5 Free Resources to Help You Invest Like a Pro

One of the things you’ll probably notice right away when you first start investing is the bewildering array of choices you’ll have for education, training and information. And it won’t be long before you notice many of these resources come with a pretty hefty price tag.

5 Free Resources to Help You Invest Like a Pro

In this roundup, I’ve put together free resources anybody can use right now to start learning the basics of successful investing and (when ready) start investing in the markets with confidence.

Invest Like a Pro

Free Resource #1: Online investing courses

If you already have an online brokerage account, look for a section labeled “investor education”, “learning center” or something similar. Many brokers offer free online classes, webinars and trading tools to help get you up to speed.

This trading practice can help sharpen your skills and increase your confidence toward the day when you decide to invest for real.

Free Resource #2: News and Stock Charts

Free Resource #3: Crowd-sourced content

Reading crowd-sourced content can help develop your analytical skills. Take some time to read the pros and cons of each investment that interests you.

Go to the website of any publicly traded company and you’ll find a section called Investor Relations (IR). Here you’ll find company news, events and presentations, and quarterly and annual reports.

Free Resource #4: Investor relations pages

EDGAR stands for Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval.The EDGAR database gives free public access to anyone who wants to research a public company’s operations and financial information.

Free Resource #5: EDGAR

 Even if you only have a small amount to invest (or are years away from making your first investment), you can jumpstart the process just by familiarizing yourself with some basic terms and concepts.

The Big Takeaway: You don’t need to spend a ton of money to learn how to invest.