Wiley Investing Online For Dummies 5th Edition Apr 2005 ISBN 0764584561 pdf

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by Kathleen Sindell, PhD

Investing Online

  

FOR

DUMmIES

  ‰

  5 TH EDITION

  ® Investing Online For Dummies , 5th Edition Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc.

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  About the Author

Kathleen Sindell is the author of Managing Your Money Online For Dummies

  (Wiley, 2004), Safety Net: Protecting Your Business on the Internet (Wiley, 2002),

  

Loyalty Marketing for the Internet Age (Dearborn, 2000), The Unofficial Guide

to Buying a Home Online (Hungry Minds, 2000), and A Hands-On Guide to Mortgage Banking Internet Sites, a separate directory published by Mortgage

Banking Magazine (2000, 1999, 1998, 1997). Dr. Sindell is a contributing author

  to the Encyclopedia of Computer Science (Groves Dictionaries Inc., 2000) and the online investing columnist for Investor Direct magazine (1999). She is the author of The Handbook of Real Estate Lending (McGraw-Hill Professional Publishing, 1996). Dr. Sindell is an expert on electronic commerce and is an adjunct faculty member at the Johns Hopkins University MBA program. She is the former Associate Director of the Financial Management and Commercial Real Estate Programs for the University of Maryland, University College Graduate School of Management & Technology.

  Dr. Sindell provides consulting and publications about management, finance, security, and real estate in the e-commerce environment. Her goal is to improve the quality of life and economic well-being of people and business organizations by providing information that they might not otherwise have or understand. She received her B.A. in Business from Antioch University, an MBA in Finance from the California State University at San Jose, and a PhD in Administration and Management from Walden University, Institute for Advanced Studies.

  Dedication This book is dedicated to my dear friends Arlene Meilich and Gail Pasternack.

  Author’s Acknowledgments Investing Online for Dummies, 5th Edition, illustrates the latest trends in

  online investing and represents my desire to help people take control of their finances by accessing high-quality Web-based investing information. My grati- tude and thanks to Bob Woerner, senior acquisitions editor, for his guidance. Development editor Mark Enochs made working on this book a joy. My appre- ciation to Andy Hollandbeck and Teresa Artman for their excellent copy edit- ing. It was a pleasure to work with technical editor Dan Chesler. I am also grateful to the many folks who work behind the scenes at Wiley Publishing.

  It was a delight to work with my literary agent, Carole McClendon, and all the folks at Waterside Productions on this fifth edition of Investing Online

  For Dummies.

  A very special thank you to my brother-in-law, Gerald Sindell, for his pro- found counsel on everything relating to the business of publishing.

  Publisher’s Acknowledgments

We’re proud of this book; please send us your comments through our online registration form

.

  Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following: Acquisitions, Editorial, and Media Development

  Project Editor: Mark Enochs Senior Acquisitions Editor: Bob Woerner Copy Editor: Andy Hollandbeck Technical Editor: Dan Chesler Editorial Manager: Kevin Kirschner Media Development Manager:

  Laura VanWinkle Media Development Supervisor:

  Richard Graves Editorial Assistant: Amanda Foxworth Cartoons: Rich Tennant ( www.the5thwave.com )

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  Nancee Reeves Layout and Graphics: Carl Byers,

  Andrea Dahl, Lauren Goddard, Denny Hager, Joyce Haughey, Barry Offringa, Lynsey Osborn, Melanee Prendergast, Heather Ryan

  Proofreader: Kelly Ewing, Leeann Harney, Jessica Kramer, Carl Pierce

  Indexer: TECHBOOKS Production Services Special Help: Teresa Artman

  Publishing and Editorial for Technology Dummies Richard Swadley, Vice President and Executive Group Publisher Andy Cummings, Vice President and Publisher Mary Bednarek, Executive Acquisitions Director Mary C. Corder, Editorial Director

  Publishing for Consumer Dummies Diane Graves Steele, Vice President and Publisher Joyce Pepple, Acquisitions Director

  Composition Services Gerry Fahey, Vice President of Production Services Debbie Stailey, Director of Composition Services

  Contents at a Glance

Introduction .................................................................1

  

