The Stock Market

When people refer to "the stock market" or "the market" it can sometimes be confusing to beginning investors as to what those terms actually mean. Are they talking about all the stocks that trade on the NYSE, all the stocks that trade in the U.S., or all the stocks in the world? Typically when people refer to "the market" they are talking about all the publicly traded stocks in this country (they will usually say "the global market" if they mean the entire world). Indeed, the concept of "the market" can be a difficult one at first, especially since beginners tend to think of stocks as individual units. This section explains some different ways that investing experts think about the market as a whole.
[view entire article]

Introduction to Trading and Types of Orders

Introduction and Types of Orders Before you start trading stocks, it's a good idea to understand the process of trading. Most buyers in this country are accustomed to retail shopping, where the prices are set beforehand by the seller. The stock market operates more like an auction, in which both buyers and sellers are actively setting the prices at the same time. This section will show you how trading works, the different types of trading orders you can execute, and the different systems that you can use to place your orders. (more)

Index Funds and ETFs

Index Funds An index fund is a "passively" managed mutual fund that tries to mirror the performance of a specific index, such as the S& 500 or the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Since index funds attempt to mirror a stock index, decisions about which stocks to buy and sell are automatic for the fund and transactions are infrequent. This means that index funds do not require the management of a professional money manager, and so they are said to be "passively managed" (while any fund that requires a manager to select stocks is said to be "actively managed"). (more)

The Stock Market

Introduction to Trading and Types of Orders

Index Funds and ETFs

MORE