- What Are the Hours of the Stock Market?
The stock markets that most Americans use – the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the NASDAQ – are both open Monday to Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern Standard Times. Other stock exchanges in different parts of the world – the London Stock Exchange in the U.K or the Tokyo Stock Exchange… read more…
- The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Created in response to the Great Depression, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is largely responsible for protecting investors in U.S. securities. The federal agency does this by overseeing key players (including brokers, investment advisors and stock exchanges), making sure public companies disclose required information and protecting against fraud. Put simply, it exists to… read more…
- How to Buy Amazon Stock (AMZN)
Amazon (AMZN) is not only one of the most successful online retailers, but it’s also one of the few trillion-dollar U.S. companies that offers stocks. Founded in 1994 by Jeff Bezos, the company offers an array of products and services… read more…
- What Is Discount Rate and Why Does It Matter? – Definition and Example
The discount rate is a financial term that can have two meanings. In banking, it is the interest rate the Federal Reserve charges banks for overnight loans. Despite its name, the discount rate is not reduced. In fact, it’s higher… read more…
- The Sharpe Ratio: Definition and How to Use It
As an investor, your objective is to balance the potential for returns with risk. When assessing risk, investors and financial advisors often apply the Sharpe ratio to their investment analysis. Just one popular method for evaluating stock, the Sharpe ratio is… read more…
- What Is Series A Funding and How Do You Get It?
Series A funding is the first round of capital after a seed round that a startup company raises from professional investors in order to grow the business. Starting a company takes money — sometimes a lot of it. And after… read more…
- 10 Safe Investments to Protect Your Money
There’s always some risk involved with being an investor. However, there are strategies investors can use to be safer with their money, while also garnering some returns. For instance, you can keep your money liquid by investing in various types of… read more…
- How Stock Buybacks Work and Why Companies Do Them
A stock buyback occurs when a company buys back its own shares from the market, typically in an effort to raise its share price for a number of reasons. Stock buybacks are typically done by profitable public companies instead of providing dividends as a way to reward some investors who are ready to sell. There… read more…
- What Is Stock Correlation, and How Do You Find It?
Stock correlation describes the relationship that exists between two stocks and their respective price movements. It can also refer to the relationship between stocks and other asset classes, such as bonds or real estate. Even if you’ve turned over control… read more…
- A Guide to Investing for Beginners
While saving is the first step to building wealth, putting your savings to work through investing is typically the first step to growing that wealth. While stocks are usually the first thing people think to invest in, you can also… read more…
- What Is a Leveraged ETF?
Exchange-traded funds, or ETFs, are popular investment securities that track stock market indexes, a particular commodity, bonds, or a particular category of assets like tech stocks. A leveraged ETF is a particular type of ETF that uses debt or financial… read more…
- Investment Banking: Definition, Types & More
Investment banking is a sect of the banking industry focused on raising capital for companies, governments and other entities. Investment banks are typically private companies, and they may underwrite debt and equity securities, assist with mergers and acquisitions, provide financial advisory… read more…
- GDP: Definition, Examples and Economic Usage
Gross domestic product (GDP) measures the market value of all goods and services a country produces in a specific time frame. It’s used to gauge a nation’s economic growth and its people’s standard of living. GDP also guides investment decisions… read more…
- Should I Pay Down My Mortgage or Invest?
If you find yourself with some extra money, then you’ll need to decide what to do with it. If you have a mortgage worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, it may be tempting to put your windfall toward making extra… read more…
- What Is EBITDA and How Do You Calculate It?
EBITDA is a popular metric that analysts and investors use for determining the current performance of a company. It measures a company’s earnings minus certain expenses, including taxes, interest, depreciation and amortization. As a result, EBITDA can give you an… read more…
- The Income Statement: A Guide for Investors
Income statements are financial statements that show how a business did financially over a certain period of time. Generally, they show revenue minus expenses and losses to give a company’s profit or loss over that time period. Income statements are… read more…
- An Investor’s Guide to Long-Term Investing
Long-term investing is often the best way to build wealth that stands the test of time. It’s how you plan for retirement and build a legacy to pass on to your children and grandchildren. Long-term investments require patience, but they… read more…
- What Type of Investment Account Should You Open?
Investing in the stock market has been a great way to build long-term wealth for almost as long as the United States has been a country. And as retirements continue to increase with people’s lifespans, it’s becoming more and more… read more…
- Balance Sheet: What It Shows & How to Read One
A balance sheet is a financial document that a company releases to show its assets, liabilities and overall shareholder equity. Balance sheets are useful tools for potential investors in a company, as they show the general financial status of a… read more…
- Opportunity Cost: Definition and Examples
Opportunity cost is the benefit you miss out on when you choose to do something else. Every choice you make — from investing choices to career decisions to something as simple as where to eat dinner — comes with some form… read more…
- 11 Common Types of Investments and How They Work
Investing can intimidate a lot of people because there are many options and it can be hard to figure out which investments are right for your portfolio. This guide walks you through ten of the most common types of investments,… read more…
- Ways to Invest $30,000
If you have $30,000 to invest, you have many options. Some things, like making the down payment on a house, might be a bit out of reach, but you can still invest in securities ranging from stocks to treasury bonds.… read more…
- How a UTMA Compares to a 529 Plan
The cost of higher education has skyrocketed over the last few decades, and shows no signs of slowing. That’s why it’s more important than ever that parents start saving as early as possible for their children’s future. There are two… read more…
- How a Passive Investing Strategy Works
Passive investing is an investing strategy that involves buying and holding investments for a long period of time, rather than making frequent trades to try to beat the market. It is a go-to strategy for long-term investors because it capitalizes… read more…
- What Is RSI?
Unlike investing, trading requires a very active approach within the investment market. Rather than buying and holding assets to build wealth over the course of many years, a trader frequently buys and sells stocks, commodities and other securities to achieve higher… read more…