Introduction to Investments

Learning to invest prudently, wisely, patiently, with an eye toward long-term growth of capital and income is easy. We can show you how. (Short-term speculation, also known as trading, is difficult and dangerous. We can’t help you learn how to be a successful trader. Sorry.) Join us on our grand adventure as we learn how to build wealth and, at the same time, help raise the standard of living for everyone on the globe.

You may be asking, “I can be a successful investor?” The simple answer is, “Yes, you can.” You do not need any prior investment experience to take this class. You don’t have to be a genius or a technology whiz. There is no advanced math, only simple arithmetic that any 99¢ calculator can perform. The concepts, techniques, and skills, while extensive at times, are not difficult. The research is relatively painless. As the famed investor, Mr. Warren Buffett, has been quoted as saying, “Investing is simple … but it ain’t easy.” What? Why? How? Mr. Buffett is referring to the fact that there are two parts to the world of investments. The simple part is the intellectual part, the cognitive part. Read, listen, watch, study the material, spend some time doing the research and the assignments, and you should find that the concepts, techniques, and skills are actually very straightforward. The “ain’t easy” part is the emotional part of investing. We will spend a great deal of time doing our best to help you learn techniques, tricks, and tips that should help you succeed with the emotional part of investing, but again, as Mr. Buffett says, “it ain’t easy!” We are only human. And we humans have a difficult time dealing with our emotions.

Are you ready? Good! Let’s get started with a very simple but important question: What Is an Investment?