fit in. In order to do so, I need to give up "who I was" and become "who I am." Instead of acting like a little girl, I need to be a strong person, who can take care of everything by herself.
    After I studied at MSU (Michigan State University) for two weeks, I felt like American students were really good at communication. They really knew how to start a new conversation with the person they just met and let the conversation be continued. I wanted to make some new friends too, but I was scared and not comfortable to talk with the people who I just met. But the experience of working at the concession (Concession is like a food court where people can buy some drinks and snacks during MSU basketball games) tells me that becoming a good communicator requires practice and time. Also, this working experience makes me fall in love with customer services and get interested in business.
    I understand that business is not just about how to communicate with customers, but communication is the core of business. So for this project, I will explore more about business, but most of topic will focus on finance. For instance, I may write about what kind of role finance plays in business, what kind of job people can get in finance field etc.
   For now, I consider myself as a normal person, because I'm learning and changing. But in the future, I would like to call myself a business person.