There are a lot of common questions about the stock market—whether dealing with historical returns, the best performing sectors, or how the United States has performed relative to the rest of the world—that are fascinating data in and of themselves. Rather than having to scour the internet for answers to these stock market statistics, we’ve put together this list that answers the most common questions—at least outside of “What stock should I buy now?” This should save you some time scouring Google or Investopedia for these common statistical questions. This is the kind of data a professi...

Getting started is the hardest part of any endeavor. Investing is no different. While the world of investing can be infinitely complex, there are a few ways for investors to start investing in the stock market (also known as the equity market or even share market). Most beginner investors will either gravitate towards buying an index fund, an exchange-traded fund (ETF) or mutual fund that tracks an entire stock exchange, or they’ll start buying penny stocks in the hope of large and quick profits that are the envy of Wall Street. But it’s really a combination of these investments that mak...

In the right cases, absolutely! For fast-moving companies, whether up or down, options trading offers superior returns to owning stocks. Offering higher percentage gains at a lower cost to stocks, options are well worth the few potential dangers that work against them. We’ll delve into the pros and cons of stocks versus options so you can see for yourself. Options Pros & Cons Pro #1: Options Leverage Your Gains It goes without saying why traders have turned to option contracts over the years. Options trading is less focused on buying and holding stocks of great companies, and are more i...

On average, the stock market returns about 10 percent annually before inflation. While individual stocks can vary wildly, that beats the average returns against bonds or other asset classes. That’s especially true with annual interest rates back at zero percent. But here’s the beauty of that average return: If you keep your profits in the stock market, you can grow your wealth far faster than even that 10 percent figure. Why? Thanks to the power of compounding your initial investment, and with a few simple tools and strategies, you can optimize the compounding power of the stock market i...

The FAANG stocks, listed below, are simply five of the best companies that have ever existed. Mostly from the tech sector, they’ve shown shareholders love over the years with massive returns on the stock market, combined with growing earnings—and a few even pay dividends! In fact, at times, the FAANG stocks have been the sole driver of returns for the overall market. The other 495 names in the S&P 500 Index have simply performed that poorly compared to this small basket of companies, a high level of market concentration. They are one of the first places investors should look to both pro...