I work in finance. I agree with other comments that suggested the CFA Program curriculum. Specifically, CFA Level 1 textbooks are among the best introductions to finance and economics I found. You don't have to sign up for the CFA exam$, the textbooks can be bought separately. CFA might not be as fun reading but are a very practical foundation (and will help put future readings in context). You say you hope to get into finance but don't know almost anything about it. How did you decide to get into finance without knowing much about it? I enjoy it but it's not for everyone. Finance is also…
> I did a search and found out that everybody is recommending "The Intelligent Investor" by Benjamin Graham. This book is too advanced for beginner level. As a beginner, you most probably will not like this book and reading it might turn you off investing and stock market (too complex). The type of books you want are the ones that cover basics and are easy to read. Instead of considering books recommended by others, I will suggest going to a physical book store (library is another option), pick up any investing book on the shelf, read for 15-20 minutes. If you like what you are reading or…
> An investment operation is one which, upon thorough analysis promises safety of principal and an adequate return. Operations not meeting these requirements are speculative. > We must prevent our readers from accepting the common jargon which applies the term "investor" to anybody and everybody in the stock market. > Outright speculation is neither illegal, immoral, nor (for most people) fattening to the pocketbook. More than that, some speculation is necessary and unavoidable, for in many common-stock situations there are substantial possibilities for profit and loss, and the risks…
As someone in the financial industry, I can throw out a few suggestions. These vary substantially depending on your level of interest, time, and risk-tolerance. I am not a financial advisor, nor should you consider any of this professional investment advice. I know your question is geared toward resource and learning. I will address that, but I'll also include the easier options if you decide to just say screw it and go the simple route. That being said... You could go the low risk, low-cost, near-zero time method of using index funds. For full disclosure, this is the area of the…
#1 for me would be The Intelligent Investor, by Benjamin Graham. Also read all of Warren Buffett's Letters from the Chairman - they're all up on the Berkshire Hathaway website. Peter Lynch's books are good too. I see a lot of people here recommending A Random Walk Down Wall Street, which is a good book, but you're going to finish it and say "This investing stuff is too complicated for me. I think I'll just put my money in index funds." Which is perfectly sensible investment advice, but if that's all you want, I can tell you "Go invest in index funds" right now and save you a couple hours…
The first thing to do is decide whether you really want to invest the time and effort into learning. Realise that the people you are playing against are professionals who do it all day every day. That's not to say you can't develop an edge and beat them, but don't assume you can walk in with no experience and set the world alight. Nobody here would expect a novice programmer to sit down and write the most awesome web app in a weekend - the same principle applies. In this thread I've seen 'day trade', 'don't day trade', 'index funds' , 'don't do index funds'. Realise that all this advice…
Read "The Intelligent Investor". It was written many years ago and is still relevant today (it's actually scary how history seems to repeat itself). Regarding fees, note that commissions are not the only costs to transactions. Remember the bid/ask spread and that as a small investor you will be taken advantage of. Long term is the way to go, IMHO. It is nearly impossible to predict short term price movements. Also, forget the efficient market hypotheses; if the SP500 can go up 5% one day and down 5% the next it's obviously bogus. You can count on the average stock owner to be either…
This is a subjective question, but I'll summarize what I know. -no one can give you this advice, you have to listen and learn to discern the best decisions for yourself. -investing is a full time job, 99% of investors will be better off not investing the time in valuing and picking stocks. -less is more - the serious equity investors have 10-20 stock picks, and confidence in their analysis -if it's in the media, it's being hyped, and often you're buying the uptick -investing in yourself (certifications, your business) will have the greatest return on investment. -don't time the market,…
Speculation is economically distinct from gambling. At a cursory level you can draw comparisons between the two, but there is a meaningful difference between them. Speculation is a form of investment in which the investor accepts significant risk for (potentially) outsized returns which are decoupled from the consensus fundamental value of an asset. Gambling is not a form of investment; it's a form of trading in which participants have no or negligible information and cannot perform better than chance. You can engage in gambling or speculation when trading forex, because it enables both…
It's unfortunate to ignore the sentimental nature of markets. In the history of market there has always been either a discount or a premium over fair value. As if by coincidence, I'm reading the intelligent investor and a lot of what Graham said remains true to this date. There's almost always a premium/discount to the fair value of the stock market as a whole. The last few years have been extraordinarily good. Everyone knew a correction was coming. That's happening now. It's impossible to time the market but it's possible to differentiate between a correction to a fair value and a huge…