Investments

INLS 227Spring 2005

Finance/Investment

The area of business concerned with the ways in which individuals and institutions can use money to make money. This area would include things like stocks, bonds, annuities, and trusts.

Types of Securities

Stocks Bonds Investment Companies

(mutual funds)

Money Market

Stocks

An instrument that signifies an ownership position, or equity, in a corporation, and represents a claim on its proportionate share in the corporation's assets and profits; also called equities.

Bonds

A debt instrument issued for a period of more than one year with the purpose of raising capital by borrowing. The Federal government, states, cities, corporations, and many other types of institutions sell bonds.

A bond is generally a promise

to repay the principal along

with interest on a specified

date (maturity).

Investment Companies

Medium for small investors to pool resources/funds so they can participate and be represented like large investors.

Most common investment type is the MUTUAL FUND company.

Money Market

Securities having less than one year maturityTreasury Bill – T-bill is a good example.

Basic Investment Information Needs

I need…Stock quotationsCompany’s financial

information Investment adviceCurrent news and industry

outlookMarket Averages

Types of Investment Sources

I can find them in:Stock Price ListingsFinancial Data Manuals Investment Advisory ServicesNews SourcesMarket Averages Listings

Stock Price Listings - Quotes(stocks, bonds, bills, funds)

Wall Street Journal – weekdays only

Yahoo!Financehttp://finance.yahoo.com

Barron’s - weekly quotations

Daily Stock Price Record (S&P)– accumulation of daily figures/yearly publication, print only

Wall Street Research Nethttp://www.wsrn.com

Stock/Bond/Funds Price Listings Summary data

S&P Stock Guide – Monthly S&P Bond Guide - MonthlyMoody’s Bond Record - MonthlyWiesenberger

Mutual Funds Update- Monthly Investment Companies Yearbook

Mergent Online

Morningstar Principia Pro - Mutual Funds 10 yr summaries Print Online – www.morningstar.com

Financial Data Information

Annual Reports Income statements, balance sheets, ratios, profits, stock

earnings

Graphs Charting patterns

Stock change Change patterns

Financial Manuals

Mergent Investor’s Services / Manuals Standard & Poor’s Hoover’s Handbooks

Offers Key Financials3-10 yrs

Investment Advisory Services

Offers commentary, analysis, forecasts or recommendations

Investment Advisory Services

Brokerage reports Investext Wall Street Transcript

“Broker Reports” “Wall Street Roundup” “Corporate Reports on File”

WSJ Zack’s Investment Research

Investment Advisory Services

Value Line Investment Survey 1,700 stocks (additional 1,800 in expanded set) Summary and Index Selection and Opinion Ratings and Reports Mutual Fund Survey

Standard & Poor’s “The Outlook” stocks

Morningstar Mutual Funds

Investment Advisory Services

Investment Analysis S&P Industry Surveys Mergent Industry Reviews S&P Monthly Investment Review Morningstar

Market Averages Dow Jones Industrial Averages S&P 500 Index Russell 1000

Treasury Indexes

SOURCES:Wall Street Journal Standard & Poor’s Statistical Service – historical and

monthlyStock, Bond, Bills and Inflation Yearbook - yearly

The oldest and most widely used measures of the overall condition of the stock market, each of the four averages is price-weighted and includes a few dozen widely held stocks. There are four Dow Jones Averages: Industrial, Transportation, Utilities, and Composite (the other three together).

Special Investment Situations Follow Investment News

Quarterly reports, interim reports Reports of changes in corporate control, acq. of sale of

assets, bankruptcy, change of auditing, change in executives, activities, changes in fiscal year

New Securities Offerings -IPO’s Look for registration statements in SEC – form, some

type of “S” form -S-1 for brand new.

Special Investment Situations

Merger-related Activities – M&A LexisNexis Academic (choose Business-M&A) Mergers and Acquisitions, IPO’s SEC

Tracking Corporate Change CCH Capital Changes Reports

Dividend Announcements Moody’s Dividend Record S&P Stock Guide, Bond Guide (see Net

Advantage also)

Special Investment Situations

Foreign Exchange Rates Federal Reserve

Commodities Metals, Oil, Corn, Livestock

Frequently Asked Questions About Finance/Investment

“I am a beginning investor and I need to find some places where I can get some really practical advice about getting started. Tell me some places where I can get hands on tips about some of the opportunities and pitfalls of investing on my own?”

Answer:Education/Online Tutorials

SEC Investor Information Guide http://www.sec.gov/investor.shtml

Value Line Universityhttp://www.valueline.com/vlu/index.html

Bonds Online http://www.precision-info.com/bondsonline/tl-1209392895.html

Mutual Fund Connectionhttp://www.ici.org/

National Association of Investors Corporation http://www.better-investing.org

“Where can I go to get a quick quote and current analysis of a particular stock?”

Answer:

Yahoo! Finance http://finance.yahoo.com

BigCharts http://bigcharts.marketwatch.com/

“Where could I go to find magazine and newspaper articles about possible investment opportunities?”

Answer:

ABI/INFORM Database Finance and investment industry journals are extensively covered in this index.

Factiva (formerly Dow Jones) This indexes online all of the Dow Jones business publications including the Wall Street Journal.

Wall Street Journal

“What might be some of the principal magazine, journal, and newspaper titles that would deal with finance/investment?”

Answer: Barron's National Business and Financial Weekly

(Chicopee, Mass. Dow Jones& Co). One of the most respected news magazines for the finance/investment sector.

Provides weekly overviews of all domestic and foreign stock exchanges. Barron's also profiles other markets and activities like bonds, mutual funds, and commodities markets.

The Economist (London: Economist Newspaper). One of the oldest financial publications in the world. This British weekly publication

provides finance/investment news from an international perspective.

The Journal of Finance (New York: American Finance Association).

A quarterly academic publication that tackles issues in finance/investment.

The Wall Street Journal (New York: Dow Jones News Service). The Wall Street Journal is the most respected business daily in the world. It has all the

day's stock and market activity and analytical articles about trends and news on the financial scene.

More….

Better Investing Wall Street Transcript Money Investor’s Business Daily

Popular newspaper

“Is there something that might list a variety of sources that can be used to research the

finance/investment sector?”Answer: Business Information: How to Find it, How

to Use it (Phoenix, Ariz. : Oryx Press,1992).

Encyclopedia of Business Information (Detroit: Gale Research, 1998).

Investment Statistics Locator

“The world of finance/investment has all sorts of strange terms. Are their good dictionaries and handbooks that define the

lingo that is used in this area of business?”

Answer: Barron's Finance & Investment Handbook A Dictionary of Finance and Banking International Dictionary of Finance Wall Street Words: an Essential A to Z Guide

for Today's Investor