High-Powered Investing All-in-One For Dummies®, 2nd Edition Published by: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774, www.wiley.com Copyright © 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey Published simultaneously in Canada No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without the prior written permission of the Publisher Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) 748-6011, fax (201) 748-6008, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions Trademarks: Wiley, For Dummies, the Dummies Man logo, Dummies.com, Making Everything Easier, and related trade dress are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc., and may not be used without written permission All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners John Wiley & Sons, Inc., is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book LIMIT OF LIABILITY/DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY: WHILE THE PUBLISHER AND AUTHOR HAVE USED THEIR BEST EFFORTS IN PREPARING THIS BOOK, THEY MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES WITH RESPECT TO THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF THE CONTENTS OF THIS BOOK AND SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIM ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE NO WARRANTY MAY BE CREATED OR EXTENDED BY SALES REPRESENTATIVES OR WRITTEN SALES MATERIALS THE ADVICE AND STRATEGIES CONTAINED HEREIN MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR YOUR SITUATION YOU SHOULD CONSULT WITH A PROFESSIONAL WHERE APPROPRIATE NEITHER THE PUBLISHER NOR THE AUTHOR SHALL BE LIABLE FOR DAMAGES ARISING HEREFROM For general information on our other products and services, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S at 877-762-2974, outside the U.S at 317-572-3993, or fax 317-5724002 For technical support, please visit www.wiley.com/techsupport Wiley publishes in a variety of print and electronic formats and by print-on-demand Some material included with standard print versions of this book may not be included in e-books or in print-on-demand If this book refers to media such as a CD or DVD that is not included in the version you purchased, you may download this material at http://booksupport.wiley.com For more information about Wiley products, visit www.wiley.com Library of Congress Control Number: 2013952424 ISBN 978-1-118-72467-4 (pbk); ISBN 978-1-118-75599-0 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-75613-3 (ebk) Manufactured in the United States of America 10 High-Powered Investing All-in-One For Dummies, 2nd Edition Visit www.dummies.com/cheatsheet/highpoweredinvestingaio to view this book's cheat sheet Table of Contents Introduction About This Book Foolish Assumptions Icons Used in This Book Beyond the Book Where to Go from Here Book I: Getting Started with High-Powered Investing Chapter 1: What Every Investor Should Know Taking a Glance at Investment Options and Strategies Surveying traditional investment vehicles Considering high-end investment or speculation vehicles Investigating investment strategies Managing Investment Risks Going for Brokers Distinguishing between full-service and discount brokers Picking among types of brokerage accounts Looking at Indexes and Exchanges Indexes: Tracking the market Exchanges: Securities marketplaces Chapter 2: Playing the Market: Stocks and Bonds Starting with Stock Basics Stocking Up Choosing growth stocks Investing for income Getting Your Bond Basics Maturity choices Investment-grade or junk bonds Individual bonds versus bond funds Various types of yield Total return — what matters most! Exploring Your Bond Options “Risk-free” investing: U.S Treasury bonds Industrial returns: Corporate bonds Lots of protection: Agency bonds (Almost) tax-free havens: Municipal bonds Chapter 3: Getting to Know Mutual Funds and ETFs Going Over Mutual Fund Basics Comparing open- and closed-end funds Meeting myriad types of mutual funds Loading up: Sales charges Being a savvy mutual fund investor The ABCs of ETFs Looking at the positives and negatives Getting in on the action Managing risk with ETFs Exploring ETF options Chapter 4: All about Annuities Introducing Annuities Looking at how annuities work Getting to know the participants Noting common elements of all (or most) annuities Deciding Whether an Annuity Is Right for You Evaluating the pluses Recognizing the minuses Checking Out the Main Types of Annuities Fixed deferred annuities Indexed annuities Variable annuities Income annuities Book II: Futures and Options Chapter 1: Futures and Options Fundamentals Getting the Lowdown on Futures Trading Getting used to going short Decoding a futures contract Futures exchanges: Where the magic happens Open-cry or electronic: Futures trading systems The individual players: Hedgers and speculators Choosing a futures broker Getting Up to Speed on Options Comparing call and put options Uncovering an option's value Calculating option risks Taking stock of the U.S options exchanges Creating option contracts Knowing a few important options trading rules Choosing an options broker Deciding Whether to Trade Futures or Options Chapter 2: Being a Savvy Futures and Options Trader Holding the Key: Interest Rates and the Money Supply Respecting the role of central banks Following the money supply Digesting Economic Reports The employment report The Consumer Price Index The Producer Price Index The purchasing managers’ reports Consumer confidence reports The Beige Book Housing starts The Index of Leading Economic Indicators Gross Domestic Product Oil supply data A bevy of other reports (Psycho)-Analyzing the Market Defining sentiment Watching call and put activity Using volatility to measure fear Adding Technical Analysis to Your Toolbox Chapter 3: Basic Trading Strategies Trading on Margin Looking at margin limits Mulling over the