What are your financial goals? Are you sending your kids to college? Are you buying a new home? Retiring early? Is it possible to not worry about whether you can afford to buy a new car or go on vacation? It is your financial resources that determine how you can answer these and other questions. Understanding where and how to invest is one of the most important things in determining what financial resources are.

Investing and the skills to succeed at it are critical to building and maintaining your financial resources. Everyone can invest in investment opportunities. Whether you are just starting out, approaching retirement, or somewhere in between, improving and enhancing your investment skills can have a positive impact on your financial life.

Understanding investments helps you do that. It introduces the basics of investing to those new to the subject and broadens and deepens the knowledge of more experienced investors in 24 lectures. The various kinds of financial markets, the different kinds of investments available to you, and the pros and cons of each are explained in the lectures taught by Professor Connel Fullenkamp. The course shows you how to evaluate each of these in terms of your own financial situation.

Essential Knowledge for Newcomers and Experienced Investors

Understanding Investments will give you confidence if you are new to investing.

• get your feet wet in the investment world and begin building your investment portfolio, even if you have to start small;
• better understand the recommendations and advice of more experienced investors and financial advisors;
• develop your own personal investment plan; and
• move toward realizing your plan’s goals with as little anxiety and fear as possible.

If you happen to be that more experienced investor, this course is for you.

• introduce you to some advanced investment strategies and opportunities;
• show you how to stay on top of your portfolio, and
• adjust its direction as economic conditions—or your own plans—change.

Making you a more knowledgeable investor is another thing. Understanding investments It will help you understand the financial news that makes up an increasing share of what you read in our newspapers, watch on television, or discover on the internet. It will help you better understand the financial condition and performance of the company at which you work, which can be important in making career decisions.

Professor Fullenkamp makes every point clear so that no previous knowledge of the subject is required. You will learn how the world of money works in plain English, with the only jargon you need to know in order to navigate the investment marketplace and understand what is being offered to you.

Learn How to Invest with Confidence and Success

In. Understanding investments Every investor needs to know the essential information.

• the basics of the stock market;
• investment options like stocks, bonds, and mutual funds, as well as other instruments like exchange-traded funds (or “ETFs”) that go beyond these standard choices;
• how to read and understand stock quotes and indexes;
• tools and simple calculation techniques for researching companies you may be considering as potential investments;
• the ins and outs of online investing;
• what dividends and stock splits are really meant to accomplish;
• the characteristics of bull and bear markets;
• the importance of regularly reassessing your financial goals;
• the management of diversification and risk, including the keys to avoiding the most common ways in which these two key factors are commonly misunderstood; and
• the importance of a well-thought-out plan for continuing to invest after retirement.

Professor Fullenkamp makes a point of discussing some of the latest findings in behavioral economics so you can understand the psychological forces investors face in various investment situations. Understanding the presence of these forces is an important defense against being driven in the wrong direction, even if it means scuttling your investments.

We have all seen the fortunes made by those who were lucky enough to be in on the initial public offerings of companies that went on to become enormous successes. Most of us would plead guilty if we were able to get in on the ground floor of a startup that would go on to become a company like Coca-Cola, Apple or Microsoft.

If you ever have the chance to invest in a startup, you will be grateful for the tools Professor Fullenkamp gives you. He shows you how to objectively evaluate a startup, determine its possibilities for success, and decide with full awareness of what psychological forces might be at play, whether it warrants a place in your portfolio.

Invest with Minimal Fear and Maximum Confidence

The skills you learn in this course will allow you to invest with as little fear and as much confidence as possible. As your professor notes, that is the whole idea.

Professor Fullenkamp says that most people don’t feel prepared to make investment decisions because investing looks complicated and risky. If we can’t make decisions, we put them off. It is easy to put off investing decisions because there is no real deadline.

One of the biggest mistakes people make with their personal finances is putting off investing. It’s time to turn one of your best allies into your worst enemy.

By showing you a way around the mistake. Understanding investments It is the smartest investment you will ever make.

Please note. The course is not intended to give financial or investment advice. Past performance does not guarantee future success. Any reliance on the materials contained in this course shall be at your own risk.

Lectures:

How to stop worrying and start investing. How investors make money. Starting with stocks. The basics of bonds. There is an introduction to mutual funds. Exchange-Traded Funds? Financial statement analysis The method of comparables and P/E ratios. There is a fundamental analysis of stocks. There are 10 startup companies and IPOs. Why should you care about dividends? The use of leverage. Is it a good idea to choose bonds. Bond School is on the 14th. Picking mutual funds is 15. Investing in foreign assets. Options are for everyone. Real Estate and Commodities. Market timing and cycles. There is a decision to be made when to sell. Risk, Return, and Diversification are related. Money’s time value is 22. Financial planning is included. Taking charge of your investments