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From: [email protected] (Christopher Lott)
Newsgroups: misc.invest.misc,misc.invest.stocks,misc.invest.technical,misc.invest.options,misc.answers,news.answers
Subject: The Investment FAQ (part 1 of 20)
Followup-To: misc.invest.misc
Summary: Answers to frequently asked questions about investments.
Should be read by anyone who wishes to post to misc.invest.*
Organization: The Investment FAQ publicity department
Keywords: invest, finance, stock, bond, fund, broker, exchange, money, FAQ
URL: http://invest-faq.com/
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Archive-name: investment-faq/general/part1
Version: $Id: part01,v 1.61 2003/03/17 02:44:30 lott Exp lott $
Compiler: Christopher Lott

This is the table of contents for the plain-text version of
The Investment FAQ, and is the first part of a 20-part posting.
Please visit The Investment FAQ web site for the latest version:
http://invest-faq.com/

The Investment FAQ is a collection of articles about investments and
personal finance, including stocks, bonds, mutual funds, options,
discount brokers, information sources, life insurance, etc. Although
the FAQ is more of a reference than a tutorial, if you pick your
articles carefully, the FAQ can serve as a comprehensive, unbiased
introduction to investing.

Terms of Use

The following terms and conditions apply to the plain-text version of
The Investment FAQ that is posted regularly to various newsgroups.
Different terms and conditions apply to documents on The Investment
FAQ web site.

The Investment FAQ is copyright 2003 by Christopher Lott, and is
protected by copyright as a collective work and/or compilation,
pursuant to U.S. copyright laws, international conventions, and other
copyright laws. The contents of The Investment FAQ are intended for
personal use, not for sale or other commercial redistribution.
The plain-text version of The Investment FAQ may be copied, stored,
made available on web sites, or distributed on electronic media
provided the following conditions are met:
+ The URL of The Investment FAQ home page is displayed prominently.
+ No fees or compensation are charged for this information,
excluding charges for the media used to distribute it.
+ No advertisements appear on the same web page as this material.
+ Proper attribution is given to the authors of individual articles.
+ This copyright notice is included intact.

Disclaimers

Neither the compiler of nor contributors to The Investment FAQ make
any express or implied warranties (including, without limitation, any
warranty of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose or
use) regarding the information supplied. The Investment FAQ is
provided to the user "as is". Neither the compiler nor contributors
warrant that The Investment FAQ will be error free. Neither the
compiler nor contributors will be liable to any user or anyone else
for any inaccuracy, error or omission, regardless of cause, in The
Investment FAQ or for any damages (whether direct or indirect,
consequential, punitive or exemplary) resulting therefrom.

Rules, regulations, laws, conditions, rates, and such information
discussed in this FAQ all change quite rapidly. Information given
here was current at the time of writing but is almost guaranteed to be
out of date by the time you read it. Mention of a product does not
constitute an endorsement. Answers to questions sometimes rely on
information given in other answers. Readers outside the USA can reach
US-800 telephone numbers, for a charge, using a service such as MCI's
Call USA. All prices are listed in US dollars unless otherwise
specified.

Availability of the FAQ

Web:
http://invest-faq.com/
Anonymous ftp:
site: rtfm.mit.edu
path: /pub/usenet-by-group/news.answers/investment-faq/general/*
Email:
address: [email protected]
required msg body:
send usenet-by-group/news.answers/investment-faq/general/*
News:
posted monthly to misc.invest.misc, misc.invest.stocks,
misc.invest.mutual-funds, misc.invest.technical, misc.invest.options,
and the moderated groups misc.answers & news.answers.

Please send comments and new submissions to the compiler.