Part I: Online Investing Fundamentals ...........................9

Chapter 1: Finding Investor Stuff on the Net ................................................................11 Chapter 2: No Experience Required: Getting Started with Online Investing ............31 Chapter 3: Making Your Money Work Harder ...............................................................47 Chapter 4: Selecting an Online Broker That’s Right for You .......................................63 Chapter 5: Getting Ahold of Trading Online .................................................................81 Part II: Finding the Right Investments .........................97 Chapter 6: The Keys to Successful Internet Mutual Fund Investing ..........................99 Chapter 7: Online Analysis, Buying, and Selling of Mutual Funds............................121 Chapter 8: The Basics of Stocks and Rates of Return................................................141 Chapter 9: Internet Stock Screening ............................................................................159 Chapter 10: Using Company Information to Make Investment Decisions ..............175 Chapter 11: Digging Deeper: Advanced Stock Analysis ............................................195 Chapter 12: Going with Fixed-Income Securities: Which Type of Bond Is for You? .................................................................................221 Chapter 13: Valuing, Buying, and Selling Bonds Online.............................................243 Part III: Expanding Your Investment Opportunities ......263 Chapter 14: Going International Online .......................................................................265 Chapter 15: Looking for the Next Big Thing: IPOs, DPOs, and DRIPs ......................281 Chapter 16: Taking the Option: Alternative Investing ...............................................301 Chapter 17: The Internet and Managing Your Portfolio ............................................315 Part IV: The Part of Tens ...........................................337 Chapter 18: Ten Warnings About Cyberfraud .............................................................339 Chapter 19: Ten Important Selling Points ..................................................................353 Chapter 20: Ten Green Flags for Buying ......................................................................365 Index .......................................................................373

  Table of Contents

Introduction..................................................................1

  Who Are You? ...................................................................................................1 About This Book...............................................................................................3 How to Use This Book .....................................................................................4 How This Book Is Organized...........................................................................4

  Part I: Online Investing Fundamentals.................................................5 Part II: Finding the Right Investments .................................................5 Part III: Expanding Your Investment Opportunities...........................5 Part IV: The Part of Tens........................................................................6 What’s New .......................................................................................................6 Icons Used in This Book..................................................................................7 Feedback, Please ..............................................................................................7

Part I: Online Investing Fundamentals ............................9

Chapter 1: Finding Investor Stuff on the Net . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11 Building Your Own Online Information System..........................................11 Identifying new investments ...............................................................12 Analyzing investment prospects ........................................................13 Purchasing investments ......................................................................14 Monitoring investments ......................................................................15 Selling investments ..............................................................................15 Setting Up Your Basic Investment Search Strategy ...................................16 Metasearch engines .............................................................................16 Popular search engines .......................................................................17 Selecting the best search engine ........................................................19 Understanding How Newsgroups Can Help You ........................................20 Finding the perfect newsgroup...........................................................21 Finally, some investor news reading ..................................................21 Getting the Message from Investor Message Boards ................................22 Uncovering Investor Information from Mailing Lists.................................23 Using Free and Fee-Based Online Investor Databases...............................24 Totally free databases..........................................................................24 When all else fails — fee-based databases........................................25 Getting Online Investor Information Geared to Your Needs.....................26 Investor Web sites for children ..........................................................27 Web sites for young investors ............................................................27

