Personal Finance

As online trading platforms grow and expand access to investing, many people are turning to online services for their investing needs. These platforms allow users to enter buy or sell orders on a mobile device or computer rather than speaking directly with a representative at a brokerage firm. While this might sound straightforward, common misconceptions persist.

If you’re considering online trading, make sure you research the firm and understand the process before you invest. Here are answers to some common questions to get you started.

Borrowing against your home might make sense in certain situations, such as to finance home improvements, but using your home’s equity to invest is always risky and could jeopardize your financial stability. And the potentially high value of these loans can also make home equity a prime target for scammers. FINRA has seen an increase in reporting of fraudulent schemes involving home loans taken out for investment purposes.

Here are some things to know if you’re considering using your home’s equity to invest.

Borrowing against your home might make sense in certain situations, such as to finance home improvements, but using your home’s equity to invest is always risky and could jeopardize your financial stability. And the potentially high value of these loans can also make home equity a prime target for scammers. FINRA has seen an increase in reporting of fraudulent schemes involving home loans taken out for investment purposes.

Here are some things to know if you’re considering using your home’s equity to invest.

Investing isn’t a one-size-fits-all endeavor. You can choose the types of investments you want to hold and how you’d like to manage your portfolio. One significant decision you’ll need to make is whether you want to follow an active or a passive investment strategy.

Some investors have a “set it and forget it” view, intending to let their investments grow until they need to access the money. But if you leave assets untouched and have no contact with the financial institutions holding your accounts for too long, they might be labeled as “dormant,” in which case they must be turned over to the state as abandoned or unclaimed property. While there are mechanisms in place to help you recover these assets, there are also preemptive steps you can take to help you avoid this situation.

You probably wouldn’t make a major purchase without first reading product reviews, comparing an item to its competitors or assessing its features, performance, pricing and overall value to meet your needs. A similar approach can be followed before investing. Gathering the information necessary to make an informed decision about an investment is a process commonly known as due diligence.

When you buy a bond, you’re loaning money to the bond’s issuer—which could be a corporation, a local municipality, a government agency or the federal government—with the intention of receiving back your initial investment and, in most cases, interest. But not all bonds are created equal.

Pump-and-dump stock scams are nothing new. These scams have been a mainstay of financial fraudsters for centuries. And while technology has changed the way they operate, the underlying principles and motivations of these unlawful practices remain the same.

Reading, writing, arithmetic … and finance? Teaching kids about financial concepts and prudent decision-making can help them become financially proficient adults and deserves a spot alongside early learning basics. Here are four tips to help build a foundation for financial fluency.

1. Talk About Money

Beginning discussions about money, budgeting and saving when kids are young helps to normalize the conversation.

Digital integration is a key component of modern society, with investors increasingly using mobile devices to access financial accounts and online applications allowing for investments to be made quickly from anywhere with phone service or Wi-Fi. However, with this convenience comes risk—scammers understand this reliance and continue to exploit it to steal data and wealth from investors.