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Course

Intermediate R for Finance

BasicSkill Level

4.8+

Updated 03/2026

Learn about how dates work in R, and explore the world of if statements, loops, and functions using financial examples.

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RApplied Finance5 hr15 videos59 Exercises5,050 XP38,114Statement of Accomplishment

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Course Description

If you enjoyed the Introduction to R for Finance course, then you will love Intermediate R for Finance. Here, you will first learn the basics about how dates work in R, an important skill for the rest of the course. Your next step will be to explore the world of if statements, loops, and functions. These are powerful ideas that are essential to any financial data scientist's toolkit. Finally, we will spend some time working with the family of apply functions as a vectorized alternative to loops. And of course, all examples will be finance related! Enjoy!

Prerequisites

Introduction to R for Finance

1

Dates

Welcome! Before we go deeper into the world of R, it will be nice to have an understanding of how dates and times are created. This chapter will teach you enough to begin working with dates, but only scratches the surface of what you can do with them.

An introduction to dates in R

What day is it?

From char to date

Date formats and extractor functions

Date formats (1)

Date formats (2)

Subtraction of dates

months() and weekdays() and quarters(), oh my!

2

If Statements and Operators

Imagine you own stock in a company. If the stock goes above a certain price, you might want to sell. If the stock drops below a certain price, you might want to buy it while it's cheap! This kind of thinking can be implemented using operators and if statements. In this chapter, you will learn all about them, and create a program that tells you to buy or sell a stock.

Relational operators

Relational practice

Vectorized operations

Logical operators

Not!

Logicals and subset()

All together now!

If statements

If this, Else that

If this, Else If that, Else that other thing

Can you If inside an If?

3

Loops

Loops can be useful for doing the same operation to each element of your data structure. In this chapter you will learn all about repeat, while, and for loops!

Repeat loops

Repeat, repeat, repeat

When to break?

While loops

While with a print

While with a plot

Loop over a vector

Loop over data frame rows

Loop over matrix elements

Break and next

4

Functions

If data structures like data frames and vectors are how you hold your data, functions are how you tell R what to do with your data. In this chapter, you will learn about using built-in functions, creating your own unique functions, and you will finish off with a brief introduction to packages.

What are functions?

Function help and documentation

Optional arguments

Functions in functions

Writing functions

Your first function

Multiple arguments (1)

Multiple arguments (2)

Function scope (1)

Function scope (2)

tidyquant package

5

Apply

A popular alternative to loops in R are the apply functions. These are often more readable than loops, and are incredibly useful for scaling the data science workflow to perform a complicated calculation on any number of observations. Learn about them here!

Why use apply?

lapply() on a list

lapply() on a data frame

FUN arguments

sapply() - simplify it!

sapply() vs. lapply()

Failing to simplify

vapply() - specify your output!

vapply() vs. sapply()

More vapply()

Anonymous functions

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Intermediate R for Finance

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Stanislau

2 months ago

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3 months ago

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3 months ago

Reem

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Sergio

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Edwin Thomas

5 months ago

Materials in this course are intermediery level, I learn materials such as using relational and logical operators, loops and function in R and its application for finance.

Stanislau

Kong Ming

Reem

FAQs

What programming concepts does this course teach using finance examples?

You will learn dates in R, if statements, operators, loops, functions, and the apply family of functions, all taught through finance-related examples and datasets.

Is the Introduction to R for Finance course required before this one?

Yes. Introduction to R for Finance is the sole prerequisite. It provides the foundational R and finance knowledge you need for this intermediate course.

Does this course cover the apply functions as an alternative to loops?

Yes. The final section teaches the family of apply functions as a vectorized alternative to loops, which is a more efficient approach for many finance data tasks.

How many exercises and chapters are in this course?

The course includes 5 chapters with 59 exercises. Most learners finish in about 3.3 hours, though the estimated time is 300 minutes.

Will I learn to write my own functions in R for financial analysis?

Yes. The course covers how to create custom functions in R, which are essential tools for automating repetitive financial calculations and analyses.

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