How to Invest in Common Stock

Video Transcript

"My name's Phillip Beningoso. I'm an investment professional, and I'm going to be discussing how to invest in common stock. Now, there are typically four major ways to invest. Through a 401k plan, a non-profit, or a 403p, 403b plan, through a traditional IRA, Roth IRA, or SEP IRA, through a brokerage account, or through a DRIP, a direct reinvestment plan. Generally, there are five types of assets that average investors will purchase; common stocks, which is the ownership of business, preferred stock; it's a type of dividend bearing stock that can can provide ownership if it is convertible, Bonds; corporate bonds, municipal bonds, savings bonds, U.S. Government bonds, Money Markets, which are highly liquid funds that are designed to protect purchasing power, and Real Estate Investment Truts Trusts, or REITS, a special type of company designation that allows no taxation at the company level provided more than ninety percent of the earning is paid out to the shareholder, and Mutual Funds, including exchange traded funds, ETF's, index funds, and actively managed funds. When researching an investment there are typically five documents that you want to get your hands on; 10K, which is an annual filing with the sec, a 10Q, which is the quarterly filing with the sec, a proxy statement, which is information about the board of directors and management pay, and the most recent annual report, and some statistical showing, which are research reports about the company that can give you a great deal of information. There are also three financial statements that are extremely important, the income statement, the balance sheet, and the cash flow statement. Any information provided here is for general informational purposes only, and should not be considered an individualized recommendation or personalized investment advice. Any investments or strategies mentioned here may not be suitable for everyone. My name's Phillip Beningoso, and I'm an investment professional."