How The Stock Market Works

You can learn about the stock market in many ways. But most people cannot afford to learn the wrong way—by making expensive mistakes.

You can learn about the stock market in many ways. But most people cannot afford to learn the wrong way—by making expensive mistakes. The stock market is a way for anyone to own the valuable assets of a company and, as investments, stocks historically have offered a good chance for long-term gains. If you own a well-diversified portfolio of individual stocks or stock funds, your wealth tends to grow when the economy grows. But too many investors succumb to the high-risk pursuit of beating the market by trying to pick winners, predict price trends, or otherwise find opportunities that other investors have missed.

You can learn about the stock market in many ways. But most people cannot afford to learn the wrong way—by making expensive mistakes.

Some people might see the current recession as the very worst time to invest in the stock market, but many of the world's most successful investors insist that a market downturn is the very moment when people should be investing.

Some people might see the current recession as the very worst time to invest in the stock market, but many of the world's most successful investors insist that a market downturn is the very moment when people should be investing.