Finance

Finance refers to the management, movement, investment, and raising of money. "Finance" also refers to the academic discipline that studies these. Based on the scope of financial activities, the discipline can be divided into the three primary branches personal, corporate, and public finance. In the "financial system", assets are bought, sold, or traded as financial instruments, such as currencies, loans, bonds, shares, stocks, options, futures, swaps, etc. Assets can also be banked, invested, and insured to maximize value and minimize loss. In practice, risks are always present in any financial action and entities. Financial markets and institutions underpin the system. Due to its wide scope, a broad range of subfields exists within finance. Asset-, money-, risk- and investment management aim to maximize value and minimize volatility. Financial analysis assesses the viability, stability, and profitability of an action or entity. Some fields are multidisciplinary, such as mathematical finance, financial law, financial economics, financial engineering and financial technology. In some cases, theories in finance can be tested using the scientific method, covered by experimental finance. The early history of finance parallels the early history of money, which is prehistoric. Ancient and medieval civilizations incorporated basic functions of finance, such as banking, trading and accounting, into their economies. In the late 19th century, the global financial system was formed. As a subject of study, finance is related to the fields of economics (the study of the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services) and business administration (the management of an organization's resources to achieve its goals). The earliest doctoral programs in finance were established in the 1960s and 1970s. Today, finance is also widely studied through career-focused undergraduate and master's level programs.