Novice Investors: Introduction to the Stock Market

Do you feel lost when the conversation turns to stocks and investing?  Have you been thinking about investing, but have no idea how to get started?  Then this course is made for you.

Grow your financial literacy and independence with an experienced, supportive teacher. We start at the very beginning.

I want you to understand how things work before you put your money on the line. So we will start with a solid overview of the stock market to prepare you to participate in it confidently. I’ll define the terms you need to know so you can ask questions and understand the answers you get. I might even answer some questions you didn’t know you had.

You’ll get answers to your questions such as:

• What exactly is a share of stock?
• Why can I invest in Coca Cola, but not LEGO?
• What determines the price of a share of stock?
• What is a stock ticker?
• What is a stock broker and do I need one?
• Exactly how do I make money with stocks?
• What is a dividend and what can I do with it?
• How do I diversify my investments (and why do I need to?)
• What exactly are The Dow, NASDAQ and The S & P 500?
• What is an index fund?

Once you have a grasp of the basics, I give you step by step instructions with everything you need to choose a broker, decide what kind of account you want to open, and set up and fund your first account.

We’ll also talk briefly about the difference between buying individual stocks and buying shares of Mutual Funds and Exchange Traded Funds. We’ll touch on retirement plans you may have available through your employers and why you should probably take advantage of them.

This course prepares you for Part B, Novice Investors’ Guide to Choosing and Buying Stocks and Funds.