- Tax Planning
- Investments 1: Before you Invest
- Investments 2: Your Investment Plan
- Investments 3: Securities Market Basics
- Investments 4: Bond Basics
- Investments 5: Stock Basics
- Investments 6: Mutual Fund Basics
- Investments 7: Building Your Portfolio
- Investments 8: Picking Financial Assets
- Investments 9: Portfolio Rebalancing and Reporting
- Retirement 1: Basics
- Retirement 2: Social Security
- Retirement 3: Employer Qualified Plans
- Retirement 4: Individual and Small Business Plans
- Estate Planning Basics
Introduction
Once you have your priorities in order, understand your personal and financial goals, and write a thoughtful investment plan, you are ready to learn about securities markets, both physical and electronic, where financial or real assets are traded. What are the different types of securities markets in which you might invest? Who can help you achieve your goals? What are these individuals’ motivations and how are they paid? How do you buy and sell securities and what kind of help do you need? How do you choose someone to help you in the investment process? These and many other questions regarding securities markets will be addressed in this section.
When you have completed this section, you should be able to do the following:
- Recognize the different types of securities markets.
- Be aware of the basic characteristics of brokers and investment advisors.
- Understand how to buy and sell securities.
- Answer questions about choosing a broker or an investment advisor.
- Know how to select and use benchmarks.