  Chapter 2: No Experience Required: Getting Started with Online Investing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31 Getting Smart Online .....................................................................................32 Online investor tutorials .....................................................................32 Web sites for new investors ................................................................34 Glossaries ..............................................................................................34 Maximizing Your Internet Browser with Bookmarks.................................36 News You Can Use..........................................................................................37 Large news organizations....................................................................38 Newspapers...........................................................................................38 Magazines ..............................................................................................39 Scholarly journals ................................................................................40 Multimedia investment news .............................................................41 Electronic newsletters .........................................................................41 Practicing with Your New Investment Information....................................43 Join the club! Become a member of an investment club.................43 Getting into the game: Online investment simulations ...................44 Chapter 3: Making Your Money Work Harder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47 Using the Internet to Make Financial Planning Easier ...............................47 The joys of compound interest ..........................................................48 Moving Some of Your Savings to Investments............................................50 Maximizing Your Investments with Tax-Deferred Accounts.....................51 Traditional IRAs ....................................................................................52 Roth IRAs ...............................................................................................52 Online calculators for determining the best IRA account...............53 Deciding How Much Risk You Can Take ......................................................54 Determining How Much You Can Invest......................................................55 Investing in Securities That Meet Your Goals.............................................55 Checking Out What the Experts Are Doing.................................................56 Analyzing the analysts .........................................................................56 Getting the opinions of others: Stock-picking communities...........57 Judging who’s the real deal .................................................................58 Tracking and Measuring Your Success........................................................59 Building Your Personalized Investment Plan..............................................60 Chapter 4: Selecting an Online Broker That’s Right for You . . . . . . . .63 Is a Traditional Broker Best for You?...........................................................64 Selecting a Premium Online Brokerage .......................................................65 Selecting the Right Discount Online Brokerage .........................................66 Investigating a Brokerage Before You Invest ..............................................67 Matching Your Needs to the Right Online Brokerage ...............................67 For beginners ........................................................................................68 For mainstream investors ...................................................................68 Investing Online For Dummies, 5th Edition

  Getting Online Trading Services for Less....................................................72 Trading online for $15 or less .............................................................73 Finding online brokers with no or low initial account minimums .........................................................74

  Rating Online Brokers....................................................................................76 Checking Out Hybrid Online Banks and Brokerages .................................77 Opening Your Online Brokerage Account ...................................................79

  Chapter 5: Getting Ahold of Trading Online . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .81 Understanding the Tax Consequences of Trading Securities...................81 Special rates for long-term capital gains ...........................................82 Measuring capital gains.......................................................................83 What about capital losses? .................................................................83 Increasing Profits with Simple Order Specification Techniques ..............84 ECNs — It’s Not Your Grandfather’s Market Anymore ..............................86 How ECNs work ....................................................................................86 Understanding inside spreads ............................................................87 Extended-Hours Trading ...............................................................................88 Sources for extended-hours stock information................................89 Join the extended-hours club .............................................................89 Online Trading and the Active Investor ......................................................90 Active investor trading platforms ......................................................91 You might be a day trader if . . ...........................................................93 Going from Hardwired to Wireless Trading ................................................94 Part II: Finding the Right Investments ..........................97 Chapter 6: The Keys to Successful Internet Mutual Fund Investing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .99 Mutual Fund Basics........................................................................................99 Discovering the differences between open-end

  and closed-end mutual funds ........................................................102 Minimizing fees ...................................................................................103

  A Fund for You, a Fund for Me ....................................................................104 Finding Facts and Figures Online ...............................................................106 Simplifying Your Investing with Mutual Funds ........................................107

  Discovering index funds ....................................................................107 Becoming aware of exchange-traded funds ....................................108

  Mutual Funds and Your Risk Tolerance Level ..........................................110 How to Screen Mutual Funds Online .........................................................111 Locating and Reading the Prospectus.......................................................113

  Checking the facts ..............................................................................114 Getting it right.....................................................................................115

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 7: Online Analysis, Buying, and Selling of Mutual Funds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .121 Finding the Right Mix of Investments ........................................................121 Using the Internet to Help You Choose

  the Best Funds in Each Class ..................................................................124 Following a mutual fund checklist ...................................................125 Reading an online mutual fund listing .............................................126 Assessing mutual fund performance ...............................................127

  Using Scoreboards and Ratings..................................................................128 The Ratings War ...........................................................................................130

  The Morningstar rating system ........................................................130 The Lipper Leader system ...............................................................131 The Value Line rating system............................................................131

  Buying Mutual Funds Online: Using an Online Broker ............................132 Commission-Free Mutual Funds ................................................................133 Starting Your Mutual Fund Account with as Little as $50.......................135 Buying Mutual Funds Online: No Broker Needed ....................................136 The Right Time to Sell Your Mutual Funds ...............................................137

