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Introduction to the Markets & Practical Investing

Course 101

Establish the foundation to your financial knowledge and learn the principles of investing in the stock market and much more with our hallmark curriculum.

Overview

Introduction to the Markets & Practical Investing is specially designed to teach novice investors the secrets of the capital markets, how to find good investment opportunities and how to independently manage their own portfolios.

In this course we will emphasize the practical aspects of investing, without abandoning important theoretical and fundamental subjects that we believe every investor should know in order to understand how the financial markets and especially the stock market works.

This course effectively integrates the teaching of market fundamentals, disciplined investing, practical techniques as well as the use of free online tools and resources to improve your trading performance and greatly increase the likelihood of profit.

This course is unique in that it provides our students with practical tools and knowledge that are not found in many other courses or instant workshops.

Some of the practical tools our students will enjoy:

• Analysis and case studies of current events in the market as they apply to the course material
• Working with trading platforms & technical analysis tools used by Wall Street professionals
• Step-by-step methodical process for screening, evaluating and buying/selling stocks

Brief Curriculum:

Part 1: Investing in Stocks
Learn the basics of investing in common stocks and understand the meaning of owning shares in a company, the rights for dividends and voting and learn about different stock types and market sectors.

Part 2: Analyzing Stocks
Learn about the two main approaches to analyzing and evaluating stocks—fundamental & technical analysis. Learn how to use free web tools that will help you in conducting basic analysis of publicly traded companies.


Part 3: Trading Securities
Learn how to buy and sell stocks, how the stock exchanges work, and how to choose a broker.


Part 4: What´s Moving the Markets
The Economy, The Players & The News. Learn how to interpret economic indicators, know the key players in the market and understand how they move it. Learn which important news events you should look for.


Part 5: Introduction to Fixed Income
The basics of bonds, how to invest in them and the affect they have on the stock market.


Part 6: Mutual Funds
How do mutual funds work? The advantages & disadvantages of investing in mutual funds, using ETFs for multiple sectors diversification, and practical guidance for choosing the best fund for you.


Part 7: Portfolio Management, Risk & Psychology
Setting your risk tolerance, building your portfolio, and understanding the psychology of investing.

Small Groups
We believe that personal attention and tutoring is the most effective way to help you understand the material and succeed. Therefore, each class has a high teacher to student ratio (max. of 10 students per class, guaranteed) to give our students personal attention, training and the depth of knowledge they need to be successful investors.

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Learning Outcomes

At the end of the course participants will be able to:

• Find the most promising stocks & identify the stocks you should avoid
• Read technical patterns & indicators and generate buy/sell signals
• Build and track a portfolio of stocks and mutual funds
• Determine your tolerance for risk and learn to avoid common mistakes
• Learn to efficiently use free web tools for research and analysis
• Choose a broker and effectively execute trades

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Agenda

Part 1 - Investing in Stocks Stocks versus other investments, the wonders of compounded interest, cutting the market into sectors and industry slices, investing for the long run. 1.1 Owning company shares 1.2 Why do companies go public? 1.3 Advantages & disadvantages of owning stock 1.4 Types of stocks 1.5 Exploring industries & sectors 1.6 Dividends & stock splits 1.7 The magic of compounding 1.8 Why do stocks perform the best Part 2 - Analyzing stocks Two approaches to analyzing stocks: analyzing growth & value (the fundamental school) and analyzing patterns of price movements (the technical school). 2.1 Fundamental Analysis The income statement The balance sheet Using multiples and financial ratios Understanding value investing principles Influence of company growth on stock performance Sorting out public filings 2.2 Technical Analysis Basic concepts of technical trading What is a trend? Chart types: Close, Bar, Candlesticks Channel lines Bounce & retracement Price gaps Support & Resistance Price patterns Moving averages Recognizing reversals with a candlestick chart Fibonacci Numbers Volume and technical analysis Using the internet to analyze your stocks Part 3 - Trading Securities Learn how to buy and sell stocks, how the stock exchanges work, and how to choose your broker. 3.1 Getting started Price quotes Types of orders Buying on margin Shorting stocks Reading the stock tables 3.2 How to make money at opening and closing 3.3 How does the NYSE work? 3.4 How does the NASDAQ work? 3.5 Using ECNs 3.6 Brokerage Firms—Choosing the right broker for you 3.7 10 Rules for executing better trades Part 4 - What´s Moving the Markets The Economy, The Players & the News. Learn how to interpret economic indicators, know the key players in the market and understand how they move it. Learn what important news events you should look for. 4.1 The Federal Reserve & FOMC 4.2 Major economic indicators & news Consumer confidence, CPI, Beige book Industry-oriented indicators Commodities & Currency price movement 4.3 The key players in the market Insiders Institutions Hedgers & Arbitrage players Individual Investors & Day Traders 4.4 Interpreting Financial News Understanding & using live financial news that moves the market (i.e. CNBC, MarketWatch) “Noise” Versus Newsworthy events 4.5 Key Company Events Earnings surprise & Future Guidance Analyst Upgrades/Downgrades Takeover Bids Part 5 - Introduction to Fixed Income The basics of bonds, how to invest in them and their affect on the stock market. 5.1 Bonds Basics The lifespan of a bond Interest vs. Discount Relationship of price to yield 5.2 Corporate bonds Why companies issue bonds Credit quality & Bond Rating High yield bonds (Junk Bonds) 5.3 Government Bonds Treasuries & T-Bills The yield curve How to read the Gov´t bonds tables 5.4 Bonds yield and other investments Gov´t bonds yield and your mortgage Relationships between Gov´t bonds yield & the stock market Part 6 - Mutual Funds How do mutual funds work? The advantages & disadvantages of investing in mutual funds, using ETFs for multiple sector diversification, and practical guidance for choosing the best fund for you. 6.1 What is a mutual fund? 6.2 The mutual funds market 6.3 ETFs: Concepts and practical investing 6.4 Understanding the mutual funds tables 6.5 Advantages Simplicity & liquidity Diversification & Indexing Management´s edge, Access to research & IPOs 6.6 Disadvantages Hidden costs & impact on performance Hidden risks of fund ownership Impact of fund size on performance 6.7 Choosing the best fund for you What is the right fund for you? Breaking myths of fund´s past performance Using Morningstar´s rating 6.8 Hedge Funds Part 7 - Portfolio Management, Risk & Psychology Setting your risk tolerance, building your portfolio, and understanding the psychology of investing. 7.1 Finding your tolerance for risk 7.2 The Risk/Reward ratio 7.3 Building your portfolio Diversification—practical guide Using asset allocation Measuring your performance Using online portfolio tracking tools 7.4 Investor psychology & discipline 10 Commandments for disciplined investing Identifying your strengths & breaking bad habits Filtering out "expert" opinions

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Special Bonuses for Our Students

Class Material Binder & CD Each student will receive a binder with all class slides and material printed. The printed slides have room to write notes. Also included are class exercises, handouts and a CD with graphics and charts. All material is organized in accordance with the curriculum.

Repeating Classes Missed a class? Want a better understanding of certain subject you learned in class? You may retake the course as many times as you would like for a whole year. Just fill out the online form, indicating the class or classes you would like to attend and when, and we will book your seat (based on availability).

Membership Graduation from our courses does not mean your relationship with us ends. Our graduates will receive access to our special investor forum, where you can ask questions and exchange ideas with instructors as well as other investors like yourself. We will also invite you to participate in our annual conference, free of charge.

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Details & Registration

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