What Is a Stock? Ownership Explained
A stock is a unit of ownership in a company. Its market price changes as buyers and sellers respond to expected future outcomes.
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How Does the Stock Market Work?
Stock exchanges and brokers help buyers and sellers trade ownership interests, with market rules governing how orders are handled.
What Is an ETF? A Beginner's Guide
An exchange-traded fund pools investments into a portfolio and its shares generally trade on an exchange.
What Is a Dividend?
A dividend is a distribution that a company may pay to shareholders, typically from available funds.
What Is Market Capitalization?
Market capitalization is the market value of a company's outstanding equity shares, commonly estimated as share price multiplied by shares outstanding.
What Is a P/E Ratio?
The price-to-earnings ratio compares the price of a share with earnings per share over a defined period.
How to Read a 10-K Without Being an Accountant
A Form 10-K is an annual report that many US public companies file with the SEC, containing business, risk and audited financial information.
What Is Dollar-Cost Averaging?
Dollar-cost averaging means investing a fixed amount on a regular schedule, regardless of market movements.
Why Do Stock Prices Go Up and Down?
Stock prices move as trades occur at changing prices and expectations about future company results and risks evolve.
How Do Index Funds Work?
An index fund seeks to track a specified market index, usually through a mutual fund or exchange-traded fund.
What Is a Bond?
A bond is a debt security through which an investor lends money to an issuer under specified terms.
ETF vs. Mutual Fund: Key Differences
ETFs and mutual funds can both pool investments, but their trading mechanics and fees can differ.
Risk Tolerance vs. Risk Capacity
Risk tolerance concerns how much uncertainty someone can emotionally accept; risk capacity concerns their financial ability to absorb losses.
What Is a Stop-Loss Order?
A stop order can trigger an instruction to buy or sell when a specified price is reached, depending on the broker and order type.
What Is Trading Volume?
Trading volume measures the amount of shares or contracts traded over a specified time interval.
How Inflation Can Affect Investments
Inflation describes a general increase in prices over time, reducing purchasing power when income or assets fail to keep pace.
How Interest Rates Affect Stock Prices
Changes in interest rates can influence borrowing costs, consumer demand and how investors value future business cash flows.
What Is Portfolio Diversification?
Diversification means spreading financial exposure across assets that do not all behave exactly the same way.
What Is Portfolio Rebalancing?
Rebalancing means adjusting portfolio weights after market movements or changes in goals and circumstances.
How to Spot an Investment Scam
Investment fraud often involves misleading claims, pressure, impersonation or promises of unusually reliable returns.