Finance Girl Toronto

I wanted to help people interested in learning to invest. I searched online for a good trading program for people located in Canada, and came across TMX Learning Centre – http://www.tmx-edu.com/en/ . This week I am going to try out this program, and provide feedback on the blog. This program allows you to trade equities and derivatives. I recommend starting with equities for a beginning investor since equities are easier to understand. Step 1: Create user account by using the…

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In investing starting small makes sense, especially when you are trying to learn to invest on your own. In order to start investing you need to understand what bonds and stocks are. You can refer to this post to get an overview: http://tinyurl.com/j768zcv  Couple of questions to start with: What am I going to invest in? I am going to invest in stocks. Why? I am relatively young, the $ 5 000 I have allocated is to learn investing, and…

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Companies use two sources to obtain funding for various uses such as initial investment, expansion, and supplementing operating income. The two sources available to a company are borrowing money (bonds) or selling equity (stocks). Let’s break this down even further by asking what is equity?  If I were to start a gardening shop that sells only Tulip bulbs I would need a few things to start with. First, I would need money to pay rent for the place I am…

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Economy – is defined by Webster as “the process or system by which goods and services are produced, sold, and bought in a country or region”. In investing it is important to understand the state of the economy of the country you are investing in. Why? The current state of the economy of the country you are investing in will determine what financial products you will invest in as well as in what industries you will invest in.It is also…

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There are two major methods for analyzing stocks. One method is Fundamental analysis and the other is Technical analysis. Fundamental analysis analyzes demand and supply of a stock. It tries to explain why a price moved the way it did, and it is based on current demand and supply. Technical analysis is based on historical data. It can almost be described as identifying patterns, and applying the rules derived from the patterns to future price/volume movements. Technical analysts do not…

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1. Understanding the Business      a. Industry Analysis     b. Competitive Analysis      Note : Frame works are just there to help you organize your thoughts. The industry     and competitive analysis should help you understand what the major challenges and     opportunities the company is facing in its industry /operating environment .      c.  Analysis of Financial Statements     d.  Company disclosure analysis ( e.g. press releases, earnings call )      At the end of this analysis you should understand the company’s business…

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Today, I was reading a book called ” First, Break All The Rules” , by Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman and came across some questions that I felt I must share with everyone. The authors have done alot of research in the area of employee motivation and productivity in the work place. At the conclusion of their reasearch ( which took about six years ) , they had identified 12 questions that measure the core elements needed to attract, and…

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I have a tiny god daughter who is about to turn 1. She is so adorable. Oh the joy kids bring you in the first few years of their lives. Ever since I have heard of or read about the option of gifting RESPs , I have been wanting to start an RESP for her. I think she’ll make a great lawyer ( we’ll see how that turns out ). So being the control freak that I am, I trolled…

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1. Lack of Financial Knowledge – Our schools interestingly enough don’t teach personal finance concept at any level other than as university courses. Unless your parents have a good basis in personal finance knowledge, and teach it to you, you don’t have a mean to learn it other than teaching it to yourself. 2. Taxes – People need to understand the different types of taxes that are levied on them, and do tax planning to minimize the effect of tax…

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