Options Trading Tutorial

Shares, commodities, options, emini's, forex?

For many years I have wanted to start investing but education is holding me back. There is soooo much information available that it's difficult to sift the chaff from the grain and I get bogged down with a brain overload. I could do a course like Lifestyle trader which has components on all these areas but for $11,000 before you even place a trade, it seems incredibly steep, especially with no iron clad promise of success. I'd get a better warranty on a new kettle. So, my question requires a lot of thought from those who will answer. If you were to design a course educating rank newbies in shares, commodities, options, emini's and forex, where would you begin and how would you build on that information-references, websites, books etc. Remember you learn addition and subtraction before vectors and matrices so it's a slow build not sink or swim.

Public Comments

1. I admire your enthusiasm, and don't get me wrong I'm not trying to put out your flame. But put it this way if you learnt about every one of these financial instruments you'd already be working as an investment banker. As you say it's a slow build, so take it one step at a time. Shares are a good place to begin. There are many overlapping concepts and theories between these instruments. Once you get a firm grasp of shares, then expand into other financial territory. A good place to start for basic information is wikipedia. Set up an online share trading account with a discount broker first. It's free (unless you place a buy/sell order obviously), and it gives you access to company announcements, historical price charts, valuation multiples.. amongst other useful information. You need to keep up to date with the financial news and know what's happening in the global markets to make informed decisions. Depending on what country you're in you can google up a list of online brokers. If there's something on there you don't understand (beta, PE, PB, EBITDA, ROE...), look it up. Practice is the best way to go about it. There are also free practice trading accounts available online. It's like a replica of the stock markets, but without playing with real money. So there's nothing to lose. That's more than enough to keep you occupied for the moment. When you've done that, come back and I'll explain more ;p
2. Most of the things you mentioned: commodities, options, emini's & forex are for advanced investors & not for rookies. And not for the average joe/jane sixpack investors. I would probably start with a course on general investing, including accounts at the bank, & the stock market. This might also include individual stocks and mutual funds. But other than shares, the average investor doesn't need the rest of the things you mentioned. They are just too complicated & dangerous for the average investor. 75% of the people that actively trade the market lose money. By the time taxes & trading costs are included, that figure rises to 90%. Build yourself a diversifed portfolio using mutual funds & let the market take you higher. The rest of the things you cited: commodities, options, emini's, forex, make your broker money, and NOT YOU.
3. You can start in Forex easily - by using the free guide that you can download from http://www.forexfromscratch.com Hope this helps?