How to understand the stock market before you invest
What an exchange and a share are, how prices form, how speculation differs from investing, and what a century of market history teaches beginners.
ReadStock market
Learn the stock market step by step: how it works, funds vs shares, reading results, the mental traps, IPOs and sharia-compliant investing. Education only, no stock picks.
Beginner's guide: where to start
New to the stock market? Read these in order: what the market is, funds or shares, placing your first order and investing a little every month.
Funds vs single shares: what you own and what you pay
How mutual funds, index funds and ETFs work, NAV and expense ratios, how to read a factsheet and check a manager, and how funds compare with single shares.
ReadSharia-compliant investing: how stock screening works worldwide
The business and financial-ratio screens behind sharia-compliant shares, how AAOIFI and index providers differ, purification, Islamic funds and sukuk.
ReadYour first share or fund order: broker, custody, order types, costs
Who holds your shares, how to check a broker is regulated, market vs limit vs stop orders, fees, FX and fractional shares, and what to check after you buy.
ReadInvesting a fixed amount every month: DCA, your mix and rebalancing
How regular investing and dollar-cost averaging work, what research says vs investing at once, a real S&P 500 record, your mix and rebalancing.
ReadDividends explained: dates, yield, tax and what a payout really adds
How dividends work: the key dates, dividend yield vs yield on cost, withholding tax, bonus shares and splits, high-yield traps and reinvesting.
ReadStock indices explained: what the S&P 500, Dow and MSCI ACWI measure
How broad stock indices pick and weight companies, why they move apart on the same day, price vs total return, and what an index can't tell you.
ReadInvestor psychology: the mental traps that cost beginners money
Herd behaviour, loss aversion, overconfidence, panic selling and more: what the research shows each trap costs, and a habit that counters it.
ReadMore advanced topics
Once you know the basics: reading company results, IPOs and the chart indicators traders talk about.
Reading a company's results: what to check and what it leaves out
The three statements in plain words, EPS, P/E and dividend yield, real growth after inflation, currency effects, and where companies publish results.
ReadIPOs explained: how new share offerings work, and what you really get
Why companies list, IPOs vs private placements and direct listings, how you get shares via a broker, the prospectus, allocation maths and long-run research.
ReadCandlestick charts: how to read them, and why patterns often fail
Open, high, low and close in one candle, what doji, hammer and engulfing patterns are said to mean, and why they are a speculation tool, not a signal.
ReadMoving averages, MACD and RSI: what chart indicators can and can't tell you
How the most common trend and momentum indicators are calculated, what traders read from them, where they mislead, and what they cost to trade on.
ReadVolume and sentiment indicators: reading the crowd behind a price move
Volume, value traded, OBV, VWAP, market breadth, the put/call ratio and volatility gauges: what each is said to show, and where it misleads.
ReadVolatility indicators: how far a price swings, and what that means for you
Bollinger Bands, Average True Range and standard deviation in plain words, ATR-based stops, circuit breakers, and why swings matter to savers.
ReadLearning path · 4 short episodes
The stock market, from zero.
What the market is, funds or shares, placing a first order and investing a little every month. Read them in order.
Education only. We never name shares to buy.
- 01How to understand the stock market before you investEpisode 1 · 7 min read
- 02Funds vs single shares: what you own and what you payEpisode 2 · 8 min read
- 03Your first share or fund order: broker, custody, order types, costsEpisode 3 · 7 min read
- 04Investing a fixed amount every month: DCA, your mix and rebalancingEpisode 4 · 7 min read
Education only, not financial advice. Results are estimates based on the numbers you enter.