Seattle Investor Information: Financial Research, Investing Courses, Education & Basics

FOR THE BEGINNER - WHAT IS INVESTING? WHY SHOULD I INVEST? HOW DO I START? Click here for a few basics on what investing is all about and how to get started.

RESEARCH - Below are some of the best online, and for the most part, free, research sources for investors. At most of the sites you can get vast amounts of free, or for a fee, data and research, screen stocks, get buy/sell/hold ratings, find stock charts, stock and bond prices, see how the market is doing, track personalized stock portfolios, read analysts opinions, and get pretty much anything else that you should know about investing, or how your investments are doing.

BONDS

Bonds Online - Online bond brokerage. Good source of information on Corporate, Municipal and Treasury bonds. Bond basics, FAQs (frequently asked questions) and prices.

US Treasury - Find out about US Government Bonds. Buy Savings Bonds, T-Bills, Notes & Bonds online, by phone, or by mail from Treasury Direct.

BROKERS - Online discount brokerages are a terrific way to go for those who do their own stock, bond and mutual fund research and feel comfortable making their own trading decisions. The savings can be enormous, keeping more money in your pocket, rather than a broker. Most have volumes of free stock information to help you in your decisions, including company information, quarterly reports, earnings & news releases, insider trading (the legal kind), historical data, analyst recommendations, charts & stochastics.

E*TRADE - One of the best online discount brokers. Trades from $14.95. Real-time streaming quotes. Robust research on stocks, mutual funds and bonds. Trade over the Internet, or call a live broker.

Share Builder - Open an account with only $25! Buy stock starting at only $3 per trade. A good place to start building a stock portfolio if you don't have a lot of extra money. They keep their prices low by "pooling" all buy orders and only placing those orders a few times per day. You can buy a "fraction" of a share...for example: If XYZ Company is $50 per share, and you say buy $25 of XYZ, then you get 1/2 of a share. A very unique way to build for your future.

BUSINESS MAGAZINES - Online versions

Business Week - The online version of the print version.

CD RATES - Certificates of Deposit (CDs) are a very safe, conservative way to earn interest on money that you will be needing to use shortly (for example, if you are retired) and cannot afford ANY risk of losing the money. Did you know that you have more options than just placing your money at a local bank? Check out BankRate for the interest rates of banks all over the US, as they really DO vary widely.
Experts recommend "laddering" your CDs (Dividing your money among 3mo, 6mo, 1yr, 2yr, etc. CDs) so as to get a better average rate, but not locking you in for so long that if interest rates rise, you can't change to enjoy higher rates.
KEEP IN MIND: 1) Make sure the bank is FDIC (for Banks and Savings & Loans) or NCUA (for Credit Unions) insured. 2) Remember, you are ONLY insured up to $100,000 per account holder, per institution. So when you approach that amount, it's time to open an account in a TOTALLY DIFFERENT BANK. 3) CDs typically renew themselves automatically at the end of their term (3mo, 6mo, etc.), and often at WORSE rates! Be aware of this and make your arrangements well BEFORE they come to term! 4) You WILL be penalized for early withdrawal (before the end of the CDs term)

FDIC - Read about them. Is YOUR bank insured? CLICK HERE

NCUA - Read about them. Is YOUR credit union insured? CLICK HERE

NIC - National Information Center of the Federal Reserve. Find out the financial condition of your bank or S&L.

COINS - Check current prices for rare and collectable coins. Coin grading guidelines.

About - About.com's links to coin and stamp price guides.

Coin Facts - Online reference for US coins.

Coin Zone - News, valuations, information and more.

PCGS - Professional Coin Grading Service. Intro to collecting coins. History of grading coins. Grades and prices. Recommendations for collecting. Reasons for collecting. Collectors & Investors. What determines a coins value? Rare coin price guide (updated daily).

FINANCIAL EDUCATION - Learn the basics of stock, bond and Mutual Fund investing. Find out how to evaluate the likelihood of future growth for your investments, when to buy, when to sell, when to avoid altogether a potential investment.

Bloomberg University - Free online investing classes, from beginning to advanced.

Federal Reserve Education - Finance. Money. Increase your understanding of the Federal Reserve and economics. Free curriculum, newsletters, booklets and other resources.

GE Center For Financial Learning - Site offers information on financial planning & investing, annuities & life insurance, saving for an education, and more. The Home Page has lots of topical articles relating to their for-a-fee courses, but worth reading.

Investing Basics - Particularly Mutual Fund Basics.

Jumpstart Coalition - Learn personal financial management skills. Created primarily for teens, so they would be prepared for the "real world" once they graduated from school (since most schools really just gloss over this important subject). None-the-less, this site has practical information for all of us, regardless of age.

Money 101 - From CNN and Money Magazine.

Motley Fool - A site by, of, and for investors. Learn about investing at their "Fool's School". Join discussions with other investors and get their opinions. Get the latest investment ideas from those who trade for a living or for fun. Lots of free research.

Smart Money University - Range of topics from Investing 101, and college planning, to debt management and more. Free.

Stock Market Game - Designed as a way for younger people to learn how the Stock Market works, but it's really a great way for EVERYONE to see how the Stock Market acts in the real world without risking any money.

Womens Wall Street - The premier "micro-portal" destination for women to research, compare and manage their personal finances.

LIVE MARKET COVERAGE

CBS Marketwatch - Tons of research. Info on getting started in investing.

CNBC - A site produced by the CNBC TV Financial Network. Tons of information, opinions by the experts, live stock market coverage and news. Free "stock ticker" that floats on your computer screen while you are on the Internet and doing other things. A "must visit"! They are live on your cable or satellite TV before, during, and after market hours, Monday through Friday...check your TV listings (Probably channel 46).

MORE RESEARCH

Executive Compensation - Curious what the top executives of public corporations are making, even while their company's stock falters? Check here. Also worth checking out is Executive PayWatch from the AFL-CIO.

Quicken - A site by the makers of the most popular bookkeeping software in the world. Lots of free research. Help and ideas for those that run, or would like to start, their own business. 1 click scorecard on stocks.

Smart Money - News, analysis and commentary. Market map. Stock screener. Much more.

Thomson Financial - Institutional & insider trading, market research.

Yahoo! Finance - Vast amounts of online research, opinion, and much more. Very popular site.

MUTUAL FUNDS

Fund Search - The T Rowe Price Gateway Fund Search allows you to search nearly 2,000 no-load mutual funds for detailed fund information (including the fund's top 10 investments) by fund name, fund family, fund ticker symbol, or Morningstar category. Plus, it allows you to compare the top-performing funds by a variety of factors including fund performance, Morningstar rating, and Morningstar category.

RATING SERVICES

Morningstar - They are a rating service (one of the best, if not THE best), not a brokerage, and so have no agenda to promote anything. Rather, they provide fairer ratings on companies than some may. Much is free, but they also sell more in-depth analysis.

Google
TheRainierValley

Articles of Interest

Golden Parachutes - Do the outrageous severance packages of company executives provide critical clues about the company's board, stock price and future?

TheRainierValley.com™
A Seattle Neighborhood Web Portal