Learn How to Invest

The Markets:  Places to Learn

American Stock Exchange - (AMEX) is the second largest floor-based exchange in the US.  The h9omepage gives you up-to-the minute market activity and allows you to get quotes on up to 10 stocks at a time.  In addition, you'll find market news and details of surprising stock moves.  

NASDAQ - The National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations Stock Market is the largest electronic, screen-based market in the world, with the capacity to handle more than 1 billion shares a day.  Beginning investors will find a wealth of instructional information about the workings of the securities markets at the Resource Center under Personal Finance, including Investing Basics and Money matters.

NYSE - At the official Web site of the New York Stock Exchange, the most obvious thing to do is to track your stocks' ups and downs.  But there is also a good educational component to be found here as well.  Under About the NYSE, click on Historical Perspective for a linked timeline of the stock market.  The Education section (for adult ed) features a seven-chapter course title You and the Investment World to help investors understand the workings of the stock market.

VTM's Listing of the Best Investing Sites

Places where you can learn:

Edustock - helps you learn what the stock market is and how it works.  Included here are tips on judging investment risks, a free 20-minute delayed stock market simulation, games and an explanation of how the market functions.  Company profiles teach you what to look for when picking a stock, and you can learn the history of the stock market in the US and how to buy and sell stocks.  

Funds 101 - Brill's Mutual Funds Interactive - Maria Brill is a well-known finance writer who specializes in mutual funds.  Read her advice, tips and discussions and her 10 commandments of fund investing.  Many on-line reference articles are available.  

Glossary - This is an alphabetically arranged listing of stock market terms with brief descriptions and usage.  Essential for newcomers to the markets because these terms are part of the everyday language of stock trading.

InvestorGuide.com - This site has a wide array of resources.  The main sections include News and Commentary, stocks, Other Investments, Personal Finance, Education, and Tools.  For anyone interested in investing in the stock market, one of the key areas under Stocks is Sector and Company Research, which his links to homepages and quotes, charts, news, earnings, and so on for public companies.  InvestorGuide Weekly is available free by e-mail.  Under Tools, you will find a collection of helpful personal finance and investment calculators, as well as access to charting tools and reference materials.

It All Adds Up - Choose one of four profiles to see what the folks on the other end of the credit application are looking for.  You can calculate the cost of a car or paying for college.  Includes several games to practice.  

LATimes.com: Money Library - Click on Investing 101 for investment tips and strategies for novice and experienced investors.  Features tackle topics in depth, and the site provides a basic tutorial on the 10 things every investor should know, from how to diversify to how and why to take advantage of international stocks.  Each lesson is written by a Times financial writer.  

Morningstar University - A world of valuable investment advice and detailed information about the workings of the securities markets.  The primers offer novice investors valuable advice.

The Motley Fool - A very serious site about investing and other financial issues.  The purpose is to "educate, amuse, and enrich" investors eager to take control of their finances.  Tutorials are offered and steps on how to value stocks and how to get a broker.

Quicken.com : Investing - Features up-to-the-minute news on market activity.  Features include planners and calculators, a section on investment basics, commentaries, and financial forums.  

SMG Worldwide; The Stock Market Game - The new internet version allows you to enter transactions on the Internet and check results the following day.  There is a registration fee for each team.  

Trillion Dollar Bet - A companion web site to the Nova program of the same title introduces the stock market to newcomers.  Sophisticated students will learn about the Black Scholes formula, a mathematical model for predicting the worth of a "call option" which gives its owner the "right to buy shares at a certain price."  Sections about Online Trading and Daytrading show students how ambitious rogue traders have changed the rules of the stock market, both successfully and unsuccessfully.  (Bina Williams, annotation)