Posts in category Investing Basics →

Today’s CNN Money discusses three easy steps to becoming a millionaire:

Step 1. Time: There is really no shortcut to getting rich. The sooner you begin saving and investing (steps # 2 and 3 below), the faster you get there. If you cannot begin soon enough, retire late – the idea is to give your money enough time to grow.
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In Part I, I discussed the two main and opposing theories of investing – efficient market theory (EMT) and fundamental analysis (FA). Here I talk about which one of these two can be thought as “correct”.
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(This post is a part of the series Basics of Finance and Investing.)

It did not surprise many when Warren Buffett, while recently hosting a group of business students for a two-hour question-answer session, began by pointing out the folly of the efficient market theory (EMT). After all, his objection to EMT is as legendary as his support for fundamental analysis (FA), as the foundation for smart investing.
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(This post is a part of the series Basics of Finance and Investing.)

Unlike a debt type security such as a money market or a bond, a stock is an equity or ownership type security, which entitles its buyer one share in the ownership of the issuing corporation. Because the risk of investing in a stock is significant (you may lose your entire invested asset if the corporation faces bankruptcy), stocks are examples of a variable income type security.
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(This post is a part of the series on Basics of Finance and Investing.)

An interest rate is the monthly rate you pay as a borrower, or receive as a creditor/lender. If you save money in bank, or invest in a money market, you are indirectly lending money to a borrowing corporation (or the government). If the interest rate goes up, the borrower must pay you more, which makes them unhappy but you happy (your bank balance soars). The mood swings the other way when interest rate goes down.
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(This post is a part of the series on Basics of Finance and Investing.)

You have bought a 1-year CD for $10,000 at 5% interest rate. After one year you collect $10,500 – a gain of $500. What is your real gain? This depends on what $10,000 can buy one year later, compared to what it does now.
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(This post is a part of the series on Basics of Finance and Investing.)

Like money market, a bond market is a debt instrument issued by both the US government and corporations to borrow fund from public. But there are two differences: a bond market has longer term maturity, and bond returns are not always fixed (and so it is not totally correct to categorize them as fixed-income securities).
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(This post is a part of the series on Basics of Finance and Investing.)

A money market, or “cash”, is a low-risk, short-term, liquid, debt type security. Reading from left to right, the italicized words mean – the risk of losing the principal (money you paid for the security) is low, it matures typically in a year or less, you can sell it quick, and corporations (and the government) issue these securities to borrow funds. Because of the low risk and fixed returns, a money market is an example of a fixed-income security. Following are the three major types of money markets.
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(This post is a part of the series on Basics of Finance and Investing.)

Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines the word security as “the state of being secure”. Then further down, “an instrument of investment in the form of a document (as a stock certificate or bond) providing evidence of its ownership”. These two definitions are not unrelated. A security is an investment instrument that is supposed to secure your financial future.
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(This post is a part of the series on Basics of Finance and Investing.)

In simple terms, a market is where buyers and sellers meet to exchange goods for money. This basic concept still works in the sophisticated world of finance, except that there are now four organizational levels depending on the nature and volume of transactions.
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