- What Are Structured Notes and How Do They Work?
Structured notes offer investors options that are otherwise unavailable, but there’s reason to be wary of them. While structured notes do contain a bond element that’s generally considered safe, the inclusion of stocks and derivatives can make them a bit… read more…
- What Are Interval Funds, and How Do They Work?
In an interval fund, an investment company will regularly offer to repurchase shares from shareholders. Those repurchases come at various intervals, hence the name. Before you decide to invest in interval funds, though, it’s worth considering how they function and… read more…
- Return on Equity (ROE): Definition and Examples
Return on equity (ROE) measures how well a company generates profits for its owners. It is defined as the business’s net income relative to the value of its shareholders’ equity. It reveals the company’s efficiency at turning shareholder investments into profits.… read more…
- The Different Types of Mutual Fund Classes
Mutual funds can simplify the diversification of your portfolio. Mutual fund share classes will determine just how much that diversification will cost. While mutual funds will let you invest in a collection of stocks and bonds through index funds or exchange-traded funds (ETF), mutual fund share classes may determine which fit your budget best. Mutual… read more…
- How Are Profit Margins Defined and Measured?
As a business owner, your profit margins may be key to making money and growing a company. Evaluating your profit margins can assist you with gauging the financial health of your company. In order for your business to succeed, you… read more…
- What Are the Hours of the Stock Market?
The stock markets that most Americans use – the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the NASDAQ – are both open Monday to Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern Standard Times. Other stock exchanges in different parts of the world – the London Stock Exchange in the U.K or the Tokyo Stock Exchange… read more…
- The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Created in response to the Great Depression, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is largely responsible for protecting investors in U.S. securities. The federal agency does this by overseeing key players (including brokers, investment advisors and stock exchanges), making sure public companies disclose required information and protecting against fraud. Put simply, it exists to… read more…
- How to Buy Amazon Stock (AMZN)
Amazon (AMZN) is not only one of the most successful online retailers, but it’s also one of the few trillion-dollar U.S. companies that offers stocks. Founded in 1994 by Jeff Bezos, the company offers an array of products and services… read more…
- What Is Discount Rate and Why Does It Matter? – Definition and Example
The discount rate is a financial term that can have two meanings. In banking, it is the interest rate the Federal Reserve charges banks for overnight loans. Despite its name, the discount rate is not reduced. In fact, it’s higher… read more…
- The Sharpe Ratio: Definition and How to Use It
As an investor, your objective is to balance the potential for returns with risk. When assessing risk, investors and financial advisors often apply the Sharpe ratio to their investment analysis. Just one popular method for evaluating stock, the Sharpe ratio is… read more…
- Understanding Mutual Fund Expense Ratios
If you’re investing in mutual funds or exchange-traded funds (ETFs), the fund manager will charge fees to cover their various expenses. Those fees are collectively rolled into what’s known as an expense ratio, which is expressed as a percentage. This… read more…
- What Is Series A Funding and How Do You Get It?
Series A funding is the first round of capital after a seed round that a startup company raises from professional investors in order to grow the business. Starting a company takes money — sometimes a lot of it. And after… read more…
- 10 Safe Investments to Protect Your Money
There’s always some risk involved with being an investor. However, there are strategies investors can use to be safer with their money, while also garnering some returns. For instance, you can keep your money liquid by investing in various types of… read more…
- Understanding Default Risk in Bond Investing
Default risk in bond investing refers to the chance that a bond-issuing company or government would fail to make its debt and interest payments. As a bond investor, you can lose 100% of your investment along with uncollected interest. But… read more…
- How Stock Buybacks Work and Why Companies Do Them
A stock buyback occurs when a company buys back its own shares from the market, typically in an effort to raise its share price for a number of reasons. Stock buybacks are typically done by profitable public companies instead of providing dividends as a way to reward some investors who are ready to sell. There… read more…
- What Investors Should Know About the Wash-Sale Rule
When an investment underperforms, tax-loss harvesting is a way to offset the tax impact of capital gains while maintaining your preferred asset allocation. Some robo-advisors even automate this process. The IRS allows investors to use realized losses to offset gains… read more…
- What Is Stock Correlation, and How Do You Find It?
Stock correlation describes the relationship that exists between two stocks and their respective price movements. It can also refer to the relationship between stocks and other asset classes, such as bonds or real estate. Even if you’ve turned over control… read more…
- A Guide to Investing for Beginners
While saving is the first step to building wealth, putting your savings to work through investing is typically the first step to growing that wealth. While stocks are usually the first thing people think to invest in, you can also… read more…
- What Is a Leveraged ETF?
Exchange-traded funds, or ETFs, are popular investment securities that track stock market indexes, a particular commodity, bonds, or a particular category of assets like tech stocks. A leveraged ETF is a particular type of ETF that uses debt or financial… read more…
- Investment Banking: Definition, Types & More
Investment banking is a sect of the banking industry focused on raising capital for companies, governments and other entities. Investment banks are typically private companies, and they may underwrite debt and equity securities, assist with mergers and acquisitions, provide financial advisory… read more…
- What Is an Investment Portfolio?
An investment portfolio is a basket of asset classes that typically include stocks, bonds, cash, real estate and more. Investors generally aim for a return by diversifying these securities in a way that reflects their risk tolerance and financial goals.… read more…
- How to Invest in Startups
Investing in startups may seem like an opportunity that only exists for those willing and able to drop a few million into a fledgling tech company housed in a garage or a Stanford dorm room. While that type of investor… read more…
- What Is the 60/40 Portfolio (And Should You Have One)?
Building an investment portfolio means determining the right mix of assets to help you reach your goals for the short and long term. One of the more conventional approaches financial advisors and experts suggest is the 60/40 portfolio. Going this… read more…
- What Is the SIPC, and What Does It Do?
There are many agencies and organizations in America that exist to protect consumers, including consumers on the investing markets. One of those organizations is the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC). The SIPC is a nonprofit, member-funded organization that helps clients… read more…
- What Is Current Ratio and How Do You Calculate It?
The current ratio is an accounting measure that tells you if a company can pay such short-term obligations as payroll and rent for the year. A good metric for investors to use when analyzing securities, the current ratio is a… read more…