--------------------Check http://invest-faq.com/ for updates------------------

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Advice - Beginning Investors part 2
Advice - Buying a Car at a Reasonable Price part 2
Advice - Errors in Investing part 2
Advice - Using a Full-Service Broker part 2
Advice - Mutual-Fund Expenses part 2
Advice - One-Line Wisdom part 2
Advice - Paying for Investment Advice part 2
Advice - Researching a Company part 2
Advice - Target Stock Prices part 2
Analysis - Amortization Tables part 2
Analysis - Annual Reports part 2
Analysis - Beta and Alpha part 2
Analysis - Book-to-Bill Ratio part 2
Analysis - Book Value part 2
Analysis - Computing Compound Return part 2
Analysis - Future and Present Value of Money part 2
Analysis - Goodwill part 2
Analysis - Internal Rate of Return (IRR) part 3
Analysis - Paying Debts Early versus Making Investments part 3
Analysis - Price-Earnings (P/E) Ratio part 3
Analysis - Percentage Rates part 3
Analysis - Risks of Investments part 3
Analysis - Return on Equity versus Return on Capital part 3
Analysis - Rule of 72 part 3
Analysis - Same-Store Sales part 3
Bonds - Basics part 3
Bonds - Amortizing Premium part 3
Bonds - Duration Measure part 3
Bonds - Moody Bond Ratings part 3
Bonds - Municipal Bond Terminology part 4
Bonds - Relationship of Price and Interest Rate part 4
Bonds - Tranches part 4
Bonds - Treasury Debt Instruments part 4
Bonds - Treasury Direct part 4
Bonds - U.S. Savings Bonds part 4
Bonds - U.S. Savings Bonds for Education part 4
Bonds - Value of U.S. Treasury Bills part 4
Bonds - Zero-Coupon part 4
CDs - Basics part 4
CDs - Market Index Linked part 4
Derivatives - Basics part 4
Derivatives - Black-Scholes Option Pricing Model part 5
Derivatives - Futures part 5
Derivatives - Futures and Fair Value part 5
Derivatives - Stock Option Basics part 5
Derivatives - Stock Option Covered Calls part 5
Derivatives - Stock Option Covered Puts part 5
Derivatives - Stock Option Ordering part 5
Derivatives - Stock Option Splits part 5
Derivatives - Stock Option Symbols part 5
Derivatives - LEAPs part 5
Education Savings Plans - Section 529 Plans part 5
Education Savings Plans - Coverdell part 5
Exchanges - The American Stock Exchange part 5
Exchanges - The Chicago Board Options Exchange part 5
Exchanges - Circuit Breakers, Curbs, and Other Trading part 6
Exchanges - Contact Information part 6
Exchanges - Instinet part 6
Exchanges - Market Makers and Specialists part 6
Exchanges - The NASDAQ part 6
Exchanges - The New York Stock Exchange part 6
Exchanges - Members and Seats on AMEX part 6
Exchanges - Ticker Tape Terminology part 6
Financial Planning - Basics part 6
Financial Planning - Choosing a Financial Planner part 6
Financial Planning - Compensation and Conflicts of Interest part 6
Financial Planning - Estate Planning Checkup part 6
Information Sources - Books part 7
Information Sources - Conference Calls part 7
Information Sources - Free to All Who Ask part 7
Information Sources - Investment Associations part 7
Information Sources - Value Line part 7
Information Sources - Wall $treet Week part 7
Insurance - Annuities part 8
Insurance - Life part 8
Insurance - Viatical Settlements part 8
Insurance - Variable Universal Life (VUL) part 8
Mutual Funds - Basics part 8
Mutual Funds - Average Annual Return part 8
Mutual Funds - Buying from Brokers versus Fund Companies part 8
Mutual Funds - Distributions and Tax Implications part 9
Mutual Funds - Fees and Expenses part 9
Mutual Funds - Index Funds and Beating the Market part 9
Mutual Funds - Money-Market Funds part 9
Mutual Funds - Reading a Prospectus part 9
Mutual Funds - Redemptions part 9
Mutual Funds - Types of Funds part 9
Mutual Funds - Versus Stocks part 9
Real Estate - 12 Steps to Buying a Home part 9
Real Estate - Investment Trusts (REITs) part 9
Real Estate - Renting versus Buying a Home part 10
Regulation - Accredited Investor part 10
Regulation - Full Disclosure part 10
Regulation - Money-Supply Measures M1, M2, and M3 part 10
Regulation - Federal Reserve and Interest Rates part 10
Regulation - Margin Requirements part 10
Regulation - Securities and Exchange Commission (U.S.) part 10
Regulation - SEC Rule 144 part 10
Regulation - SEC Registered Advisory Service part 10
Regulation - SEC/NASDAQ Settlement part 10
Regulation - Series of Examinations/Registrations part 10
Regulation - SIPC, or How to Survive a Bankrupt Broker part 10
Retirement Plans - 401(k) part 11
Retirement Plans - 401(k) for Self-Employed People part 11
Retirement Plans - 403(b) part 11
Retirement Plans - 457(b) part 11
Retirement Plans - Co-mingling funds in IRA accounts part 11
Retirement Plans - Keogh part 11
Retirement Plans - Roth IRA part 11
Retirement Plans - SEP IRA part 11
Retirement Plans - Traditional IRA part 12
