In the previous two posts, we've exclusively covered stocks and how those can fit into your investment portfolio. However, there are so many other types of instruments, more formally called "securities", that you can trade. In this post, we'll cover three of the most common: ETFs, Bonds, and Derivatives! So, what is an ETF? An ETF (Exchange-Traded Fund) is a fund that acts like a basket of stocks and is traded on the open market. What makes an ETF and an individual stock diff

In our last post, we went over what an investment is and what stocks are. But, how do we actually build a portfolio to manage our money as best as possible? What defines a strong portfolio and how do they vary from person to person? First, let's get into what a portfolio even is. A portfolio can be thought of as a collection or a combination of assets that someone owns. In finance, and more specifically the stock market, a portfolio refers to all the different stocks and shar

First, let's start with the basics: what does it even mean to invest in a stock? Investing is the use of capital/funds to purchase shares of a stock. Each stock has a fixed number of shares at any given time (this quantity is called the outstanding shares) and, if you were to buy every single share of the company's stock, you would technically own the entire company! So, shares represent small pieces of ownership of a company, and when you invest, you are buying shares of a c