AFM 323Quantitative Foundations for Finance
- Units
- 0.50
- Faculty
- Arts
- Cross-listed
- STAT 374
When it runs
- F24
- W25
- S25
- F25
- W26
- S26
- F26
- W27
- S27
Ran in 5 of the last 7 terms. Winter 2027: scheduled, 2 lecture sections. Spring 2027: schedule not out yet.
This course introduces analytical and statistical methods commonly used in finance, with applications to investment management and corporate finance.
Prerequisites
- Complete all of the following
- Must have completed at least 1 of the following:
- Enrolled in H-Accounting & Financial Management, H-Mathematics/Chartered Professional Accountancy, or H-Sustainability & Financial Management
Antirequisites
- Not completed nor concurrently enrolled in any of the following:
Leads to
Fall 2026 sections
| Section | Class | Enrolled | Meets |
|---|---|---|---|
| LEC 001 | 3324 | 62 / 65 | MW 10:00–11:20 |
| TST 101 | 3356 | 62 / 65 | Online or by arrangement |
Winter 2027 sections
| Section | Class | Enrolled | Meets |
|---|---|---|---|
| LEC 001 | 3291 | 0 / 65 | MW 16:00–17:20 |
| LEC 701 | 1245 | 42 / 9999 | Online or by arrangement |
| TST 101 | 3292 | 0 / 65 | Feb 12 16:30–18:00 |
Reviewed on UW Flow
83% liked it61% easy89% useful
From 12 ratings and 4 comments on UW Flow. The most helpful comments, quoted as written, without names. Read them all on UW Flow.
Homework is worth alot. And the quality of the professor makes or breaks the course.
Apr 2025 · didn’t like itOn UW FlowRemove this
Was nice using excel for this course, helped with pedagogy to really connect with the statistics and mathematics, as you don't come in this course with much background in statistics. If you want to pursue quantitative finance in grad school or as a career, Tony is certainly more knowledgable in statistics and quantitative finance than anybody else in SAF. It's very easy to score well in this class but the material can actually be quite challenging (in the rewarding way) if you dig into it
Apr 2024 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this
Fantastic course. Professor Tony is absolutely brilliant, super knowledgeable and helpful. He will create course content on the fly just to support the learning experience. If you don't fully understand something on an assignment, he'll upload hints for the entire class. Course content is very interesting. Course uses Excel, which is actually applicable in the real world. 5 homework assignments, midterm project, and final project. 10/10 would recommend.
Apr 2023 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this
There is a LOT of content but most of it is fluff. If you actually start the assignments early then getting a high grade is very doable. That said, you'll run into a lot of trouble if you start everything close to or on the due dates
Apr 2022 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this
Discussed on r/uwaterloo
22 posts and comments in 17 threads mention AFM 323, August 2017 to December 2024. Quoted word for word, newest first; each reply sits under the post and the comment that started its branch. Search r/uwaterloo for newer posts.
Spring 2024
AFM help wanted 1 point, 1 comment
u/Ok-Valuable-7007: “Hello. I’m choosing between AFM 323 and 401 as electives. Have anyone taken them (or are taking them now)? If so, what are they like? Any help/advice is welcomed. Thank you!!!”
u/Ok-Valuable-7007: “I made the wrong choice.”
u/BigScientist777: “What are your thoughts on AFM 323?”
u/Over-Elevator-3481: “afm 323 was probably one of the top 3 most interesting courses in afm i had in my undergrad, the others being 346 and 423. …”
Fall 2023
AFM Course Suggestion 3 points, 0 comments
“Hi, I'm entering my third year of AFM and wanted some suggestions regarding my potential elective course. …”
u/horseradishvillain: “… However, if you’re looking for an interesting finance and data course, you should look into AFM 323 “Quantitative Foundations for Finance” (and the continuation, 423 in 4th year). 323 should be offered in winter and I found it to be an interesting course. …”
AFM 3A Elective 1 point, 0 comments
u/BeautifulShame6975: “… Thanks \- AFM 433 \- AFM 451 \- AFM 345 \- AFM 323 \- AFM 347”
Spring 2023
AFM 3A electives 1 point, 5 comments
u/Latancy: “… I wanted to take AFM 323 but its full, and AFM 477 (Mergers and Acquisitions with Prof Garvin Blair, conflicts with my AFM 382 tutorial) so since I don't really have a choice, I plan on taking AFM 424. Please let me know if there are any other courses I should look into. …”
Winter 2023
AFM - Financial Markets / Accounting Double Specialization??? 1 point, 2 comments
u/PhilJones10: “… When I was looking, it did not seem possible to fit AFM323 into your schedule as you would need to take AFM341 to fulfill the accounting specialization. Also, should I take a 3rd/4th year specialization course as my elective in 2B? …”
u/horseradishvillain: “… AFM323 is also a business analytics course, I took it along side AFM341, so you should be able to as well (take AFM323 as your 3A elective). Otherwise, I’m pretty sure 323 isn’t a requirement for financial markets, just recommended (check your sequence of courses to confirm). …”
Fall 2022
UW AFM Courses - AFM 322,323,321, BET450 5 points, 2 comments
u/businessbaddie1: “Hello Everyone! I am taking the following courses this upcoming term and would like to know if anyone has any insights or study tips. Thanks so much :)”
Winter 2022
[deleted by user] 0 points, 5 comments
u/trihexen2: “Pretty ez if you like stats I heard they revamped the course but prior to that it was a easy 90 LOL”
u/AZNBOll: “Yeah AFM 323 seems to be harder now than when I took it. Still a great course though if you like stats. To OP: AFM 273 and 274 are both harder than 323, only because these courses are CPA prerequisites so they are intended to be more difficult.”
Winter 2021
AFM CPA/CFA Pathway 0 points, 21 comments
u/Drip_Killa: “… AFM 323 \- Quantitative Foundations for Finance | (1) for BA Spec. and CFA) 5. AFM 322 - Derivatives & Securities | (1) Financial Markets Spec. and CFA) Winter (Year 3) - Co-op Spring (3B) 1. AFM 335 \- Business Law for Financial Managers 2. …”
What is your favourite/most interesting course? 13 points, 32 comments
u/NectarineImpressive5: “AFM 323 =) found actually fun and useful”
Fall 2020
AFM323 vs AFM 424 0 points, 4 comments
u/jejiju: “Hi Everyone, I'm currently choosing between AFM323 or AFM424 as my elective for W21. Which one is relatively easier? I think they are both very applicable careerwise (please correct me if I'm wrong). Thank you!”
u/matbusuw: “AFM 424 is not a lot of work, midterm is tough (prof rounds it to 70 average) and the prof rounds assignments to around an 80 average... haven’t taken AFM 323”
AFM 323 1 point, 0 comments
u/jejiju: “Need an easy but applicable courses. Does this meet the criteria?”
has anyone taken afm 323? 2 points, 1 comment
Check it elsewhere for Fall 2026
- Undergraduate Calendar, 2026–27The official entry
- Requirements for Fall 2026Waterloo’s requisite checker
- Schedule of Classes, Fall 2026Instructors, rooms, live seats
- Quest Class SearchWhere you enrol
- Course outlinesSyllabi from past terms (UW login)
- UW FlowStudent ratings and reviews
- WClassesPast sections back to 2004, and who taught them