multiple meanings of “margin” Buying Calls Understanding reasons and getting some pointers for buying calls Calculating the break-even price for calls and puts Using delta to time call-buying decisions Following up after buying a call option Writing Calls Choosing to be naked or covered Doing your homework Protecting your trade by diversification Following up after writing a call Considering Basic Put Option Strategies Making the most of your put option buys Buying put options Selling naked and covered puts Exercising your put option Dealing with a huge profit in a put option Chapter 4: Advanced Speculation Strategies Thinking Like a Contrarian Picking apart popular sentiment surveys Looking at trading volume as a sentiment indicator Signaling a potential trend reversal: Open interest Combining volume and open interest Checking out put/call ratios as sentiment indicators Using soft sentiment signs Exploring Interest Rate Futures Bonding with the universe Going global with interest rate futures Yielding to the curve Deciding your time frame Sticking to sound interest rate trading rules Focusing on Stock Index Futures Looking into fair value Considering major stock index futures contracts Book III: Commodities Chapter 1: Getting an Overview of Commodities Defining Commodities and Their Investment Characteristics Gaining from inelasticity Offering a safe haven for investors Hedging against inflation Taking time to bring new sources online Moving in different cycles Checking Out What's on the Menu Energy Metals Agricultural products Putting Risk in Perspective Looking at the pitfalls of using leverage Assessing the real risks behind commodities Managing risk Chapter 2: Adding Commodities to Your Portfolio Checking Out Methods for Investing in Commodities Buying commodity futures Accessing commodity markets via funds Investing in commodity companies Making physical commodity purchases Owning a piece of an exchange Examining the Major Commodity Exchanges Exchanges in the United States A sampling of international exchanges Regulatory organizations for commodity exchanges Opening an Account and Placing Orders Choosing the right account Placing orders Chapter 3: The Power House: Making Money in Energy Investing in Crude Oil Facing the crude realities Making big bucks with big oil Trading Natural Gas Recognizing natural gas applications Investing in natural gas Bowing to Ol’ King Coal Considering coal reserves and production Investing in coal Looking at Other Energy Sources Embracing nuclear power Trading electricity Tapping into renewable energy sources Putting Your Money in Energy Companies Profiting from oil exploration and production Investing in refineries Chapter 4: Pedal to the Metal: Investing in Metals Going for the Gold Measuring and valuing gold Buying into the gold market Taking a Shine to Silver Assessing silver applications Getting a sliver of silver in your portfolio Putting Your Money in Platinum Poring over some platinum facts Going platinum Adding Some Steel to Your Portfolio Getting the steely facts Holding stock in steel companies Including Aluminum in Your Investments Considering aluminum companies Trading aluminum futures Seeing the Strengths of Copper Investing in copper companies Buying copper futures contracts Appreciating Palladium Keeping an Eye on Zinc Noting the Merits of Nickel Putting Stock in Diversified Mining Companies Chapter 5: Down on the Farm: Trading Agricultural Products Profiting from the Softs: Coffee, Cocoa, Sugar, and Orange Juice Feeling the buzz from coffee Heating up your portfolio with cocoa Being sweet on sugar Squeezing healthy profits from orange juice Trading Ags: Corn, Wheat, and Soybeans Fields of dreams: Corn The bread basket: Wheat Masters of versatility: Soybeans Making Money Trading Livestock Staking a claim on cattle Seeking fat profits on lean hogs Book IV: Foreign Currency Trading Chapter 1: Your Forex Need-to-Know Guide Getting a Quick Overview of Currency Trading Entering the interbank market Trading in the interbank market Looking at liquidity Meeting the key players: Hedgers, hedge funds, big-time investors, and you Checking Out Currency Pairs and Prices Introducing currency pairs Reading currency prices Around the World in a Trading Day Opening the trading week Trading in the Asia-Pacific session Trading in the European/London session Trading in the North American session The Mechanics of Currency Trading Grasping the long, short, and square of it Understanding rollovers Getting up close and personal with profit and loss Forces behind Forex Rates Currencies and interest rates Monetary policy Financial stability Debts, deficits, and growth Credit risk Geopolitical risks and events Chapter 2: Major and Minor Currency Pairs Banking on the Big Dollar: EUR/USD Trading fundamentals of EUR/USD Trading behavior of EUR/USD Exploring Where East Meets West: USD/JPY Trading fundamentals of USD/JPY Price action behavior of USD/JPY USD/JPY trading considerations Mixing It Up with the Other Majors: GBP/USD and USD/CHF The British pound: GBP/USD Safe haven or panic button: USD/CHF Price action behavior in GBP/USD and USD/CHF GBP/USD and USD/CHF trading considerations Trading the Minor Pairs: USD/CAD, AUD/USD, and NZD/USD Trading fundamentals of USD/CAD Trading fundamentals of AUD/USD Trading fundamentals of NZD/USD Trading considerations in USD/CAD, AUD/USD, and NZD/USD Chapter 3: Gathering and Interpreting Economic Data Making Sense of Economic Data Interpreting data with a basic model Assessing economic data reports from a trading perspective Market-Moving Economic Data Reports from the United States Labor-market reports Consumer-level data reports Business-level data reports Structural data reports Major International Data Reports Eurozone Japan United Kingdom Canada Australia and New Zealand China Chapter 4: Advice for Successful Forex