  Chapter 8: The Basics of Stocks and Rates of Return . . . . . . . . . . . . .141 Understanding Stocks..................................................................................141 Participating in the Market .........................................................................142 Common stocks ..................................................................................142 Preferred stocks .................................................................................143 Picking the Right Stock for the Right Goal................................................143 What Does the S & P 500 Have to Do with Anything?..............................145 Paying the Right Price .................................................................................147 Getting down to fundamentals .........................................................147 Using online tools to value stocks ...................................................148 Using the Net to calculate fair value ................................................149 Valuation model input and results ...................................................151 Analysis for value shopping..............................................................153 Getting technical: Technical analysis ..............................................154 Technical analysis software ..............................................................156 Market timing......................................................................................157 Chapter 9: Internet Stock Screening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .159 Finding the Best Stock Using the Net .......................................................159 Choosing the criteria for your first stock screen ...........................160 Fine-tuning your stock screen ..........................................................161 Using your stock screen results .......................................................161 Important ratios for screening stocks .............................................161 Starting with Quick Online Stock Screens.................................................165 Using Those Terrific Prebuilt Stock Screens ............................................166 Investing Online For Dummies, 5th Edition

  Table of Contents

  Advanced Techniques for Building Stock Screens ..................................167 Screening for growth stocks .............................................................167 Screening for income stocks .............................................................168 Screening for value stocks ................................................................168

  Screening for Investment Bargains ............................................................169 Stocks selling at below book value ..................................................169 Securities selling below liquidation value.......................................169 Stocks with low P/E ratios.................................................................170 Companies reporting deficits ...........................................................171 Prospective turnaround candidates ................................................171

  Chapter 10: Using Company Information to Make Investment Decisions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .175 Finding Financial Statements Online .........................................................176 Accessing Web Sites That Specialize in Annual Reports ........................177 Using Web Sites That Link to Company Home Pages ..............................179 Researching a Company’s SEC Filing .........................................................180 The Sarbanes-Oxley Act and investors............................................180 Downloading SEC filings in just three clicks ...................................181 SEC search engines ............................................................................182 Dissecting the Annual Report.....................................................................184 Analyzing a Financial Statement ................................................................187 You Don’t Have to Be a Math Whiz to Calculate Ratios ..........................188 Utilizing Prepared Online Ratio Analysis ..................................................190 Understanding Bankruptcy.........................................................................190 High debt warning signs ....................................................................191 Checking out insider trading ............................................................192 Chapter 11: Digging Deeper: Advanced Stock Analysis . . . . . . . . . .195 Turning Your Hunches into Investment Strategies..................................196 Conquering Uncertainty with Online Research........................................198 Gaining new investor insights with breaking news........................199 Business news search engines .........................................................200 Locating company profiles and related data ..................................200 Gathering Business Economic and Related Data .....................................201 Business economic indicators..........................................................202 Consumer economic indicators .......................................................204 Financial market data ........................................................................205 Collecting Market Information....................................................................206 Most active stocks..............................................................................206 Market indices ....................................................................................206 Finding Industry and Statistical Information............................................207 Checking out analyst evaluations ....................................................209 Following upgrades and downgrades ..............................................210

  Investing Online For Dummies, 5th Edition

  Zeroing In on Earnings ................................................................................210 Tracking down earnings estimates ..................................................211 Forecasting earnings and the stock market level...........................212

  Researching the Background of Corporate Officers ...............................213 Understanding Stock Prices .......................................................................214

  Understanding Level I stock quotes ................................................215 Discovering Level II stock quotes ....................................................217 Finding ticker symbols and stock prices online.............................218 Free delayed stock quotes ................................................................218 Free real-time stock quotes...............................................................219 Free wireless stock quotes ................................................................219 Fee-based stock quotes .....................................................................220

  

Chapter 12: Going with Fixed-Income Securities:

Which Type of Bond Is for You? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .221 Generic Features of Bonds ..........................................................................222 Special benefits and exposures ........................................................223 Using the Internet to find new bond offerings................................225 Locating those elusive bond quotes ................................................226 Finding bond indexes and historical data online ...........................226 Risks and stability ..............................................................................228 How Small Investors Can Make Money with Fixed-Income Investments and Bonds ...........................................................................228 When to Choose a Money Market Deposit Account (MMDA) ................231 The Four Basic Types of Bonds..................................................................232 Uncle Sam’s bonds: Treasury securities .........................................233 Federal government agency bonds..................................................235 The beauty of tax-free municipal bonds..........................................235 Floating with corporate bonds .........................................................238 Using the Internet to screen bonds..................................................239 Two Alternate Types of Bonds ...................................................................240 Zero-coupon bonds ............................................................................240 Eurobonds ...........................................................................................241 Chapter 13: Valuing, Buying, and Selling Bonds Online . . . . . . . . . .243 The Math of Bonds.......................................................................................244 Calculating bond values ....................................................................244 Creating yield curves .........................................................................245 The easy way to value your bond returns ......................................247 Let the Internet do the math.............................................................248 Trading Bonds Online..................................................................................249 Nice and Simple: Savings Bonds.................................................................250 The good and the bad about savings bonds...................................251 Calculating the value of your savings bonds ..................................252

  Table of Contents

  Buying Treasury Securities via the Internet .............................................254 Opening Treasury Direct accounts ..................................................254 Opening your savings bond Treasury Direct account for as little as $25.............................................................255 Treasury bills, notes, and TIPS Treasury Direct accounts............256 How to buy Treasuries online...........................................................257 Selling your Treasury securities.......................................................259 Online sources for more information ..............................................260

  Increasing Your Profits with a Treasuries Ladder....................................261

  Part III: Expanding Your Investment Opportunities.......263 Chapter 14: Going International Online . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .265 Taking Advantage of International Opportunities ...................................266 Getting Started with Online International Quotes and Indexes .............267 Gathering International News and Research ............................................268 Acquiring International Company Information ........................................270 Online Trading Abroad ................................................................................271 Investing in Emerging Markets ...................................................................272 Problems with Investing Directly in Foreign Companies ........................273 Administration troubles ....................................................................273 Tax problems ......................................................................................273 Information difficulties ......................................................................274 Buying ADRs Is an Easy Solution................................................................274 The risks of international investments............................................275 Online ADR resources and research ................................................276 Indirect Foreign Investing Is a Great Approach........................................276 Diversification through foreign funds..............................................277 Buying shares in multinational companies .....................................278 Finding International Mutual Funds Online ..............................................278 Chapter 15: Looking for the Next Big Thing: IPOs, DPOs, and DRIPs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .281 Looking for Investment Opportunities: IPOs............................................282 Getting the scoop on IPOs.................................................................283 Understanding the limitations of IPOs ............................................284 Locating IPO online super-sites........................................................285 The Internet and your IPO timetable ...............................................288 Be Your Own Broker with Direct Public Offerings (DPOs) .....................290 Recognizing the limitations of DPOs................................................290 Buying DPOs .......................................................................................291 Buying Stock in a Direct Purchase Plan (DPP) .........................................292

  Investing Online For Dummies, 5th Edition

  Profiting with Dividend Reinvestment Plans (DRIPs)..............................296 Additional features of DRIPs .............................................................297 Not all DRIPs are alike........................................................................297 How to get your first DRIP share ......................................................298 Selecting the right DRIP.....................................................................299

  Chapter 16: Taking the Option: Alternative Investing . . . . . . . . . . . . .301 Trading Stock Options.................................................................................301 Types of option contracts .................................................................302 Exercising your stock option ............................................................302 Call options .........................................................................................303 Put options ..........................................................................................303 Education and Data Sources.......................................................................304 Online sources for option quotes.....................................................305 Online sources for options news and data .....................................305 Option Screeners and Calculators ............................................................307 Determining Stock Option Values ..............................................................308 Taking a closer look at options.........................................................309 Discovering what your options are worth ......................................310 Online brokerages and options ........................................................311 Software Tools for Options Trading...........................................................312 Checking Out the Latest Strategies ...........................................................314 Chapter 17: The Internet and Managing Your Portfolio . . . . . . . . . . .315 Why Manage Your Investments? ................................................................316 Tracking the Right Information ..................................................................317 Balancing Your Portfolio with Web-Based Asset Allocation Tools .......318 Using the Internet to Uncover the Risk in Your Portfolio .......................319 RiskGrades ..........................................................................................319 FinPortfolio..........................................................................................320 Morningstar.........................................................................................320 Keeping the Winners and Selling the Losers: Measuring Performance ..........................................................................321 Your Portfolio Management Options .........................................................322 Purchasing Portfolio Investment Programs..............................................323 Using Web-Based Portfolio Management Programs ................................324 Following Online News with Portfolio Tracking.......................................327 Business news.....................................................................................327 Portal portfolio management............................................................328 Portfolio management alerts ............................................................329 Using PC-Based Portfolio Management Software.....................................330 Personal finance software programs ...............................................331 MS Money ............................................................................................331 Quicken................................................................................................332

