If you're new to the investing and trading world or have been around for years, it's important to keep up with financial news. However, it's equally essential to know where to go for the best resources, like informative articles, investing-related webinars, and more.
Unless you have a degree in a relevant subject, it's wise to set aside a little time every day to study. The good news is that the best websites offer interesting, interactive, informative resources, so there's never a dull moment.
As is the case with every other realm of business, some products are better than others. There are currently thousands of websites that offer one or more learning resources for investment-minded people.
What's the best way to choose among that long list of candidates? Consider the best of the best and give each one a test drive. Only then will you be able to make an accurate judgment about which ones are most suited to your investing style.
In no particular order, the seven best educational resources are:
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MarketWatch
The premiere economic and market-oriented information site offers a wide selection of educational videos, articles, blog posts, and chat forums for people interested in all kinds of buying and selling within modern capital and other markets. If you want to do a quick lookup of a chart for your favorite stock, forex pair, commodity, or cryptocurrency, MarketWatch features a clean, interactive panel.
MarketWatch's “More” tab, on the upper right of the main page, offers top-notch videos, a “how to” section for newcomers, a direct link to live events like lectures and seminars, and a “Picks” category that is essentially a glorified, but excellent, blog. For daily headlines, fast trend reports, and dozens of other instant analysis kinds of data, MarketWatch is a five-minute morning drop-in for those who want to keep a close eye on their investments.
TheStreet
A direct competitor of MarketWatch, TheStreet focuses a bit more on equities, Wall Street talk about the top US-based corporations, and traditional assets like bonds, options, and mutual funds. However, the website does include a charting page that is equal in detail and accessibility to all their competitors.
Additionally, the site offers add-ons for people who are willing to pay. Note that compared to other financial websites, TheStreet tends to focus on news-related reporting rather than market-oriented analysis. The company that owns it was founded by a professional stock-picker who was once a hedge fund manager, and the stories still carry the founder's focus on the up-and-down movements of corporate share prices.
Seeking Alpha
Seeking Alpha has excellent in-depth reporting in all relevant areas related to stocks, precious metals, money management, commodities, and more. However, they are an aggregator website, which means readers can only access some of the site's features without paying for premium service. The charts are good enough for standard analysis purposes and offer a nice menu of technical indicators. But expect to run into the paywall occasionally whenever you find an educational resource that interests you.
Investor's Business Daily
With easy-to-read reports on daily market trends, news, and plenty of educational resources for beginners and experts, IBD does it all. For fast information about particular assets or long-form tutorials on investing techniques, IBD should be a daily stop for those who are just getting involved in the financial world.
Click on their “Learn” tab to see a gigantic menu of informative, worthwhile articles, webinars, books, and videos that cover hundreds of financial topics. Don't be surprised if you feel as if IBD is similar to MarketWatch. Both companies operate in the same format with similar offerings.
Bloomberg Markets
One of the powerhouses of finance news and information, Bloomberg is known for its depth of reporting and user-friendly format. If you're looking for the day's most relevant money-related headlines, long-form stories about economic trends, or in-depth market analysis, it's all here.
Readers can search on stock symbols or names and instantly uncover a wealth of charts, analyses, articles, and educational videos. The website excels in the area of video production and content.
Users can listen to videos or watch them while reading other articles or viewing charts on the site. There's an eclectic mixture of tools for newcomers, too. That's a huge plus for Bloomberg because many similar magazine-style finance sites only cater to experienced traders and investors.
AvaTrade
Proud of its deserved status as a recipient of Best Educational Broker rewards, AvaTrade at https://www.avatrade.com has carved out a niche for itself as a specialist in the CFD, forex, and cryptocurrency segments. As a regulated broker, the company works diligently to provide its account holders and readers with the latest and best materials. That menu includes detailed trading videos on numerous topics like basics, analysis, and how to plan trades.
Other helpful items are under the heading of Trading for Beginners. There, readers find a full-scale introduction to the markets, with easy-to-understand articles on online trading, stocks, forex, cryptocurrency, and much more. The beauty of AvaTrade's educational section is that it is an ideal place for a newcomer to acquire all they need to know to begin buying and selling CFDs, cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, and forex currency pairs.
Forbes Money
Forbes Money is one of the long-term players in the stock and other securities market information world. The publication has been around for decades, and the online version is famous for being packed with worthwhile articles on hundreds of relevant topics. The strong point of Forbes Money is long-form writing and blog posts. If you're looking for journalism that digs into the current economic issues and laws surrounding the markets, Forbes is an excellent choice.
The site plays to its own strengths as a legacy magazine that covers all things related to the securities field. However, the latest iteration has a few shortcomings. First, by trying to keep up with leaders like MarketWatch, Forbes sometime appears to be nothing more than a not quite as good imitation of websites that offer resources for investors and traders. Second, the charting could use a bit of an upgrade to make it more interactive.