The Forbes® CFA Institute Investment Course: Timeless Principles for Building Wealth -- Contents -- Preface -- Acknowledgments -- Chapter 1: Building Capital -- Role of the Stock Market in Building Wealth -- Determining Your Financial Position -- Your Financial Inventory Guide -- Investment Margin -- Defining Your Goals -- Return Requirements -- Risk Profile -- Life Cycle and the Risk/Return Mix -- Other Considerations -- Asset Classes -- Asset Allocation -- Active versus Passive Investing -- Diversification -- Dollar Cost Averaging -- Chapter Takeaways -- Chapter 2: How Securities Markets Function -- Role of Securities Markets -- The Securities Exchanges -- Over-the-Counter Markets -- NASDAQ -- Electronic Communication Networks -- Stock Quotes -- The Third Market -- Other Markets -- How the New York Stock Exchange Operates -- How the NASDAQ Operates -- From SOES to SuperMontage -- OTC Bulletin Board and Pink Sheets -- How the ECNs Operate -- Crossing Systems -- Electronic versus Floor Trading -- Preferencing -- Internalization -- Chapter Takeaways -- Chapter 3: Selecting a Broker and Trading -- Structure of a Brokerage Firm -- Activities of a Brokerage Firm -- Services Offered by All Brokers -- Full-Service versus Discount Brokers -- Online Brokers -- Choosing a Brokerage Firm -- Commissions -- Direct Purchase of Securities -- Placing Orders -- Odd-Lot Trading -- Margin -- Transaction Example -- Settlement -- Stock Symbols and the Ticker Tape -- Questions to Ask Your Broker -- Chapter Takeaways -- Chapter 4: Tax-Favored Investment Strategies -- Capital Gains and Dividends -- Traditional IRAs -- Roth IRAs -- 401(k) Plans -- Education Savings Accounts and 529 Plans -- Other Pension Plans -- Mutual Funds and Taxes -- Using Tax-Advantaged Accounts -- Chapter Takeaways -- Chapter 5: Reading Financial Statements -- Income Statements -- Balance Sheet.

Statement of Cash Flows -- Making Sense of the Numbers -- Profitability Ratios -- Asset Utilization Ratios -- Leverage Ratios -- Revisiting ROE -- Liquidity Ratios -- Market Multiples -- Look Beyond the Numbers -- Read the Footnotes -- Can You Trust Financial Statements? -- Chapter Takeaways -- Chapter 6: Sources for Investment Information -- Where to Obtain Information -- Securities and Exchange Commission -- Earnings Releases and Regulation Fair Disclosure -- Investment Brokers and Dealers -- Can You Trust Brokerage House Reports? -- Investment Newsletters and Other Publications -- Corporate Reports -- Reading the Annual Report -- Government Reports -- Chapter Takeaways -- Chapter 7: Common Stocks and Economic Indicators -- Another Look at the Balance Sheet -- Why Common Shares Have Value -- Macroeconomic Factors -- Industry-Specific Factors -- Other Barometers -- Evaluating Data -- Chapter Takeaways -- Chapter 8: Fundamental Analysis -- Investing versus Trading -- Passive Investing -- Active Investing -- Business Focus -- Industry Outlook -- Company Status -- Major Trends -- Earnings History and Outlook -- Dividends -- Price-Earnings and Price-Book Ratios Revisited -- Discounted Cash Flow -- Evaluating Management -- Some Final Thoughts on Fundamental Analysis -- Chapter Takeaways -- Chapter 9: Technical Analysis -- The Value of Charts -- Reading Charts -- Dow Theory -- Head and Shoulders -- Support and Resistance Levels -- Trading Ranges -- Breakaway Gaps -- Importance of Volume -- Other Technical Indicators -- Time to Grow Bullish -- Chapter Takeaways -- Chapter 10: Fixed-Income Securities -- Bonds -- Understanding Bonds -- Understanding Bond Prices -- Bond Prices and Interest Rates -- Call Feature -- Credit Quality of Bonds -- Other Issues Concerning Bonds -- How to Buy Bonds -- Money Market Securities -- Preferred Stock.

Understanding Preferred Stock -- Tax Treatment -- Trust Preferred Securities -- Final Thoughts on Bonds and Preferred Stocks -- Chapter Takeaways -- Chapter 11: Derivatives -- Defining Derivative Instruments -- Futures -- Spot Asset -- The Futures Market -- Delivery -- Hedging -- Stock Index Futures -- Single-Stock Futures -- Options -- Definition of Options -- Options Markets -- Important Terms to Know -- Listed Options -- What an Option Is Worth -- Commissions -- To Sell or to Exercise -- Some Popular Option Strategies -- A Warning about Naked Option Writing -- Chapter Takeaways -- Chapter 12: Mutual Funds -- An Investment Company -- Closed-End or Open-End -- A Short History of the Mutual Fund Industry -- Categories of Mutual Funds -- Advantages of Mutual Funds -- Disadvantages of Mutual Funds -- Mutual Fund Expenses -- How to Choose a Fund -- Some Final Thoughts about Mutual Funds -- Hedge Funds -- Chapter Takeaways -- Chapter 13: Rules of Thumb and Key Phrases -- Final Comments -- Suggested Readings -- About the Authors -- Index.