Get the brochure

View the full program syllabus as well as details on faculty, guest speakers and key learner benefits.

Early Registration Ends Jan 13, 2025. $200 Application Fee will be added after Jan 13.

Program overview

Learn value investing from the world's
top investors and world-renowned faculty

Wharton Online Wall Street Prep Applied Value Investing Program Certificate
Program Overview | Applied Value Investing Certificate Program
Video poster
  • Learn to identify undervalued stocks

    Warren Buffett famously said "Price is what you pay. Value is what you get." This program delivers an actionable framework for identifying undervalued stocks with the process-driven approach used by the world’s top investors.

  • Gain a tangible value investing skill set

    This program is for individual investors, investment advisors, and institutional investors seeking to put value investing strategies into practice. Learn directly from Wharton School faculty and the world’s top investors.

  • Earn a globally recognized certificate

    Upon successful completion of the program, participants receive a digital certificate from Wharton Online and join a global community of institutional investors, investment advisors, and individual investors.

Learn More
Applied Value Investing Certificate Program

A unique collaboration with Wall Street Prep

The Applied Value Investing Certificate Program is a unique collaboration with Wall Street Prep, the financial training firm that the world’s leading investment firms bring in-house to train new hires and existing investment professionals.


Over the course of 8 weeks, you’ll learn value investing fundamentals, competitive analysis and strategy from Wharton’s world-class faculty. Then, you’ll learn to how put those lessons into practice from Wall Street Prep and some of the world’s top investment professionals.

Wall Street Prep has trained leading investment firms including:

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Learn from world-renowned faculty
and leading institutional investors

  • Nicolaj Siggelkow

    David M. Knott Professor of Management, Wharton School
    View Bio
  • David Musto

    Ronald O. Perelman Professor in Finance, Wharton School
    View Bio
  • Brett Caughran

    Value Investing Program Director,
    Wall Street Prep
    View Bio
  • Paul Johnson

    Value Investing Program Co-Director,
    Wall Street Prep
    View Bio
  • Andrew Carr

    Value Investing Program Co-Director,
    Wall Street Prep
    View Bio


  • Howard Marks

    Co-founder, Oaktree Capital
    View Bio
  • Francois Trahan

    President, Macro Specialist Designation
    View Bio
  • Ricky Sandler

    Founder & CEO, Eminence Capital
    View Bio
  • Michael Gatto

    Parter, Silver Point Finance
    View Bio


  • Stefan Allicock

    Senior Instructor, Wall Street Prep
    View Bio
  • Harsh Bagla

    Senior Instructor, Wall Street Prep
    View Bio
  • Freddy Brick

    Partner, Muddy Waters Capital
    View Bio
  • Rocky Cahan

    US Strategist, Empirical Research Partners
    View Bio
  • Andrew Carr

    Value Investing Program Co-Director,
    Wall Street Prep
    View Bio
  • Brett Caughran

    Value Investing Program Director,
    Wall Street Prep
    View Bio
  • Rishi Dixit

    Senior Analyst, Valiant Capital
    View Bio
  • Bernard Duffy

    Senior Instructor, Wall Street Prep
    View Bio
  • Michael Gatto

    Parter, Silver Point Finance
    View Bio
  • Paul Johnson

    Value Investing Program Co-Director,
    Wall Street Prep
    View Bio
  • Jin Joshi

    Managing Director, Dynamics Search Partners
    View Bio
  • Samantha Kandybowicz, CFA

    Senior Instructor, Wall Street Prep
    View Bio
  • Jen Liang, CFA

    Senior Instructor, Wall Street Prep
    View Bio
  • Howard Marks

    Co-founder, Oaktree Capital
    View Bio
  • Matt Ober, CAIA

    General Partner, Social Leverage
    View Bio
  • Alix Pasquet

    Managing Partner, Prime Macaya Capital Management
    View Bio
  • Mark Potter

    Senior Instructor, Wall Street Prep
    View Bio
  • Ricky Sandler

    Founder & CEO, Eminence Capital
    View Bio
  • Nicolaj Siggelkow

    David M. Knott Professor of Management, Wharton School
    View Bio
  • Abdul Tambal

    Senior Instructor, Wall Street Prep
    View Bio
  • Kelvin Teo

    Senior Instructor, Wall Street Prep
    View Bio
  • Francois Trahan

    President, Macro Specialist Designation
    View Bio
  • Shawn Badlani

    Founder and Chief Investment Officer at Honest Capital LLC
    View Bio

8-Week Applied Value
Investing Program
Equip yourself with the skillset of an institutional value investor.
8-10 Hour Weekly
Time Commitment
A comprehensive certificate program designed to fit into your busy schedule.
Self-paced Online
Learning Experience
Complete the program on our online learning platform at your own pace.
The Same Training Used
by Institutional Investment Firms
Access the same lessons and methods taught inside the world’s leading investment firms.

