Machine Learning and Reinforcement Learning in Finance Specialization

The course aims at helping students to be able to solve practical ML-amenable problems that they may encounter in real life that include: (1) understanding where the problem one faces lands on a general landscape of available ML methods, (2) understanding which particular ML approach(es) would be most appropriate for resolving the problem, and (3) ability to successfully implement a solution, and assess its performance.

A learner with some or no previous knowledge of Machine Learning (ML) will get to know main algorithms of Supervised and Unsupervised Learning, and Reinforcement Learning, and will be able to use ML open source Python packages to design, test, and implement ML algorithms in Finance. Fundamentals of Machine Learning in Finance will provide more at-depth view of supervised, unsupervised, and reinforcement learning, and end up in a project on using unsupervised learning for implementing a simple portfolio trading strategy. The course is designed for three categories of students: Practitioners working at financial institutions such as banks, asset management firms or hedge funds Individuals interested in applications of ML for personal day trading Current full-time students pursuing a degree in Finance, Statistics, Computer Science, Mathematics, Physics, Engineering or other related disciplines who want to learn about practical applications of ML in Finance Experience with Python (including numpy, pandas, and IPython/Jupyter notebooks), linear algebra, basic probability theory and basic calculus is necessary to complete assignments in this course.

This course aims at introducing the fundamental concepts of Reinforcement Learning (RL), and develop use cases for applications of RL for option valuation, trading, and asset management.

By the end of this course, students will be able to - Use reinforcement learning to solve classical problems of Finance such as portfolio optimization, optimal trading, and option pricing and risk management. - Practice on valuable examples such as famous Q-learning using financial problems. - Apply their knowledge acquired in the course to a simple model for market dynamics that is obtained using reinforcement learning as the course project. Prerequisites are the courses "Guided Tour of Machine Learning in Finance" and "Fundamentals of Machine Learning in Finance". Students are expected to know the lognormal process and how it can be simulated. Knowledge of option pricing is not assumed but desirable.

In the last course of our specialization, Overview of Advanced Methods of Reinforcement Learning in Finance, we will take a deeper look into topics discussed in our third course, Reinforcement Learning in Finance.

In particular, we will talk about links between Reinforcement Learning, option pricing and physics, implications of Inverse Reinforcement Learning for modeling market impact and price dynamics, and perception-action cycles in Reinforcement Learning. Finally, we will overview trending and potential applications of Reinforcement Learning for high-frequency trading, cryptocurrencies, peer-to-peer lending, and more. After taking this course, students will be able to - explain fundamental concepts of finance such as market equilibrium, no arbitrage, predictability, - discuss market modeling, - Apply the methods of Reinforcement Learning to high-frequency trading, credit risk peer-to-peer lending, and cryptocurrencies trading.