Bloomberg Market Concepts Review

If you have your sights set on a career in finance, whether as a graduate or as a career-shift from another industry, a basic footing in the core elements of finance can improve your appeal as a candidate, boost your confidence and prepare you for a job in that sector.

Bloomberg Market Concepts (BMC) is an online course that provides you with a fundamental grounding in finance.

It features video lessons, real-life case studies and recap quiz questions. Bloomberg Market Concepts also provides an introduction to the Bloomberg Terminal, including hands-on experience with a practice model.

The Bloomberg Terminal is a type of trading platform software provided by Bloomberg L.P. Through the Bloomberg Terminal, financial professionals place trades or access real-time financial data.

In addition to building your knowledge on the basics of finance, you will also receive a Certificate of Completion once you have worked through the four core modules:

• Economic Indicators
• Currencies
• Fixed Income
• Equities

Bloomberg Market Concepts is a self-paced study course and therefore ideal for fitting around your studies, job or other commitments.

Who Is Bloomberg L.P.?

Bloomberg L.P. is a financial, software, data and media company founded in 1981 by Michael Bloomberg.

Bloomberg L.P. provides financial software tools, data services and news related to the financial sector to customers all over the globe.

Who Is Bloomberg Market Concepts For?

The course is ideal for anyone new to finance. You might be:

• A student
• Graduate
• Non-financial professional
• Starting out on a career in finance

It will provide you with the essential basics to work in the financial sector.

If you are interested in a career in finance, you might like to read How to Answer the Interview Question: "Why Finance?”.

What Are the Benefits of Taking Bloomberg Market Concepts?

Beyond providing a basic understanding of terminology and real-life application, what advantages does the course provide to someone wishing to enter a career in finance?

Familiarity With the Bloomberg Terminal

Many major investors, portfolio managers and financial analysts in the US pay to subscribe to the Bloomberg Terminal.

Should you apply to work for any of these organisations, familiarity with the Bloomberg Terminal will give you a head-start over other applicants who have not experienced this trading platform.

Even where your employer of choice does not use the Bloomberg Terminal, they will use some form of trading platform software.

Your familiarity with the format, trading application and analytical tools of such a major trading platform will ease the transition to using any trading platform.

Bloomberg Markets Concepts Certification

Should you complete the four core sections of the Bloomberg Market Concepts course, you will be awarded a Certificate of Completion.

Add this to your CV/resume and your LinkedIn profile to show employers that you are already armed with the necessary financial knowledge to work for them.

Practical Knowledge of Financial Markets

The use of case studies in the Bloomberg Market Concepts course, applying the core elements of finance to real-world situations, greatly amplifies the realisation of what these concepts mean.

From an employer’s perspective, candidates who have taken the course not only understand the bare basics of finance but have a practical knowledge of how those basics apply to dealings with actual trading markets and customers.

Technical Understanding

The Bloomberg Market Concepts course explains the terminology involved in financial dealings, the triggers and processes that affect financial markets and the common benchmarks used by professionals.

Shows Your Personal Drive

It is not a mandatory requirement to take the course before seeking employment in the financial sector.

However, the fact that you have proactively sought to educate yourself in the basics before applying for a job suggests to an employer that you have personal drive and are actively seeking to improve your career prospects.

If you want to carry out your own research into a financial career, here are 10 Books You Must Read if you Want to Work in Banking or Finance.

What Is the Bloomberg Market Concepts Course Content?

The Bloomberg Market Concepts is a self-paced, online course that generally takes around eight hours to complete.

Eight Modules

There are eight modules:

• Economic Indicators – The primacy, monitoring and forecasting of GDP (gross domestic product)
• Currencies – Market mechanics, currency valuation, central banks and currency risk
• Fixed Income – The bond market and what drives its valuation, central banks and interest rates, yield curve and its movements
• Equities – The stock market, nature of equities, equity research, absolute valuation and relative valuation
• Terminal Basics – An introduction to the Bloomberg Terminal, market analysis, the equity market, the fixed income market and how to build an equity portfolio
• Commodities – Introduction to commodities
• Equity Options – Introduction to stock options, the language of the options market, role of stock options trader and basic multi-leg strategies
• Portfolio Management – Definition of a portfolio manager, how to build and analyze an equity portfolio and portfolio risk assessment

Of these, only completion of the first four are required to earn the Certificate of Completion. The other four options are optional, although it is always recommended that you take the Terminal Basics module.

Each of the eight modules is taught in video format, includes real-life case studies and features a series of recap quiz questions.

