Understanding investment types
Explore investment types
Investment options
What is a stock?
What is a bond?
What are cash investments?
Choosing between funds and individual securities
Finding individual stocks and bonds
Deciding on the mutual funds or ETFs you want
ETFs vs. mutual funds: A comparison
Get to know your investment costs
What are hybrid securities?
What are alternative investments?
What are call and put options?
Explore investment types
Understanding investment types
Explore investment types
Investment options What is a stock? What is a bond? What are cash investments? Choosing between funds and individual securities Finding individual stocks and bonds Deciding on the mutual funds or ETFs you want ETFs vs. mutual funds: A comparison Get to know your investment costs What are hybrid securities? What are alternative investments? What are call and put options?
Points to know
- You can narrow down stocks by looking at certain types of companies, or by considering metrics like growth and volatility.
- When buying bonds, you'll need to think about your purchasing strategies as well as the types of issuers you're interested in.
KEEP IN MIND
The core of your portfolio should be made ofmutual fundsorETFs (exchange-traded funds), which offerdiversificationand lower costs. Generally speaking, individual securities should make up only a small portion of your investments, if any.
Individual stocks
You can focus onstocksbycapitalizationorsector. You may also want to look into otherfundamentalssuch as the ones below.
Earnings per share
This divides a company's net profit by the number of stocksharesavailable for trading. By looking at a stock's earnings per share over a period of several months or years, you can see how the company has grown.
Price/earnings ratio
This divides the stock's share price by the amount of earnings it's distributed in the last 12 months (per share). A high price/earnings ratio indicates that investors are expecting more growth in the future.
Because different industries have different prospects for growth, this indicator is mainly useful when comparing companies within the same industry.
Price/book ratio
This divides a stock's share price by the total value of all the company's assets minus its liabilities (per share). If the price/book ratio is low, the shares may be undervalued.
52-week high/low
This represents the highest and lowest prices at which the stock has traded in the past year. A stock that nears or passes its previous high or low could see additional trading volume andvolatility.
Dividend yield
This divides the value ofdividendspaid in the past year (per share) by the stock's current share value. This can indicate how much of a company's cash flow is being passed through to investors.
Beta
This measures how volatile the stock is compared with the overallmarket.
We have resources that can help you research individual stocks.
Use our stock screener to find specific stocks (logon required)
Use our tools to search for investments
See public filings for thousands of stock issuers
More education on stocks
Use stocks to add the opportunity for growth
Get started trading stocks
Individual bonds
As you consider yourbondpurchases, keep these questions in mind:
- Will you buy on theprimary marketor on thesecondary market?
- Will you buy Treasury bonds, corporate bonds, or some other type of bonds?
- Could you benefit from buying tax-exempt municipal bonds?
- Will you buy bonds that form aladder,barbells, or another strategy?
- Do you plan to sell your bonds, or hold them tomaturity?
- Are you concerned about the potential for bonds to be called early?
- What level ofriskare you willing to take with your bonds?
We have resources that can help you research individual bonds.
Search bonds offered through Vanguard
See information about upcoming Treasury auctions
See public filings for thousands of corporate bond issuers
Find information about specific municipal bond issues
More education on bonds
Get started trading bonds
See education on bonds from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA)
Saving for retirement or college?
See guidance that can help you make a plan, solidify your strategy, and choose your investments.
Start with your investing goals
Already know what you want?
From mutual funds and ETFs to stocks and bonds, find all the investments you're looking for, all in one place.
Find investment products