Stock Market Investing for Beginners: Essentials to Start Investing Successfully

I have limited knowledge of the stock market and investing. Like many people, I learned the basics in high school and college, but since I wasn’t an active investor, I quickly forgot most of what I learned. This book was a fantastic refresher for me and will be a great reference tool to look at from time to time. Like most people, I don’t have my own personal money manager or a fortune to invest – yet I still need to plan for college savings, retirement, etc.This book gives a good step by step explanation of different investments that would be suitable for someone in my situation. It explains how to not only choose, but also how to buy and sell stocks, bonds, and mutual funds, and makes it seems simple enough to do. Since no one is earning money in savings accounts or CDs anymore, it’s important to have an alternate method to save and grow your money. Furthermore, it gives a great explanation of diversifying your investments and building a long term investment portfolio. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in learning the mysteries of investments.

EDIT 8/7/14: After I wrote this review, I discovered that the end of this book has very good advice on when to sell your stock. This info alone was worth the price of the book, and is finally enabling me to actually make a bit of money from my stocks. So I change my rating from 3 to 4 stars for this.As a true beginner, I found this book rather frustrating. I liked that a minimal amount of time was spent on general investing advice, so that we could get right into stocks. At first I liked that this is a small book, 128 pages of content with a small page size and medium font, but soon realized that the information was packed too densely for me to be able to learn it. The bulk of the book is one equation on company statistics after another woven into a loose narrative. They said to follow along with the equations at home, but I would have needed more guidance than that, like a work book or at least some exercises. So the more I read, the more lost I got. I will, however, keep this as a reference book, as it has a good index, and I will be able to use it to look up terms and equations.

As a financial advisor, I recommend this book to anyone wanting to learn the Wall Street stock market game and build wealth. The book explains in plain English how to calculate rates of returns,determine your risk level and the rule of 72, which will help you reach your financial goals. One of the best chapter is on the fundamentals of the stock market. It explains the various exchanges, how to value a stock and a list of the typical questions and answers a novice investor would ask.Stock market Investing for Beginners also gives good advice on when to sell a stock, Most investment books skip this advice, and as a result, most new investors don't know when to sell the stock.Other chapters include how to analyze stocks, read the stock quotes, explanation of the various valuation ratios and how to structure your investment portfolio with various alternative investments. There is also a glossary, so you can understand the Wall Street lingo.This is not a book you read in one seating. I recommend you study chapter by chapter and get familiar with the numbers and calculations to make wise investment decisions. Read and study this book before you seek out a stockbroker or financial advisor, that way you'll never be led astray by Wall Street professionals.

Well written. Easy to understand for novices.

If this were a subject that interested me, I’m sure the book would have been awesome. Since I’m not the numbers girl and I find stocks and bonds daunting and confusing, it wasn’t. All the numbers, figures, pictures, graphs, and myriad terminology boggled my mind. Here’s what I appreciated, though: For a beginner who’s hard pressed to understand stocks, this book was very well laid out with great explanations and details. There was a 10-question Q&A section that broke down very important points such as how much money you need to get started, what kind of stocks to buy, and how to know when to sell. Examples were given to clarify the answers. It also included a valuable glossary, and a suggested further-reading list.

Why do we invest? The truth is, we all invest in one-way or another – to provide for a better future. Each of the forms of investing covered appears to support a different goal, all of them however, and dozens more, share a common purpose: to provide for the future. Most people reap the richest rewards from their investments after retirement, but the sooner you start planning, the better off you will be in the future. This book covers the common reasons people invest and provides the means to achieve a clear understanding of the financial goals necessary to accomplish your objective(s) as well as a number of the tools necessary to reach them. It covers stock market fundamentals; different types of investments; how to determine valuation, growth, and profitability prospects; analyzation of this information to determine the best stock picks; the mechanics of buying, selling, and owning stock; the power of diversification; and last but not least – how to build your perfect portfolio.

Stock Market Investing for Beginners was a very informative book. I did find at times the information to be a bit overwhelming and abundant but I think that it is due to the nature of the subject. There is a quote in the book that I found to be both clever and poignant. “Ignorance is hazardous to your wealth” That statement alone imprinted on me and has left me with an obligation to become more educated and informed with my finances and future retirement. There is an excellent glossary in the back of book and I can confidently say that this book is an excellent reference to keep close by at all times. This book is worthy of being read, highlighted and studied.