Learning Outcomes

The four modules needed to receive certification each come with a number of learning outcomes:

Economic Indicators

• The method for publishing and analysis of economic indicators
• How economic indicators are used to arrive at an economy’s health
• The qualities of positive economic indicators
• The use of economic indicators to identify inflection points

Currencies

• History and mechanics of currency markets
• Three main drivers of currency valuation
• Role of central banks in guarding against inflation/deflation
• How businesses/investors are affected by currency markets and can manage currency risk

Fixed Income

• Learn about bond markets and the public service they provide
• How yields enable comparison across bond markets
• How government bond yields provide a standard to measure investments against
• Understand how bond markets encourage global governmental discipline
• The reasoning behind central bank interest rate decisions
• How inflation, credit-worthiness and central bank interests rates drive bond valuation
• Understand how important the yield curve is to global consumers/businesses
• Understand the four major yield curve shifts and curve inversion

Equities

• The nature and draw of equity ownership
• How to use the performance of single stocks to calculate equity index performance
• Why equities are more volatile than bonds
• How equity research is reliant on industry and supply chain analysis
• How accurate earnings forecasts are reliant on the use of accurate industry drivers
• Five step absolute valuation process and its pitfalls
• The three types of relative valuation and the role that future earnings growth plays in a fair value assessment

Does the Bloomberg Market Concepts Course Have Exams?

There are over 100 questions in the course. A number of questions accompany each section, covering the module you have just completed to check that you have retained and understood the course content.

There appears to be some disagreement between providers of access to the Bloomberg Market Concepts course as to whether there is a pass rate.

Some claim that to receive the Certificate of Completion, you must achieve a 75% score for the questions in each of the core modules. Other providers claim that there is no pass rate.

However, it is always recommended that you aim for the highest score possible when taking the course and answering questions.

How Much Does the Bloomberg Market Concepts Course Cost?

The cost of the course is:

• $149 for students
• $249 for professionals

It’s generally free for students attending a university that has access to the Bloomberg Terminal.

It should be noted that even where your university has access to a Bloomberg Terminal, you may not be allowed free access to the course, so it is always worthwhile to check.

The free arrangement for universities may come to an end in December 2021.

How Do You Access Bloomberg Market Concepts?

There are two ways you can access the course – online through the Bloomberg for Education web portal or via the Bloomberg Terminal.

Bloomberg for Education Web Portal

To access the Bloomberg Market Concepts course online, sign up for a learner account and provide the following details:

• Email address – If you have a university email address, you may use this. Otherwise use your personal email address
• Password – Create one
• First and last name – Enter your name as you would like it to appear on your Certificate of Completion

Tick the reCAPTCHA box to confirm that you are not a robot and click on the ‘sign-up’ button.

Bloomberg Terminal

To access the Bloomberg Market Concepts course through the Bloomberg Terminal, enter BMC into the command line and hit enter to run the BMC<GO> function.

Create an account as previously described. If you intend to take the course as part of a group, please indicate this by ticking the relevant box and entering the class code you have been provided with.

Click on the ‘sign-up’ button. Confirmation will be forwarded to the email address you entered, including a link to activate your account.

Top Tips for Bloomberg Market Concepts Success

The course allows you to study at your own pace, offers a choice of ways to access it and provides the basic knowledge you will need to enter a career in finance.

However, as with any course of study, there are ways that you can improve your chances of a successful performance:

• Set aside dedicated time to take the Bloomberg Market Concepts course. The level of focus required to learn and retain the content of the course demands your complete attention.

• Take notes throughout the video lessons and feel free to rewind and rewatch sections if you need clarification.

• Take full advantage of the chance to learn about the Bloomberg Terminal with practical hands-on experience.

• To obtain the Certificate of Completion, you are only required to complete the four core modules but the four additional modules, including the introduction to the Bloomberg Terminal, will provide you with a more extensive grounding in finance, especially if you are interested in trading, investment banking and/or portfolio management.

• Your studies do not have to end with each module or the complete course. Read beyond the Bloomberg Market Concepts content and carry out your own research.

• Take your time when answering the questions to avoid making avoidable mistakes.

• When you receive your Certificate of Completion, remember to add it to your CV/resume and your LinkedIn profile.

Visit our CV and resume resource for more tips and advice.

Final Thoughts

The Bloomberg Market Concepts course is ideal for anyone, whether a student starting out or a professional changing career paths who wishes to work in the finance sector.

It is not a guarantee of recruitment, but it is a well-tested method to prepare yourself for a career in finance.