How You'll Learn

How You'll Learn

The Wharton & Wall Street Prep Applied Value Investing Certificate Program is an immersive learning experience made up of self-paced video lectures, real-world exercises, industry case studies and full faculty support.

Learn From Top Institutional Investors
Hear directly from globally-recognized investors about the frameworks and analyses that go into institutional-level value investing.
Tailored Learning
Through Electives
Customize your experience based on your specific learning objectives.
Learn Real World
Stock Pitching
Learn first-hand how equities analysts tackle idea generation, financial modeling and stock pitches.
Weekly Office Hours
& Dedicated Support
Program faculty and support staff is available every step of the way.

Earn a certificate from Wharton Online upon successful completion

Upon successful completion of the program, your Wharton Online-issued certificate will be emailed to you in a digital format you can use to demonstrate your achievement on your LinkedIn profile and resume.

Wharton Online Wall Street Prep PE Program Certificate Wharton Online Wall Street Prep PE Program Certificate
Learn about the program directly from students
Hear Directly From Students | Applied Value Investing Certificate Program
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Program curriculum

Over the course of eight weeks, you’ll learn the history, foundations, and applications of value investing, competitive analysis and strategy as well as the practical frameworks and technical skills that investment professionals use to evaluate opportunities. The program is delivered in a weekly self-paced online format and culminates in a closing ceremony and the receipt of a Certificate from Wharton Online.

Module 1

Introduction to Value Investing

Week 1 is an introduction to Value Investing with an overview of the history and discussion of the principles applied by value investors. Supplementing Week 1 will be a guest speaker panel with Ricky Sandler of Eminence Capital. Ricky will discuss an “in the trenches” view of the investment philosophy and approach that he has honed over decades of successful experience on the buy-side.

  • History of Value Investing
  • Fundamental (value) investing explained
  • Introduction of the relationship between Price (P) and Value (V)
  • Value investing principles

Module 2

Market Efficiency, Stock Price Movements, and Market Mispricing

Module 2 lays down the groundwork concepts of market efficiency, indexing, and alpha measurement. Learners will be introduced to frameworks for understanding and attributing stock price movements to specific underlying factors. The module concludes with situations where the market offers mispricing, expectations gaps in stock investing, and the many faces of mispricing, and introduce a framework for solid fundamental investing.

  • An academic vs. practitioner's view of market efficiency
  • The Wisdom of Crowds
  • Why stocks move up & down
  • The importance of investor expectations
  • Variant perspective, analytical edge, and catalysts

Module 3

Intrinsic Value

Students will conduct a deep dive on a business to understand its moats as well as the primary drivers of a company’s value. As part of the research process, students will learn how to evaluate revenue growth and how it influences a stock’s value as it flows through the company’s financials. The content also will cover how to discern why an investment opportunity exists and articulate the catalyst path to stock price movement.

  • Foundations of Corporate Finance
  • The drivers of value: ROIC, Growth, Reinvestment
  • Cost of capital and capital structure
  • Measuring and Forecasting Performance
  • Profitability Metrics and Multiples (EPS, P/E, EV/EBITDA)
  • Introduction to Valuation: Concepts and Methods
  • Relative valuation (comparable company analysis)
  • Intrinsic valuation (discounted cash flow analysis)

Module 4

Institutional-Grade Value Investing, Part 1

Students will conduct a deep dive on a business to understand its moats as well as the primary drivers of a company’s value. As part of the research process, students will learn how to evaluate revenue growth and how it influences a stock’s value as it flows through the company’s financials. The content also will cover how to discern why an investment opportunity exists and articulate the catalyst path to stock price movement

  • Capital Markets Foundations & The IPO Process
  • The FEV (fundamentals, expectations, valuation) Framework
  • Building a Forecasting Architecture
  • Top-7 "must-haves" for a Portfolio Manager in a model
  • Full overview of a deep dive process
  • Model sections, including comps/DCF/deep dive analysis/earnings power
  • How to effectively read and interpret company reports
  • Fundamentals of a Management Quality Assessment
  • Ingredients of "Everything There Is To Know" ("ETIK")

Module 5

Institutional-Grade Value Investing, Part 2

Module 5 builds on the learning objectives of the prior module, focusing on practical aspects of developing a contrarian thesis. The module consludes with a deep dive into a company’s competitive strategy, barriers to entry, and differentiation.

