Investing All-in-One For Dummies

Description

Make the most of your investment portfolio with a mix of assets from stocks to real estate to cryptocurrency There's nothing more satisfying than seeing the balance of a financial account grow month over month. But before that can happen, you need to know the best places to invest your money. Who can you trust for solid, reliable investing advice? Investing All-in-One For Dummies offers sound guidance for investors at every level. Whether you're stumped by stocks, baffled by bonds, mystified about mutual funds, or curious about cryptocurrency, this book gives you a solid foundation in those investing concepts and many others. After reading the expert advice and considering your risk tolerance and timeline, you can confidently choose the best investments for your financial goals. Containing advice from 10 different Dummies investing guides, Investing All-in-One For Dummies shows you how to • Set short- and long-term investing goals, invest to minimize your tax hit, and develop an investing strategy using a mix of investment vehicles • Decide when to buy, hold, or sell an investment • Choose the right mix of stocks, bonds, and mutual funds to create a diversified portfolio • Identify real estate investment opportunities and find the capital to make purchases • Execute trades through an online broker instead of using a traditional investment firm • Evaluate modern investing trends like cryptocurrency and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing For anyone who wants to dip their toes into the markets or who tends to leave their investment decisions in the hands of someone else, Investing All-in-One For Dummies is the must-read resource when you're ready to make informed decisions and pick solid investments for your financial future. Contents at a Glance Cover Title Page Copyright Introduction About This Book Foolish Assumptions Icons Used in This Book Beyond the Book Where to Go from Here Book 1: Getting Started with Investing Chapter 1: Exploring Your Investment Choices Getting Started with Investing Building Wealth with Ownership Investments Generating Income from Lending Investments Considering Cash Equivalents Choosing Where to Invest and Get Advice Chapter 2: Weighing Risks and Returns Evaluating Risks Analyzing Returns Compounding Your Returns Chapter 3: The Workings of Stock and Bond Markets How Companies Raise Money through the Financial Markets Understanding Financial Markets and Economics Book 2: Investing in Your 20s and 30s Chapter 1: Using Investments to Accomplish Your Goals Setting and Prioritizing Your Shorter-Term Goals Investing in Retirement Accounts Chapter 2: Minimizing Your Taxes When Investing Understanding Investment Taxes Reducing Your Taxes When Selling Investments Chapter 3: Laying Out Your Financial Plans First Priorities: Paying Off High-Cost Debt and Building a Safety Reserve What about Paying Down Other Debts? Sorting Out Your Financial Plans Knowing the Impact of Investing for College Costs Securing Proper Insurance Chapter 4: Starting Out with Bank and Credit Union Accounts Understanding FDIC Bank Insurance Investing in Banking Account and Savings Vehicles Negotiating with Bankers Feeling Secure with Your Bank Exploring Alternatives to Bank Accounts Book 3: Checking Out Stock Investing Chapter 1: Gathering Information on Stocks Looking to Stock Exchanges for Answers Grasping the Basics of Accounting and Economics Staying on Top of Financial News Reading (And Understanding) Stock Tables Using News about Dividends Evaluating Investment Tips Chapter 2: Investing for Long-Term Growth Becoming a Value-Oriented Growth Investor Choosing Growth Stocks with a Few Handy Tips Chapter 3: Investing for Income and Cash Flow Understanding the Basics of Income Stocks Analyzing Income Stocks Exploring Some Typical Income Stocks Chapter 4: Using Basic Accounting to Choose Winning Stocks Recognizing Value When You See It Accounting for Value Book 4: Looking at Bond Investing Chapter 1: Bond Fundamentals Understanding What Makes a Bond a Bond Why Hold Bonds? Introducing the Major Players in the Bond Market Buying Solo or Buying in Bulk The Triumphs and Failures of Fixed-Income Investing Realizing How Crucial Bonds Are Today Viewing Recent Developments, Largely for the Better Chapter 2: All about the Interest The Tricky Business That Is Calculating Rates of Return Measuring the Desirability of a Bond Understanding Yield Recognizing Total Return (This Is What Matters Most!) Measuring the Volatility of Your Bond Holdings Returning to the Bonds