Volume 1 of 4 · PDF edition

Volume 1: Foundations and Financial Instruments

Build the mathematical footing for quantitative work, then use it to understand stocks, bonds, forwards, futures, options, swaps, and credit products.

Every chapter remains free to read online. This paid edition gives you the carefully typeset PDF, companion notebooks, and every future update for this volume.

Pages
~883 pages
Chapters
24 chapters
Price
$29 one-time
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Quantitative Finance, Volume One: Foundations and Financial Instruments cover

Author and edition details

About the author and Volume 1 PDF edition

Michael Brenndoerfer, author of Quantitative Finance

Michael Brenndoerfer

Michael has spent more than a decade working across software engineering, data, AI, and business. He writes to understand difficult ideas more deeply and to share what he learns in a clear, practical way.

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Important: This book is for education and research. It does not provide investment, trading, legal, tax, or other professional advice, and examples are not recommendations.

Edition
Volume 1 PDF 2026.08.1
Published
Last reviewed

From method to decision

What you will learn

  • Work with discounting, probability, statistics, linear algebra, calculus, optimization, and numerical methods in financial settings.
  • Price and reason about stocks, bonds, forwards, futures, options, swaps, and credit derivatives.
  • Connect instrument mechanics to hedging decisions, market conventions, and the risks that appear in practice.

Audience and prerequisites

Who this volume is for

Students, analysts, and practitioners who want one rigorous starting point for the mathematics and instruments used throughout quantitative finance.

Prerequisites: This volume starts with the mathematics. Basic algebra is enough to begin; the calculus, probability, and linear algebra you need are developed along the way.

Free online preview

Start with “Time Value of Money and Interest Rates”

Understanding present and future value concepts, compounding, discounted cash flows, and the relationship between interest rates and valuation.

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Exact contents

24 chapters across 4 parts

Part I: Mathematical Foundations

  1. 01Time Value of Money and Interest Rates
  2. 02Probability Theory Fundamentals
  3. 03Common Probability Distributions in Finance
  4. 04Statistical Data Analysis and Inference
  5. 05Linear Algebra for Quantitative Finance
  6. 06Differential Calculus and Optimization Basics
  7. 07Integral Calculus and Differential Equations
  8. 08Numerical Methods and Algorithms in Finance
  9. 09Data Handling and Visualization

Part II: Equity and Fixed Income Markets

  1. 01Equity Markets and Stock Instruments
  2. 02Bond Fundamentals and Pricing
  3. 03Term Structure of Interest Rates
  4. 04Bond Risk Measures and Immunization

Part III: Forwards, Futures, and Options

  1. 01Forwards and Futures - Instrument Basics
  2. 02Forward and Futures Pricing and Hedging
  3. 03Commodity Markets and Futures
  4. 04Foreign Exchange Markets and Currency Forwards
  5. 05Option Basics - Calls, Puts, and Payoffs
  6. 06Option Strategies and Payoff Combinations

Part IV: Swaps and Credit Derivatives

  1. 01Interest Rate Swaps - Fundamentals
  2. 02Interest Rate Swap Valuation and Applications
  3. 03Credit Default Swaps (CDS) and Credit Derivatives
  4. 04Structured Credit Products (CDOs and Securitizations)
  5. 05Convertible Bonds and Hybrid Securities

Volume 1 PDF + notebooks

Own this ~883-page edition

Get the PDF, companion notebooks, and every future update and erratum for this volume. Your purchase is credited toward the complete edition.

  • Carefully typeset PDF
  • Companion notebooks for the included chapters
  • Future updates and errata included
  • Portable offline reading

Volume 1 of 4

$29

one-time

Version 2026.08.1 · ~883 pages · secure checkout via Stripe

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This volume or the complete book?

Volume 1: Foundations and Financial Instruments

~883 pages focused on Part I: Mathematical Foundations, Part II: Equity and Fixed Income Markets, Part III: Forwards, Futures, and Options, Part IV: Swaps and Credit Derivatives.

$29

The complete Quantitative Finance book

All four volumes in one 3,288-page PDF with the full set of companion notebooks. Buying three distinct volumes unlocks the complete book automatically.

$79

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Also in the series

Explore the other volumes

Volume 2 · ~664 pages

Derivative Pricing and Interest Rate Models

Stochastic Calculus · Options · Numerical Pricing · Rate Models

Explore Volume 2

Volume 3 · ~770 pages

Econometrics, Portfolio Construction, and Risk

Econometrics · Portfolio Theory · Market, Credit, and Liquidity Risk

Explore Volume 3

Volume 4 · ~1011 pages

Quant Trading, Execution, and Deployment

Trading Strategies · Market Microstructure · Backtesting · Production Systems

Explore Volume 4

Version history

Kept current, not frozen in time

Each PDF purchase includes future editions. When the book changes, the updated copy appears in My books at no extra cost.

Current release

Edition 2026.08.1

Editorial improvements.

Earlier releases2

  1. 2026.08.0

    Editorial improvements throughout the book, with clearer explanations, refined presentation, improved plots and visualizations, and refreshed companion code.

  2. 2026.07.0

    Initial complete-book and four-volume PDF release with companion notebooks.

Educational material only. This book does not provide investment, trading, tax, or legal advice. Examples explain methods and are not recommendations.