Basics: looking for help to start investing

[leslie]

Back in 1979 I was first encouraged to invest in stocks (as opposed to the GICs and CSB I held). The subject was introduced by the question "Do you know how to read financial statement?" , and I was handed a small pamphlet on the subject (reading FS's).

At that time there was no self-help industry promoting the classic investment bibles or the undending stream of beach-reading to 'educate' investors. The media did not print canned advice and there was no 'financial advisor' industry promoting asset allocation and rebalancing. I read the pamphlet and then enrolled in a night-school class on book-keeping.

I continue to think that THAT path of knowledge was and is the best approach to stock investing. If you will only be buying ETF's of large indexes then there is no need to read any of the publications listed by the others. But is you want to buy stocks, then you need to read financial statements well.

[Rickson9]

Back in 1979 I was first encouraged to invest in stocks (as opposed to the GICs and CSB I held). The subject was introduced by the question "Do you know how to read financial statement?" , and I was handed a small pamphlet on the subject (reading FS's).

At that time there was no self-help industry promoting the classic investment bibles or the undending stream of beach-reading to 'educate' investors. The media did not print canned advice and there was no 'financial advisor' industry promoting asset allocation and rebalancing. I read the pamphlet and then enrolled in a night-school class on book-keeping.

I continue to think that THAT path of knowledge was and is the best approach to stock investing. If you will only be buying ETF's of large indexes then there is no need to read any of the publications listed by the others. But is you want to buy stocks, then you need to read financial statements well.

I strongly agree.

[Oldroe]

I've read a couple those books and would like to add that reading CEO/CFO comments will tip you to problems. If it's good it will be as clear as glass and if theirs a lot of word smithing, you just can't understand, then read the statements with care.

[cboenews]

Iam currently 24 years old and by year end have approx $73,000 sitting in a savings account with very low interest. I have zero knowledge on investing, i have a TFSA maxed out for the current year, and i plan on dumping 25k into my RRSP this year (lots of room) for the Home buyers plan one day. Is there any recommended books or helpful resources on line that can educate me about stocks, funds ect? i dont even know where to begin, but im ready to start investing and getting a lil more in return than 1% savings

Thanks, any additional ideas would be helpful as well

After you do some research, I would suggest following major news sources on the market to gauge where to invest. You can also take numerous volatility indexes like the VIX, the Chicago Board of Options Exchange volatility index, into consideration. Here is the cboenews site with great information on the market volatility:

CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) one year after the financial crisis: where its been, where is it now and what is says

Hope this helps!

Kate
advocate of cboe