Investing 101: Start Here

Money is a tool for exchange and storage of value, and its purchasing power changes over time.

Saving protects money you need soon; investing pursues growth with money you can leave alone.

Investing is how people fund long-term goals and participate in economic growth.

An investment exchanges capital today for a claim on possible future value.

Higher potential return generally requires accepting greater uncertainty, and risk has many separate forms.

Compounding is growth earned on previous growth, and it needs time far more than it needs cleverness.

Time is the ingredient you cannot buy back, but a late start is far better than no plan.

The stock market is the network of exchanges and intermediaries where ownership in companies is bought and sold.

A brokerage account is the account through which you buy and hold investments, and its type matters.

An order travels from you through a broker to the market, gets matched, executed and settled.

A readiness checklist to work through before any first purchase.