  • Practical tools for developing a contrarian thesis: Sentiment analysis, evaluating insider buying, and understanding herd mentality
  • Assessing the competitive advantages of a business
  • Impact of barriers to entry on return on invested capital (ROIC)
  • The Focus Five: top drivers of business value creation

Module 6

Growth, Risk, and Uncertainty

Students will learn about disaggregating growth and assessing expectations. Risk and Uncertainty will also be covered as they tie into evaluating a company’s long-term growth prospects. There is supplemental content on Management, Boards, and Corporate Governance.

  • Disaggregating revenue growth to understand key drivers
  • Assessing Risk
  • Capital allocation, shareholder activism, and corporate governance

Module 7

Process-Driven Value Investing

Students will gain insight into the ins and outs of an applied value investing process through deep dives on topics such as information gathering, model analysis, and crafting a fully-formed thesis. Students will hear from Matt Ober on alternative data and Freddy Brick on short selling.

  • Efficiency and the time management during research
  • A system for effective information management: Checklists, Scenario Analysis Premortems, an Unkown Unknowns
  • The "sniff test" and how to "fish where the fish are"
  • The 90% rule for idea selection

Module 8 (ELECTIVE)

Considerations for Investment Professionals on the Buy-Side
  • Buy-Side Career Trajectory: This elective module focuses on considerations specific to students pursuing professional investment roles on the "buy-side". Students will learn how to most effectively allocate time in both rolling out and maintaining coverage as well as a process for relentlessly tracking core metrics across their sector coverage
  • Pitching a Stock: This module is focused on taking a stock thesis and communicating it to others. Students will learn how to present an idea to audiences including PMs or other investors. Students will hear from Francois Trahan on Macro frameworks for equity analysts.
  • The active management EcosystemIn this capstone, students will learn about the various avenues in which value investing may be applied including careers and the different traits required at different firms as well as how to be a great overall analyst.
Expand to View All

Applicant profile

The Wharton & Wall Street Prep Applied Value Investing Certificate Program is designed for individual investors managing their own stock portfolio, investment advisors seeking to better serve clients, and aspiring hedge fund analysts seeking to understand how institutional-grade value investing is done.

Individual Investors

Individuals who have a passion for building wealth and currently (or are looking to) manage their own portfolios as a personal interest, outside of professional financial careers.

Investment Professionals

Research analysts and portfolio managers who want to build practical skills in applied value investing.

Registered Investment Advisors (RIAs)

Investment advisors seeking to better serve clients by deepening their investment experience and distinguishing themselves from other RIAs in the marketplace.

Allocators

Professionals charged with evaluating fund managers for diverse institutional portfolios.

Family Offices

In-house professionals or principals looking to implement institutional-quality research practices or evaluate third-party fund managers.

Wealth Managers

Wealth managers seeking to build in-depth analytical skills, apply a long-term value focus, and enhance client trust.

Financial Planners

Financial planners who want to build well-rounded, client-specific portfolios that focus on long-term value and enhance their professional credibility and differentiation.

Career Switchers

Early to mid-career professionals seeking to transition into buy-side equity investing.

Students

Undergraduate and graduate business, finance and accounting students applying for internships and full-time roles.

New Buy-Side Analysts
Early-career analysts seeking to expand their toolkit and learn frameworks to excel in their current seat.
Sell-Side Research Analysts
Early-career sell-side associates looking to transition to the buy-side and more experienced sell-side analysts looking to better serve their clients.
Allocators
Professionals charged with evaluating fund managers for diverse institutional portfolios.
Family Offices
In-house professionals or principals looking to implement institutional quality research practices or evaluate third-party fund managers.
Wealth Managers
Financial advisors managing discretionary portfolios of individual equity securities, or who are evaluating third-party fund managers.
Vendors
Data and technology providers seeking to better understand fundamental investing and their clients’ needs.
Investment Professionals
Senior analysts and portfolio managers who want to refresh their skillset or learn the investment process of leading hedge funds.
Career Switchers
Early to mid career professionals seeking to transition into buy-side equity investing.
Students
Undergrad and graduate business, finance and accounting students applying for buy-side internships and full time roles.

At a Glance: May 2024 Cohort

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300+ Students
40+ Countries
175+ Employers
Applicant Career Levels

Applicant Industry Distribution

1 Wealth Manager, Financial Planner, Registered Investment Advisor (RIA)

2 Investment Banking, Private Equity, Sell-Side Equity Research

3 Accounting, Data Providers

Countries Represented
Top Roles Applicants Hold
1. Hedge Fund Analyst (Long/Short, Long Only)
2. Individual Investor
3. Quantitative Analyst
4. Sell-Side Research Analyst
5. Equity Sales & Trading Associate
6. Wealth Manager
7. Financial Advisor / RIA
8. Financial Planner
9. Investment Banker / Management Consultant
10. Investment Analyst


Open quote "This program approaches value investing with the high level of rigor needed to prepare hedge fund analysts, asset managers, and public equities investors for the demands of the desk, but it’s also for individual investors and value investing enthusiasts looking to apply institutional-grade fundamental analysis to identify undervalued, high-potential stocks." Brett Caughran, Program Director
Brett Caughran

Tuition & payment options

Tuition
$4,800
*For enrollments before Jan 13. $200 Application Fee will be added after Jan 13.