  Part IV: The Part of Tens............................................337 Chapter 18: Ten Warnings About Cyberfraud . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .339 Don’t Believe Everything You Read ...........................................................340 Multilevel marketing plans and pyramid schemes ........................340 Financial chain letters and Ponzi schemes .....................................341 Cons based on bogus research reports and newsletters..............342 Phishing for your personal information ..........................................343 Nigerian e-mail letter investment scam...........................................344 Investment hoaxes designed to get your cash ...............................344 Bogus IRA-approved investment schemes......................................345 Guaranteed high returns frauds .......................................................345 Get rich quick with investment seminars .......................................346 Pump-and-dump schemes .................................................................346 If an Offer Seems Too Good to Be True, It Usually Is...............................347 Checking It Out Before You Put Your Money Down .................................348 Understanding What Real Financial Disclosures Include .......................349 Telltale Signs of Dishonest Brokers ...........................................................350 Where to Complain Online..........................................................................352 Chapter 19: Ten Important Selling Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .353 Determining Your Personal Selling Rules..................................................353 The stock drops below your predetermined trading range .........354 You discover that the company’s relative

  strength is flat or trending downward .........................................355 You recognize that the industry is in a serious downturn............355 You determine that the company is in decline...............................355 You discover that the company’s profitability or financial health is in trouble..........................................................356 Market experts call the company “steady” or dividend increases are behind the general market ....................................356 Company insiders are selling in the public marketplace ..............356

  Rebalancing Your Portfolio: Which Winners Should You Sell?...............357 Setting Profit-Taking Goals ..........................................................................358 You Can’t Be Right All the Time .................................................................358 If the Stock Is Going Nowhere, Get Going .................................................359 Don’t Be Fooled by P/E Spurts ...................................................................359 Watch Interest Rates....................................................................................359 Keep an Eye on Economic Indicators ........................................................360 Sell When the Insiders Sell..........................................................................360 Get Out if the Company or Fund Changes ................................................361 A Final Word about Stopping Profit Wipe-Outs ........................................361

  Table of Contents

  Investing Online For Dummies, 5th Edition

  Chapter 20: Ten Green Flags for Buying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .365 Digging Out of a Recession with Dollar-Cost Averaging..........................366 Buy If the Stock Is at Its Lowest Price .......................................................367 Invest in Companies with Beautiful Balance Sheets................................367 Check Out the Earnings Forecast...............................................................368 Watch for Stocks That Are Trading under Book Value ............................368 Look for Strong Dividend Pay-Out Records ..............................................369 Seek Out Firms with Low Debt Ratios .......................................................369 Invest in Industry Leaders ..........................................................................369 Buy Good Performers ..................................................................................370 Select Your P/E Ratio Strategy....................................................................370 Low P/E and high dividend approach..............................................371 High P/E ratios are worth the price .................................................371 Index........................................................................373

  

Introduction

  elcome to Investing Online For Dummies, 5th Edition, and to the exciting world of online investing. Regardless of whether you’re a new investor

  W

  or an experienced trader, this book 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 infor- mation, and Investing Online For Dummies, 5th Edition, provides clear instruc- tions and ample illustrations so that you don’t get lost in cyberspace. With the assistance of this book, you can find up-to-the-second stock quotes, historical financial data on public companies, professional analyses, educational materi- als, and more.

  In this book, I show you how to get started, 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.