of Babylonia Chapter 3: Checking Out Types of Bonds Exploring the Many Ways of Investing with Uncle Sam Industrial Returns: Corporate Bonds Lots of Protection, a Touch of Confusion: Agency Bonds Banking Your Money on Other People’s Mortgages (Almost) Tax-Free Havens: Municipal Bonds Chapter 4: Investing (Carefully!) in Individual Bonds Navigating Today’s Individual Bond Market Dealing with Brokers and Other Financial Professionals Doing It Yourself Online Perfecting the Art of Laddering Chapter 5: Picking a Bond Fund That Will Serve You for Life Defining the Basic Kinds of Funds What Matters Most in Choosing a Bond Fund of Any Sort Book 5: Moving on to Mutual Funds and Exchange-Traded Funds Chapter 1: Considering Mutual Funds’ Pros and Cons Introducing Mutual Funds and Exchange-Traded Funds Getting a Grip on Funds Opting for Mutual Funds Addressing the Drawbacks Chapter 2: Finding the Best Mutual Funds Evaluating Gain-Eating Costs Weighing Performance and Risk Recognizing Manager Expertise Chapter 3: Buying Mutual Funds from the Best Firms Finding the Best Buys Discount Brokers: Mutual Fund Supermarkets Places to Pass By Chapter 4: What the Heck Is an ETF, Anyway? The Nature of the Beast Choosing between the Classic and the New Indexes Preferring ETFs over Individual Stocks Distinguishing ETFs from Mutual Funds Why the Big Boys Prefer ETFs Why Individual Investors Are Learning to Love ETFs Getting the Professional Edge Passive versus Active Investing: Your Choice Do ETFs Belong in Your Life? Chapter 5: Risk Control, Diversification, and Other Things to Know about ETFs Risk Is Not Just a Board Game Smart Risk, Foolish Risk How Risk Is Measured Mixing and Matching Your Stock ETFs Book 6: Investing Online Chapter 1: Getting Ready for Online Investing Why Investing Online Is Worth Your While Getting Started Gut-Check Time: How Much Risk Can You Take? Passive or Active? Deciding What Kind of Investor You Plan to Be Chapter 2: Getting Your Device Ready for Online Investing Turning Your Device into a Trading Station Tracking the Market’s Every Move Monitoring Market-Moving News Checking In on Wall Street Chatter Keeping Tabs on the Regulators Searching the Internet High and Low Keeping the Bad Guys Out: Securing Your PC Mastering the Basics with Online Tutorials and Simulations Chapter 3: Connecting with an Online Broker Finding the Best Broker for You Separating the Types of Brokerages Avoiding Hidden Fees Finding Out What Reviewers Think Is Your Money Safe? Checking Out Your Broker Cutting the Cord: Mobile Trading Pay Attention to Where Your Cash Is Parked: Money Market Funds Buying Stocks and Mutual Funds without a Broker Opening and Setting Up Your Account Chapter 4: Entering and Executing Trades Understanding How Stock Trades and Shares Are Handled Getting It Done: Executing Your Trades Book 7: Introducing Fundamental Analysis Chapter 1: Understanding Fundamental Analysis Why Bother with Fundamental Analysis? Knowing the Tools of the Fundamental Analysis Trade Making Fundamental Analysis Work For You Chapter 2: Getting Up to Speed with Fundamental Analysis What Is Fundamental Analysis? Comparing Fundamental Analysis with Other Ways of Picking Investments Putting Fundamental Analysis to Work For You Making Money with Fundamental Analysis The Fundamental Analysis Toolbox Chapter 3: Gaining an Edge with Fundamental Analysis Better Investing with Fundamentals Relying on the Basic Info the Pros Use Figuring Out When to Buy or Sell a Stock Chapter 4: Getting Your Hands on Fundamental Data Getting in Sync with the Fundamental Calendar Getting Up to Speed with Basic Accounting and Math Knowing How to Get the Fundamental Data You Need Book 8: Investing in Real Estate Chapter 1: Evaluating Real Estate as an Investment Understanding Real Estate’s Income- and Wealth-Producing Potential Recognizing the Caveats of Real Estate Investing Comparing Real Estate to Other Investments Determining Whether You Should Invest in Real Estate Fitting Real Estate into Your Plans Chapter 2: Covering Common Real Estate Investments Identifying the Various Ways to Invest in Residential Income Property Surveying the Types of Residential Properties You Can Buy Considering Commercial Real Estate Buying Undeveloped or Raw Land Chapter 3: Identifying Sources of Capital Calculating the Costs of Admission Rounding Up the Required Cash by Saving Overcoming Down Payment Limitations Chapter 4: Location, Location, Value Deciding Where to Invest Finding Properties to Add Value Evaluating a Region: The Big Picture Investigating Your Local Market Evaluating