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Retirement planning
Apr 30th
When it comes to planning for your retirement the first part of the retirement planning that comes to mind is the financial aspect of retirement. You end up wondering if you will be able live comfortably after you retire and whether or not you will have enough money to keep up your standard of living. If you feel that it is time that you start to save for your retirement then you can either tackle your retirement planning on your own, or if you do not feel secure enough doing it yourself you can always ask a financial professional for advice on retirement plans. More >
Portfolio manager: its a balancing act
Apr 30th
You’ve carefully weighed in your own mind how you want your retirement portfolio to look: just the right amount of your assets allocated to stocks versus fixed-income investments. You feel comfortable with the growth/income and risk profile of your investment portfolio, and you have carefully diversified your assets over all the investment categories, and even within each category. Then, inevitably, the market jumps up or down, and your investment portfolio is thrown completely off balance. More >
How to open stock brokerage account?
Apr 30th
There are lots of brokerage firms out there. Each of them will likely tell you that they can offer more for your investing dollar than any of their competitors can. But when you get right down to it and you’re ready to start investing, what should you look for in a broker and what do you need to do to get set up?
Know Yourself
One of the first questions you’ll want to ask yourself when you start your search for a broker is, “Which brokers will let me open an account ?” Some brokers have restrictions that limit who will be able to open an account with them. These restrictions usually boil down to age and money. More >
How stocks trade?
Apr 30th
Most stocks are traded on exchanges, which are places where buyers and sellers meet and decide on a price. Some exchanges are physical locations where transactions are carried out on a trading floor. You’ve probably seen pictures of a trading floor, in which traders are wildly throwing their arms up, waving, yelling, and signaling to each other. The other type of exchange is virtual, composed of a network of computers where trades are made electronically. More >
What are stocks?
Apr 30th
The Definition of a Stock
Plain and simple, stock is a share in the ownership of a company. Stock represents a claim on the company’s assets and earnings. As you acquire more stock, your ownership stake in the company becomes greater. Whether you say shares, equity, or stock, it all means the same thing.
Being an Owner
Holding a company’s stock means that you are one of the many owners (shareholders) of a company and, as such, you have a claim (albeit usually very small) to everything the company owns. Yes, this means that technically you own a tiny sliver of every piece of furniture, every trademark, and every contract of the company. As an owner, you are entitled to your share of the company’s earnings as well as any voting rights attached to the stock. More >
Bulls and bears
Apr 30th
On Wall Street, the bulls and bears are in a constant struggle. If you haven’t heard of these terms already, you undoubtedly will as you begin to invest.
The Bulls
A bull market is when everything in the economy is great, people are finding jobs, gross domestic product (GDP) is growing, and stocks are rising. Things are just plain rosy! Picking stocks during a bull market is easier because everything is going up. Bull markets cannot last forever though, and sometimes they can lead to dangerous situations if stocks become overvalued. If a person is optimistic and believes that stocks will go up, he or she is called a “bull” and is said to have a “bullish outlook”. 
More >
What causes change in stock prices?
Apr 30th
Stock prices change every day as a result of market forces. By this we mean that share prices change because of supply and demand. If more people want to buy a stock (demand) than sell it (supply), then the price moves up. Conversely, if more people wanted to sell a stock than buy it, there would be greater supply than demand, and the price would fall.
Understanding supply and demand is easy. What is difficult to comprehend is what makes people like a particular stock and dislike another stock. This comes down to figuring out what news is positive for a company and what news is negative. There are many answers to this problem and just about any investor you ask has their own ideas and strategies. More >
Introduction to stock trading
Apr 30th
Wouldn’t you love to be a business owner without ever having to show up at work? Imagine if you could sit back, watch your company grow, and collect the dividend checks as the money rolls in! This situation might sound like a pipe dream, but it’s closer to reality than you might think.
As you’ve probably guessed, we’re talking about owning stocks. This fabulous category of financial instruments is, without a doubt, one of the greatest tools ever invented for building wealth. Stocks are a part, if not the cornerstone, of nearly any investment portfolio. When you start on your road to financial freedom, you need to have a solid understanding of stocks and how they trade on the stock market. More >
Buying Stocks
Apr 30th
You’ve now learned what a stock is and a little bit about the principles behind the stock market, but how do you actually go about buying stocks? Thankfully, you don’t have to go down into the trading pit yelling and screaming your order. There are two main ways to purchase stock:
1. Using a Brokerage
The most common method to buy stocks is to use a brokerage. Brokerages come in two different flavors. Full-service brokerages offer you (supposedly) expert advice and can manage your account; they also charge a lot. Discount brokerages offer little in the way of personal attention but are much cheaper. More >
Types of stocks
Apr 30th
There are two main types of stocks: common stock and preferred stock.
Common Stock
Common stock is, well, common. When people talk about stocks they are usually referring to this type. In fact, the majority of stock is issued is in this form. We basically went over features of common stock in the last section. Common shares represent ownership in a company and a claim (dividends) on a portion of profits. Investors get one vote per share to elect the board members, who oversee the major decisions made by management. More >
