Finance Fundamentals and Historical Wall Street Secrets

About the class

You’ve seen the ticker symbols and dollar figures scroll past TV shows and urban billboard displays; you’ve heard news anchors and neighbors alike talk about bulls, bears, bubbles, and crashes; the stock market surrounds us and gets talked about as often as the weather. But what do those scrolling numbers tell us, why are they so important all day every day, and how did Wall Street evolve from street vendors under a buttonwood tree to a multi-trillion dollar entity that seems to dictate the pace and mood of daily life? Find out in an interactive class live from the New York Stock Exchange, where you’ll learn why stocks are important, what common financial terms mean, and what secrets are little-known about one of the world’s most well-known institutions.

About your expert instructors, Ryan and Pete

Ryan Green is Senior Correspondent for the New York Stock Exchange. In this capacity, Ryan is responsible for hosting and producing the NYSE IPO and Bell celebrations, interviewing and interacting with entrepreneurs and business leaders. Ryan oversees Wall Street’s most visible asset, the Opening and Closing Bell. Additionally, Ryan oversees unique content series for the NYSE Insights platform. Ryan joined the NYSE in 2012 from the National Hockey League. Ryan holds a Bachelor of Arts in History from Union College and was raised in Santa Barbara, California.

Pete Asch is the New York Stock Exchange Archivist and the Executive Producer of the growing podcast, Inside the ICE House. With a focus on utilizing the Exchange’s heritage and history, Pete manages the team that is responsible for the New York Stock Exchange Archives which chronicles the activities of the Exchange from its founding in 1792 to the present day. Pete is also regularly interviewed by major news outlets on the history of Wall Street as seen on CNN, Bloomberg, and The Wall Street Journal. Prior to joining NYSE, Pete held positions at Princeton University, The Guggenheim Museum, the Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education, among others. He holds a MA in History with a Certificate of Archival Management from New York University and BA from Rutgers University.