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...

The stock market is a phenomenal way to build wealth, as it allows an investor to place their money in a vehicle that automatically makes more money. At least, for investors who know what they’re doing. A beginning investor may start out lucky or unlucky, but if they focus on great companies, chances are they’ll do just fine over time with their common stock trading. Looking at the best companies—those that can consistently grow their earnings and cash flow, and who often pay a dividend and provide investors with robust trading volume— a few well (and not-so-well) known names make the list....

What a Well-Balanced Portfolio Should Look Like Investors who are just starting out in the stock market either take one of two paths.  If they’re risk-averse, they may start investing with a mutual fund or ETF, which owns many stocks and makes management decisions on their behalf. The most common of these funds are index funds, which follows a specific stock market index on Wall Street, such as the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500 Index, or the Nasdaq. For individual investors who want to play the markets more aggressively, however, they may start investing in individual st...