For Investors
Regardless of whether you’re a new investor or an experienced trader, this can guide you to the Internet-based resources that can help you make better, more informed investing decisions than ever before. The Internet offers an astounding amount of financial information, and Investing Online For Dummies, 5th Edition, provides clear instructions and ample illustrations so that you don’t get lost in cyberspace. With the assistance of these resources, you can find up-to-the-second stock quotes, historical financial data on public companies, professional analyses, educational materials, and more.
This is a breif introduction show you how to get started as a successful, what you really need to know, and where to go on the Internet for additional information. You don’t need to memorize complex commands or formulas. I describe everything in plain English, and I leave the Wall Street–speak out in the street.Thousands of new Web pages are added each day. Many institutions bring
educational and government materials online, large and small commercial enterprises create Web-based services, and individuals also account for much of the content that is posted online. This vast amount of content continues to grow in size and sophistication but still remains user-friendly. New online investor applications are added on a regular basis. Today you can finetune your online investing in more ways than ever before because more Internet resources are out there than ever before.
As the amount of online content constantly increases, it also changes. Some sites listed in this book may have changed or gone away due to mergers with larger sites. Some Web sites just vanish for no reason. If a site has moved, you may find a link to the new location. If not, try a search engine such as Google (www.google.com), Yahoo! (www.yahoo.com), or MSN (search.msn.com) to locate the resource you need.
Some background information that all all investors should know before you start this series:
* On a typical day, between 1 and 3 percent of all Internet users buy or sell stocks, bonds, or mutual funds online. Additionally, online investing grew by 40 percent from March 2000 (10 million Americans) to September 2002 (14 million Americans).
* More men than women are likely to buy or sell stock online. As a matter of fact, the ratio of men to women making trades is two to one.
* Age doesn’t seem to play a significant role in who’s investing online. However, Internet users in the 30-to-49-year age bracket seem to take the lead in this area.
* Educated individuals with higher incomes are more likely to have traded online than other online users. As of September 2002, about 17 percent of Internet users with college degrees had bought or sold stocks online. Only 8 percent of those individuals without a college degree had traded stocks online. The study also indicated that individuals with household incomes of $75,000 or more are four times as likely to have traded securities online.
* More experienced Internet users are more likely to buy or sell stocks online. Moreover, individuals with high-speed connections (that result in real-time streaming stock quotes and other financial information) are more likely to trade online. A September 2004 study by J. D. Power (www.jdpower.com) of 4,885 online investors indicated that newer online investors have different characteristics than more experienced online investors: These newer online investors: Are younger and female: Newer investors tend to be 18- to 34-years-old and female.
* Are more conservative: The volatility of the market and decreased returns on investments have made newer online investors more cautious.
* Have smaller portfolios: Newer online investors tend to have smaller portfolios and a lower risk-tolerance level.
Throughout this book, I assume that you want to join the ranks of newer online investors or that you already invest online and want to maximize your returns. Therefore, you want to take advantage of all the timely investment information available on the Internet.
Get some work done with the Internet. Online selecting, evaluating, and monitoring of investments can be time-consuming. Online investing really is work.
Partner with the Internet in making your money work harder for you.