Software - Archive of Free Investment-Related Programs part 12
Software - Portfolio Tracking and Technical Analysis part 12
Stocks - Basics part 12
Stocks - American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) part 12
Stocks - Cyclicals part 12
Stocks - Dividends part 12
Stocks - Dramatic Price Changes part 12
Stocks - Holding Company Depositary Recepits (HOLDRs) part 12
Stocks - Income and Royalty Trusts part 12
Stocks - Types of Indexes part 12
Stocks - The Dow Jones Industrial Average part 13
Stocks - Other Indexes part 13
Stocks - Market Volatility Index (VIX) part 13
Stocks - Investor Rights Movement part 13
Stocks - Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) part 13
Stocks - Mergers part 13
Stocks - Market Capitalization part 13
Stocks - Outstanding Shares and Float part 13
Stocks - Preferred Shares part 13
Stocks - Price Basis part 13
Stocks - Price Tables in Newspapers part 13
Stocks - Price Data part 13
Stocks - Replacing Lost Certificates part 13
Stocks - Repurchasing by Companies part 13
Stocks - Researching the Value of Old Certificates part 14
Stocks - Reverse Mergers part 14
Stocks - Shareholder Rights Plan part 14
Stocks - Splits part 14
Stocks - Tracking Stock part 14
Stocks - Unit Investment Trusts and SPDRs part 14
Stocks - Warrants part 14
Strategy - Dogs of the Dow part 14
Strategy - Dollar Cost and Value Averaging part 14
Strategy - Hedging part 14
Strategy - Buying on Margin part 14
Strategy - Writing Put Options To Acquire Stock part 14
Strategy - Socially Responsible Investing part 14
Strategy - When to Buy/Sell Stocks part 14
Strategy - Survey of Stock Investment Strategies part 15
Strategy - Value and Growth part 15
Tax Code - Backup Withholding part 15
Tax Code - Capital Gains Cost Basis part 15
Tax Code - Capital Gains Computation part 15
Tax Code - Capital Gains Tax Rates part 15
Tax Code - Cashless Option Exercise part 15
Tax Code - Deductions for Investors part 15
aSubject: Tax Code - Estate and Gift Tax part 15
Tax Code - Gifts of Stock part 15
Tax Code - Non-Resident Aliens and US Holdings part 16
Tax Code - Reporting Option Trades part 16
Tax Code - Short Sales Treatment part 16
Tax Code - Tax Swaps part 16
Tax Code - Uniform Gifts to Minors Act (UGMA) part 16
Tax Code - Wash Sale Rule part 16
Technical Analysis - Basics part 16
Technical Analysis - Bollinger Bands part 16
Technical Analysis - Black-Scholes Model part 16
Technical Analysis - Commodity Channel Index part 16
Technical Analysis - Charting Services part 16
Technical Analysis - Data Sources part 16
Technical Analysis - Elliott Wave Theory part 16
Technical Analysis - Information Sources part 17
Technical Analysis - MACD part 17
Technical Analysis - McClellan Oscillator and Summation Index part 17
Technical Analysis - On Balance Volume part 17
Technical Analysis - Relative Strength Indicator part 17
Technical Analysis - Stochastics part 17
Trading - Basics part 17
Trading - After Hours part 17
Trading - Bid, Offer, and Spread part 17
Trading - Brokerage Account Types part 17
Trading - Discount Brokers part 18
Trading - Direct Investing and DRIPs part 18
Trading - Electronically and via the Internet part 18
Trading - Free Ride Rules part 18
Trading - By Insiders part 18
Trading - Introducing Broker part 18
Trading - Jargon and Terminology part 18
Trading - NASD Public Disclosure Hotline part 18
Trading - Buy and Sell Stock Without a Broker part 18
Trading - Non-Resident Aliens and US Exchanges part 18
Trading - Off Exchange part 19
Trading - Opening Prices part 19
Trading - Order Routing and Payment for Order Flow part 19
Trading - Day, GTC, Limit, and Stop-Loss Orders part 19
Trading - Pink Sheet Stocks part 19
Trading - Price Improvement part 19
Trading - Process Date part 19
Trading - Round Lots of Shares part 19
Trading - Security Identification Systems part 19
Trading - Shorting Stocks part 19
Trading - Shorting Against the Box part 19
Trading - Size of the Market part 19
Trading - Tick, Up Tick, and Down Tick part 19
Trading - Transferring an Account part 19
Trading - Can You Trust The Tape? part 20
Trading - Selling Worthless Shares part 20
Trivia - Bull and Bear Lore part 20
Trivia - Presidential Portraits on U.S. Notes part 20
Trivia - Getting Rich Quickly part 20
Trivia - One-Letter Ticker Symbols on NYSE part 20
Trivia - Stock Prices in Sixteenths part 20
Warning - Wade Cook part 20
Warning - Charles Givens part 20
Warning - Dave Rhodes and Other Chain Letters part 20
Warning - Ken Roberts part 20
Warning - Selling Unregistered Securities part 20

--------------------Check http://invest-faq.com/ for updates------------------

Compiler's Acknowledgements:
My sincere thanks to the many contributors for their efforts.

Compilation Copyright (c) 2003 by Christopher Lott.