Introduction to Stocks ` Introduction to Stocks Basics of Investing I K. Robinson

What is a stock? Common stock Gives you a “share” of ownership of a publicly traded company Stock ownership Voting rights Claim to assets (behind debt holders) and earnings

What is a stock? Ticker symbols Set of letters that represent a security traded on an exchange Ex. MSFT, GS, AAPL, MA, BUD, LUV Stock quotes List of prices for a stock at a particular point during the trading day Stock tickers What do those green and red numbers mean?

More Stock Quotes

Stocks vs. Bonds Stocks are equity Bonds are debt Generally considered riskier Quite possible to lose a significant portion, if not all, of your money Potential for high returns Bonds are debt Lower and usually fixed return Higher claim than stockholders What does this mean?

What Can Cause Stock Prices to Change? EASY!  Supply and Demand! But…what affects supply / demand of a stock?

What Can Cause Stock Prices to Change? Earnings & growth expectations Positive / negative news Economy sentiment Investor sentiments & attitudes

How Stocks Are Traded Major exchanges Only “publicly traded Lists stocks (and other securities), sets policies for how stocks are traded New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) American Stock Exchange (AMEX) National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation Only “publicly traded companies” are listed

Markets Indices S&P 500 500 stocks chosen by Standard & Poor to represent US stock market NASDAQ Composite--With approximately 3,700 companies and corporations, it has more trading volume than any other stock exchange in the world, many of which are technology and electronics Dow Jones Industrial Average 30 most significant stocks traded

Stocks Markets & Animals Bull Market When everything in the market is going great and stocks are generally heading upwards Bear Market When everything is NOT GOOD and stocks are generally headed downward NOTE: Nothing lasts forever! Good times and bad times will end at some point http://www.investopedia.com/university/stocks/stocks7.asp

Brokerages Need a medium to trade through – this is where brokerages come in Criteria Full service vs. discount Fees (commission) Services / tools Minimum balance

Opening an Account Not a hard process- most of it just some paperwork and mail Sign-up online and download forms Mail checks, forms, and copy of ID Accounts created within a couple of days What you will need: a computer, starting capital, and investing know-how

Basic Idea Behind Investing in Stocks Buy your stocks when the prices are low. Sell your stocks when the prices are high.