OR

$960/month
Pay 5 monthly installments of $960.
Tuition Assistance
$550 off
Apply to get $550 off your tuition fee

Join a Global Network

Join a Global Career Support Network

Enrollees access a large and highly engaged global network of peers who are committed to give us much as they get and to support one another. Connections built throughout the program are strengthen via in person and virtual meetups, discussion groups and networking events.


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Invitation-Only Wharton/Wall Street Prep Group on LinkedIn

Upon completion of the program, graduates receive an invitation to join the Wharton Online / Wall Street Prep Applied Value Investing Certificate Program Alumni Group on LinkedIn. Through this group, graduates can directly connect with the entire graduate network, seek advice and access graduate-only online events and resources.

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Local Connection for
a Global Certificate

Program participants come from over 40 countries, so while the program is global, connection is often created locally. Graduates gain access to their Local Alumni Slack Channel, designed to facilitate local connection for a global certificate.

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Cross-Program Networking Events

Enrolling in a Wharton Online & Wall Street Prep Certificate Program is a unique opportunity to expand your professional network beyond your specific industry. Enrollees attend cross-program events attended by other Certificate Program learners and graduates in investment banking, private equity, real estate, financial planning and analysis (FP&A) and other career tracks.

Open quote
“This certificate program can best be described as online learning meets MBA-style networking. On the one hand you’re working efficiently on your own time, attending virtual office hours and 1:1 tutoring sessions, but you also have great networking opportunities as you would on campus." Nicolaj Siggelkow, Professor of Management and MBA Program Vice Dean, Wharton School

For Employers: Level up your professional development

Hedge funds
  • Accelerate the new-hire training timeline.
  • Give freedom back to your senior analysts and portfolio managers by professionalizing your talent development.
  • Better compete for talent against large firms with extensive in-house training resources.
Long only, family offices, RIAs
and other investment organizations
  • Establish best practices in your investment research process.
  • Compete with larger firms by adopting best-in-class talent development.
  • Focus your executives’ time on their core functions while encouraging improvement in research capabilities.
Vendors
  • Better understand how your service/product fits into the fundamental research process.
  • Equip your sales force to recognize opportunities to add value across your client’s investment processes.
Speak With Us About Enrolling Your Team

Earn 65 CPE Credits with the Applied Value Investing Certificate Program

Wall Street Prep and Wharton Online are registered with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) as a sponsor of continuing professional education on the National Registry of CPE Sponsors. State boards of accountancy have final authority on the acceptance of individual courses for CPE credit. Complaints regarding registered sponsors may be submitted to the National Registry of CPE Sponsors through its website: www.nasbaregistry.org.

Ready to get started?

1

Get the brochure

To learn more about the course, provide your contact information in the form above. We will then send you our course brochure, where you can find additional details on the course modules, guest speakers and more.

2

Speak with an enrollment advisor

Still have questions about the program? Use the link below to book a call with an enrollment advisor who will help answer any questions you have about the certificate program.

3

Enroll to secure your spot in the program

Enrollment in the Wharton & Wall Street Prep Applied Value Investing Certificate Program is on a first-come basis. Ready to enroll and secure your spot in the upcoming cohort? Click the link below.

FAQs

How often are programs offered?

Programs will be offered three times each year. Cohorts will begin in February, June, and October.

How much time will it take to complete this certificate?

The course is designed to run for eight weeks, with a recommended workload of 8-10 hours of lectures, live sessions, and assignments per week.

What languages will the program be offered in?

This program is offered in English only.

How do I register for this program?

You can register for the program at any time through our Enrollment Form.

How much does the program cost?

Program tuition is $4,800. Tuition can be paid in full or in 5 monthly payments.

Do you offer tuition assistance?

Tuition assistance will be available for every cohort. Use our Tuition Assistance form to apply.

What is the program refund policy?

This program is non-refundable.

Who can I contact for additional questions?

If you have any additional questions, please reach out to our enrollment team at enrollment@wharton.wallstreetprep.com.

Starts
Feb 10
Duration
8 Weeks
Tuition
$4,800 or $960/mo