Supervised learning
Machine learning trained on data labelled with the correct answer, so it can predict the label for new cases. Predicting a category is classification; predicting a number is regression.
Where you will meet it
Supervised learning appears in 3 learning outcomes on the CFA syllabus. A few of them:
- Explain what is meant by machine learning, artificial intelligence and big data
“Machine learning is the practical subset that infers a rule from data rather than being given one: supervised learning trains on labelled examples, unsupervised learning looks for structure in unlabelled data, and deep learning stacks layers to capture relationships too complex to specify in advance.”
- Explain what deep learning is, and what machine learning is in its supervised and unsupervised forms
“Supervised learning trains on labelled data, where each observation has inputs and a known target, and learns to predict the target.”
- Explain deep, supervised and unsupervised learning and how investment managers use them
“Supervised learning trains on inputs labelled with the correct output: predicting a category, such as default or no default, is classification, and predicting a number is regression.”
See also
Practise it
Practise supervised learning until it is automatic: questions that explain every wrong option.
Take the free diagnostic →