Understanding Investments

Learning some of investing's fundamental ideas and the impediments that can interfere with sound investment decisions; knowing that there are ways to protect oneself; the path to becoming a sound investor is available to anyone willing to learn.

Learning whether anyone can beat the performance of the stock market; grasping what the efficient market hypothesis and the debate over its validity can reveal about the answer; how one's opinion can shape their investment strategy.

Learning why stocks, though often not the best place for a newcomer to invest, can be the best means of learning about investing; exploring key ideas like dealers versus brokers; the different kinds of buy-or-sell orders; what stocks really are.

Focusing on a buy-and-hold strategy; grasping the variety of available bonds and the features most important to an investor; these include who issues them, whether they are secured and the timing of payments; laddering holdings for consistent income.

Mutual funds are a type of so-called pooled investments, which allow small investors to hold securities they perhaps could not afford individually; how these pooled investments work; the focus on the open-end mutual fund; a summary prospectus.

Learn how this relatively new option for investors differs from mutual funds; the advantages they may have over mutual funds for those making investments outside of tax-advantaged plans; learning what depository receipts are and their role in ETFs.