Stocks, Bonds, and Investing: Oh, My! (Self-Guided)

1 Overview of Class

Welcome! This first lesson introduces the course and helps you set up your investing game plan.

2 The Theory and Importance of Investing

You need to fully and fundamentally understand the theories, laws, and concepts that govern investing. This lesson explores what gives money its value, how to increase that value, and more. Then you will learn how this pertains to the three most important investments: retirement, education, and housing.

3 First Things First

Which investments should you make first? Would it be more beneficial to invest in an IRA or should you be thinking about college? Or might this perhaps be a good time for you to invest in rental property? This lesson explores all of the benefits and drawbacks of these options to help you decide.

4 Stocks, Bonds and Mutual Funds - Part I

Mutual funds, IRA accounts, 401k plans, and other investments are primarily composed of two simple building blocks: stocks and bonds. This lesson takes a closer look at them in intricate detail. You will learn all about stocks and bonds, what gives them value, how to look up their prices, and much more.

5 Stocks, Bonds and Mutual Funds - Part II

Understanding stocks and bonds brings an understanding of whole new set of securities and investments like mutual funds, options, ADRs, REITs, and much more. This lesson focuses on different investments, how they work, why you might want to invest, and the pros and cons to investing.

6 The Markets and Exchanges

But where do you purchase said stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and other investments? Never fear-there are many different exchanges throughout the world that are here to serve your trading needs. This lesson covers all the major global markets and exchanges.

7 Processes, Players and Operations

In this lesson, you will meet all the different people and institutions involved in trading and investing, such as brokers and traders and different types of brokerages from-traditional, discount, or online. Perhaps most important, you will learn what these people's real incentive is in trading for you.

8 Trades and the Trading Process

How are all these different stocks, bonds, and mutual funds traded? You will need an intricate understanding of the trading process, traders, brokers, and their incentives to know when you're getting a good deal. In this lesson, you will learn how to tell if you made a good trade or not.

9 Retirement Programs

While we briefly touched on retirement programs, the options are so varied, detailed, and important that they deserve a lesson all to themselves. This lesson takes a detailed look at the operations, contribution limits, and withdrawal requirements of IRAs, Roth IRAs, SEP Plans, 401ks, 403bs, 529 plans.

10 Picking Stocks

While investing in your 401k may be good for your long-term investment plan, sometimes risk is a good thing. This lesson looks at stock valuation and analysis and reviews the basics of calculated investment risks.

11 Types and the Importance of Research

In this continuation of Lesson 10, you will discover research techniques that you can use to analyze and pick stocks as well as valuation techniques used to price stocks. You will also learn how to read a company's annual report. This is required reading if you plan to make it big by investing in stocks!

12 Researching Resources

Your final lesson is all about researching resources, looking at a vast array of Web sites, publications and other sources of information that will help guide your future investments