TradeWize · Blog
Investing, explained in plain English.
Everything you need to understand investing and keep up with the markets.
What Is an Index Fund? (And Why Everyone Says to Buy One)
The most repeated advice in investing, finally explained: what you're actually buying, why 'average' wins, and how to pick one in about five minutes.
Read the article →What Is Technical Analysis? How Traders Read Price
Two people look at the same stock: one reads the company, the other reads the crowd. Here's what technical analysis actually is — and whether reading charts holds up.
Read the article →What Is a Candlestick Chart? How to Read One
Every trading screen in every finance movie is covered in little green and red rectangles. Here's what they actually say — and why the design is older than the lightbulb.
Read the article →Types of Bonds, Explained: From Government Debt to Junk
A bond is a loan where you're the lender. But lend to a rock-solid government and you get one thing; lend to a shaky company and you get quite another. Here's the whole ladder, from safest to junk.
Read the article →What Is the Ex-Date? The Cut-Off That Decides Who Gets Paid
One date decides who collects the next dividend — and the next rights issue, split and spin-off too. Own the shares before it and it's yours; a day late and the seller keeps it. Here's the rule, and why it works that way.
Read the article →What Is a Mutual Fund? (And How It Actually Works)
Pool your money with thousands of strangers, hand it to a professional, and own a slice of hundreds of companies at once. Here's how that works — and the fees worth watching.
Read the article →VOO vs VTI vs SPY vs QQQ: The 7 Most Popular ETFs, Compared
Seven tickers cover the vast majority of ETF money. Here's what each one actually holds, what it costs, and which job it's built for — in one scannable comparison.
Read the article →Types of ETFs, Explained: What's Inside Them and How Risky They Are
"ETF" tells you the wrapper, not the contents. Inside, they range from a calm, ultra-diversified bond fund to a leveraged product that can quietly bleed you dry. Here's the whole shelf.
Read the article →The 60/40 Portfolio: The Classic Mix, Explained
60% stocks, 40% bonds, rebalanced once a year. It's the original balanced fund, the default of pension plans everywhere — and the subject of more premature obituaries than almost any idea in finance.
Read the article →Corporate Actions Explained: Splits, Dividends, Buybacks and the Events That Quietly Change What You Own
One morning you own 100 shares; the next you own 200, and no, you didn't get richer overnight. Here's the full menu of corporate actions — what each one does to your holding, and the handful that actually need you to do something.
Read the article →Active vs Passive ETFs: Is a Stock-Picker Worth the Extra Fee?
One pays a manager to beat the market; the other quietly tracks it for almost nothing. Here's what the extra fee buys you — and how often it actually pays off.
Read the article →What Is a P/E Ratio? How to Tell If a Stock Is Expensive
The P/E ratio is a price tag in years — how many years of today's profit you're paying for. Here's how to read it without getting fooled.
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