25 lessons and 177 drills covering the calculations in the ICWIM syllabus, from interest rate parity to retirement need.
Most ICWIM material treats calculations as a list of formulas to memorise. That works until an exam question gives you the answer and asks for the rate, or gives you a payment at the start of the period rather than the end. Formula Lab is built the other way round: it starts with how you recognise which formula a question is asking for.
Every one of the 25 lessons has the same six parts, in the same order.
Then the drills: six in every lesson except one short supplementary lesson, which has three. The drills deliberately do not all run the formula forwards: some give you the answer and ask for the rate or the number of years, because that is how a calculation becomes a test of understanding rather than of memory.
These two are shown in full so you can judge the format rather than take our word for it. The drills that follow them are part of the paid product.
Time Value of Money · Chapter 5
Present value reverses compounding and tells you what a future amount is worth today.
PV = FV ÷ (1+r)^n. Approximate doubling time ≈ 72 ÷ annual rate (%).
Need £80,000 in 8 years at 4%: PV = 80,000/1.04^8 ≈ £58,455.
With a positive discount rate, PV must be below FV.
In Formula Lab this lesson is followed by six drills that mix the variations, so you meet the formula rearranged rather than always in the form you learned it.
Statistics & Risk · Chapter 5
The geometric mean gives the compound average rate implied by a sequence of returns.
Geometric mean = [(1+R1)(1+R2)…(1+Rn)]^(1/n) − 1
+8%, −4%, +6% gives (1.08×0.96×1.06)^(1/3)−1 ≈ 3.19%.
With volatile returns, geometric mean is normally below the arithmetic mean.
In Formula Lab this lesson is followed by six drills that mix the variations, so you meet the formula rearranged rather than always in the form you learned it.
| Area | Lessons | Drills |
|---|---|---|
| Markets & Rates | 5 | 30 |
| Statistics & Risk | 5 | 30 |
| Time Value of Money | 6 | 36 |
| Company Analysis & Valuation | 3 | 18 |
| Portfolio Performance | 1 | 6 |
| Financial Planning | 1 | 6 |
| Mastery Extensions | 4 | 21 |
| Mixed drills, across lessons | 0 | 30 |
| Total | 25 | 177 |
Seven of the twenty five, to show the range rather than the whole list.
The full lesson list, the drills and the answer reasoning are part of the paid product.
Formula Lab covers four chapters. Chapter 3 has the forward rate using interest rate parity, plus bond yields and AER. Chapter 5 carries most of the rest, across statistics, financial mathematics and the ratio family. Chapter 6 adds portfolio return and the risk adjusted measures, and Chapter 8 asks you to calculate a retirement need.
Fifteen questions from the bank, free, with the reasoning after each one.
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