Neighborhoods Mastering Seller’s and Buyer’s Markets Book 9: Investing in Trends Chapter 1: Taking the Nickel Tour of Cannabis Investing Weighing the Pros and Cons of Investing in Cannabis Investing in Businesses That Touch the Plant or Those That Don’t Exploring Your Investment Options Finding Investment Opportunities Researching Investment Opportunities Planning Your Investment Strategy Investing in a Cannabis Business Chapter 2: The Political, Cultural, and Regulatory Landscape of Cannabis Investing Recognizing the Impact of Laws on the Industry Riding the Waves of Politics and Culture Accounting for the High Costs of Doing Business Chapter 3: What Is a Cryptocurrency? Beginning with the Basics of Cryptocurrencies Gearing Up to Make Transactions Making a Plan Before You Jump In Chapter 4: How Cryptocurrencies Work Explaining Basic Terms in the Cryptocurrency Process Cruising through Other Important Crypto Concepts Stick a Fork in It: Digging into Cryptocurrency Forks Chapter 5: Entering the World of ESG Investing Surveying the Current ESG Landscape Exploring What ESG Is (and Isn’t) Understanding ESG’s Impact on the Environment, Society, and Governance Using International Standards to Determine ESG Objectives Index About the Authors Connect with Dummies End User License Agreement List of Tables Book 1 Chapter 2 TABLE 2-1 Largest U.S. Stock Market Declines* TABLE 2-2 Inflation’s Corrosive Effect on Your Money’s Purchasing Power TABLE 2-3 How Compounding Grows Your Investment Dollars Book 2 Chapter 2 TABLE 2-1 2021 Federal Income Tax Rates for Single and Married Households Filing... Book 3 Chapter 1 TABLE 1-1 A Sample Stock Table TABLE 1-2 The Life of the Quarterly Dividend Book 3 Chapter 2 TABLE 2-1 Grobaby, Inc., Income Statement TABLE 2-2 Grobaby, Inc., Balance Sheet Book 3 Chapter 3 TABLE 3-1 Comparing Yields Book 3 Chapter 4 TABLE 4-1 XYZ Balance Sheet — December 31, 2021 TABLE 4-2 XYZ Income Statement — December 31, 2021 Book 5 Chapter 2 TABLE 2-1 Comparing the Van Wagoner Emerging Growth Fund’s Performance Book 5 Chapter 4 TABLE 4-1 ETFs versus Mutual Funds versus Individual Stocks TABLE 4-2 Rock-Bottom-Priced ETFs TABLE 4-3 Holdings of the iShares Dow Jones U.S. Energy Sector ETF as of Mid-Aug... Book 5 Chapter 5 TABLE 5-1 Standard Deviation of Two Hypothetical ETFs TABLE 5-2 Recent Performance of Various Investment Styles TABLE 5-3 Recent Performance of Various Market Sectors Book 6 Chapter 2 TABLE 2-1 Key Market Indexes TABLE 2-2 SEC Forms You Can Use Book 6 Chapter 3 TABLE 3-1 Deep Discounters TABLE 3-2 Discounters Book 7 Chapter 1 TABLE 1-1 Watch Out! A Falling Knife! Book 7 Chapter 3 TABLE 3-1 Fundamentals Matter: Value Beats Growth TABLE 3-2 Measuring the Size of Companies TABLE 3-3 Big Buffett Bets Book 7 Chapter 4 TABLE 4-1 Filing Deadlines for Key Documents Book 8 Chapter 1 TABLE 1-1 How a Rental Property’s Income and Wealth Build Over Time List of Illustrations Book 1 Chapter 2 FIGURE 2-1: What are the odds of making or losing money in the U.S. markets? In... FIGURE 2-2: The longer you hold stocks, the more likely you are to make money. FIGURE 2-3: Even the bull market of the 1990s wasn’t kind to every company. FIGURE 2-4: A historical view of bond performance: Inflation has eroded bond re... FIGURE 2-5: History shows that stocks have been a consistent long-term winner. FIGURE 2-6: Plenty of investing opportunities exist outside the United States. Book 2 Chapter 4 FIGURE 4-1: A sample Truth in Savings Disclosure statement from an online bank.... Book 4 Chapter 4 FIGURE 4-1: A typical bond ladder. Book 5 Chapter 2 FIGURE 2-1: How to spot load funds. Book 5 Chapter 4 FIGURE 4-1: The secret to ETFs’ tax friendliness lies in their very structure. Book 5 Chapter 5 FIGURE 5-1: The risk levels of a sampling of ETFs. FIGURE 5-2: The style box or grid. Book 6 Chapter 2 FIGURE 2-1: Setting financial websites as favorites is a matter of just clickin... FIGURE 2-2: The Fed’s website makes it easy to track important interest rates. Book 7 Chapter 2 FIGURE 2-1: A square with three slices is the best way to understand the relati... Book 8 Chapter 4 FIGURE 4-1: Property knowledge sheet. Book 9 Chapter 2 FIGURE 2-1: Check out an online map to determine overall legal status. Book 9 Chapter 4 FIGURE 4-1: An example of a hard fork. FIGURE 4-2: An example of a soft fork. Book 9 Chapter 5 FIGURE 5-1: ESG Cube with intersections between factors. FIGURE 5-2: Industry sectors per the SASB’s Materiality Map. FIGURE 5-3: Popular ESG investment strategies. FIGURE 5-4: Material indicators per the SASB’s Materiality Map.