Investment

Investing should be easy – just buy low and sell high – but most of us have trouble following that simple advice. There are principles and strategies that may enable you to put together an investment portfolio that reflects your risk tolerance, time horizon, and goals. Understanding these principles and strategies can help you avoid some of the pitfalls that snare some investors.

Featured Video

What Smart Investors Know

Smart investors take the time to separate emotion from fact.

Featured Presentation

5 Smart Investing Principles

Principles that can help create a portfolio designed to pursue investment goals.

Bridging the Confidence Gap

In the world of finance, the effects of the "confidence gap" can be especially apparent.

Investing for Impact

Learn how to build a socially conscious investment portfolio and invest in your beliefs.

Emerging Market Opportunities

What are your options for investing in emerging markets?

• Articles

  How Stocks Work

  Understanding how a stock works is key to understanding your investments.

  Mutual Funds vs. ETFs

  Exchange-traded funds have some things in common with mutual funds, but there are differences, too.

  Earnings for All Seasons

  Earnings season can move markets. What is it and why is it important?

  A Primer on Dividends

  A company's profits can be reinvested or paid out to the company’s shareholders as “dividends."

  Rebalancing Your Portfolio

  Over time, different investments' performances can shift a portfolio’s intent and risk profile. Rebalancing may be critical.

  Required Reading: The Economic Report of the President

  The Economic Report of the President can help identify the forces driving — or dragging — the economy.

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• Calculators

  Taxable vs. Tax-Deferred Savings

  Use this calculator to compare the future value of investments with different tax consequences.

  Contributing to an IRA?

  Determine if you are eligible to contribute to a traditional or Roth IRA.

  Saving for College

  This calculator can help you estimate how much you should be saving for college.

  What Is the Dividend Yield?

  This calculator helps determine your pre-tax and after-tax dividend yield on a particular stock.

  Impact of Taxes and Inflation

  Estimate the potential impact taxes and inflation can have on the purchasing power of an investment.

  How Compound Interest Works

  Use this calculator to better see the potential impact of compound interest on an asset.

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• Presentations

  5 Smart Investing Strategies

  There are some smart strategies that may help you pursue your investment objectives

  5 Smart Investing Principles

  Principles that can help create a portfolio designed to pursue investment goals.

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• Videos

  The Cycle of Investing

  Understanding the cycle of investing may help you avoid easy pitfalls.

  Should I Invest in Gold?

  Learning more about gold and its history may help you decide whether it has a place in your portfolio.

  Events on Wall Street

  Can successful investors predict changes in the markets? Some can but others miss the market’s signals.

  Bursting the Bubble

  Tulips were the first, but they won’t be the last. What forms a “bubble” and what causes them to burst?

  The Junk Drawer Approach to Investing

  It's easy to let investments accumulate like old receipts in a junk drawer.

  It Was the Best of Times, It Was the Worst of Times

  All about how missing the best market days (or the worst!) might affect your portfolio.

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