While the exploits of investment gurus like Warren Buffet and James Cramer dominate the headlines, the stock market is still a solid investment vehicle for regular folks like you and me. It's the best place on earth to turn a bit of savings into a pile of money for retirement, college, a new home, or just a little luxury. Stocks Have the Highest Long-term Return Stocks of large companies have historically outperformed other investment vehicles, yielding an annual return of around 11 percent since 1926. In the most basic terms, stock is a certificate showing that you own a portion of a public company. You, along with millions of other investors, own a percentage of everything that the company owns.
Investors buy stock to participate in a corporation's future profitability.
The best way to earn profits from your favorite stocks is to arm yourself with knowledge. The better you understand stocks, the more likely you'll be to choose the right ones for you. So settle back in your chair and prepare yourself for a 30-minute guide to the stock market. As the pros will tell you, investing in the stock market is far from being an exact science, and the stock market's behavior doesn't necessarily conform to conventional wisdom. New Internet companies without profits can command stratospheric stock prices.