Quick References

The material directly below can help you get a quick start. It includes a link to a free trading simulator, as well as some easy reading and useful websites for learning more about, and checking out, financial advisors.

If you feel more ambitious, check out some of the other reference materials listed on the Article Index.

• American Association of Retired Persons (AARP).
• Beginners' Guide to Investing. Online publications at the SEC.
• Better Investing Community (National Association of Investors Corporation) provides information on how to start an investment club.
• Bogle, John C. The Little Book of Common Sense Investing: The Only Way to Guarantee Your Fair Share of Stock Market Returns. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, 2007.
• Canadian Association of Retired Persons (CARP).
• The Corporate Social Responsibility Newswire (CSRwire). CSRwire promotes the growth of Corporate Social Responsibility and sustainability through solutions-based information and positive examples of corporate practices.
• Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) is dedicated to investor protection and market integrity through effective and efficient regulation and complementary compliance and technology-based services.
• FINRA BrokerCheck allows you to check a broker's background.
• Graham, Benjamin. The Intelligent Investor: the Definitive Book on Value Investing, Revised Edition. New York: HarperCollins, 2006.
  
• Malkiel, Burton G. A Random Walk Down Wall Street: The Time-Tested Strategy for Successful Investing, 9th ed. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2007.
• SEC Advisor Info. You can search for an investment advisor firm on the SEC website to find out whether any disciplinary action has been taken against the firm or its employees. If the investment advisor firm isn't listed with the SEC it should be listed with the relevant state or provincial regulator at NASAA.com. Larger advisory firms are required to register with the SEC, while smaller ones register with state regulators.
• Sorkin, Andrew Ross. Too Big To Fail: The inside story of how Wall Street and Washington fought to save the financial system—and themselves. New York: Viking, 2009.
• Wall Street Survivor.com provides free stock trading simulation software for the beginner.
• The World Federation of Investors Corporations (WFIC). WFIC’s mission is to encourage investment education, to promote and defend the rights of the individual investor and to promote the formation and development of successful national organizations for individual investors and investment clubs. Use this site to find national investing club representatives.
• Zweig, Jason. Your Money & Your Brain: How the New Science of Neuroeconomics Can Help Make You Rich. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2007.

PLEASE NOTE: These links and references are provided as a convenience for our readers. Their inclusion does not necessarily imply endorsement or recommendation on our part.

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