Trading Finding a Trading Style That Suits You Step 1: Know thyself Step 2: Technical or fundamental analysis? Step 3: Pick a style, any style Developing Trading Discipline Taking the emotion out of trading Managing your expectations Balancing risk versus reward Keeping your ammunition dry Making Time for Market Analysis Performing multiple-time-frame technical analysis Looking for price channels Managing Your Trading Risk Analyzing trade setup to determine position size Putting the risk in cash terms Considering other opportunity risks Chapter 5: Putting Your Trading Plan in Action Getting into the Position Buying and selling at the current market Averaging into a position Trading breakouts Making the Trade Correctly Managing the Trade Monitoring the market Updating your trade plan over time Closing Out the Trade Taking profits Getting out when the price is right Getting out when the time is right Analyzing after the Trade Identifying what you did right and wrong Updating your trading record Book V: Hedge Funds Chapter 1: Getting the 411 on Hedge Funds Defining Hedge Funds Hedging: The heart of the hedge fund matter Characteristics of hedge funds Using pivot support and resistance You can use pivot support and resistance all by itself, and many day-traders In the case presented in Figure 5-3, upon seeing the inside day, you would set your stop-loss order at the first pivot support level Anticipating a bounce, you can also place a buy order at the second support level with an accompanying sell order at either of the two resistance levels If you're using the standard error channel for directional guidance, the breakout of the channel means you're at a loose end You can't construct a new channel based on the linear regression because you simply don't have enough data The pivot-based support and resistance channel suffices to define the likely trading range until it is, in turn, broken You leave the pivot-based horizontal support and resistance zones in place until you get a new swing bar that is substantially higher or lower than your pivot support and resistance zones Notice that on the chart in Figure 5-3, you get a matching high to the pivot bar In fact, it's a few pennies higher But it doesn't set your hair on fire, and right afterwards, the price subsides back into the support and resistance zone What's important about the pivot-based support and resistance lines is that they effectively outline a period of activity where traders don't know the trend Bulls try to make a new high and get only a few pennies’ worth Bears try to make a new low but fail to get a close under the second support line (S2) Then the price convincingly breaks below the second support line Almost the whole bar is below the line This is a breakout of the pivot channel and usually a sign that you can now go back and start a new directional channel, either hand-drawn support and resistance or a standard error channel In Figure 5-3, a new standard error channel is started; notice that it's drawn from the highest high, not from the breakout point At this time, you can discard the pivot channel — or you can leave the support line on the chart Note that old support often becomes new resistance Digging into Dynamic Lines and Channels Straight-line channels are widely used, but the real workhorse of technical analysis is the moving average and the bands and envelopes built off the moving average Here's the rule: When a channel is based on straight lines, it's called a channel When its raw material is a moving average, it's named a band or envelope Everyone in securities analysis and trading uses the moving average, whether they consider themselves technical analysts or not One of the most often used indicators, the Bollinger band, is based on a moving average A high proportion of other indicators build on or employ moving averages in some way, including some very fancy ones You know what a moving average is: You add up ten daily closing prices The next day, you drop off the first day's price and add today's to keep the total number of prices at ten A moving average cuts out the “noise” of the occasional aberrant number Traders like specific numbers of days in their moving averages because they represent units of time — days is a trading week, 20 days is a trading month, and so on You've probably heard of the 100-day and 200-day moving averages as benchmarks meaning long-term The following sections describe three types of moving averages: single, double, and weighted Single moving average A standard trading rule says: Buy when the price today breaks out above the x-day moving average and sell when it falls (breaks out) below the x-day moving average What is x? It may be one of the standards (5, 10, 20, 50 days) or it may be a number that you figure out for yourself by performing back-tests on historical data of your security to see what would have worked the best over a long period of time Securities prices can go through strong rallies when a short-term moving average like 10 days would work the best and then periods of sideways congestion when a longer moving average would be more appropriate — or wouldn't work at all to generate gains Instead you'd be told to get in and get out for a series of whipsaw losses The problem is that you don't know ahead of time whether your security will perform according to its historic norm In addition, one size does not fit all The best number of days to use for Apple stock is not the same as the best number of days for IBM, or the Swiss franc, or soybeans Double moving average If a single moving average gives you a trading edge, how about two? Sure enough, if you combine a shorter moving average with a longer one and trade when the shorter one crosses the longer one, you get more reliable trades than using a single moving average alone “Reliable” means you avoid jittery whipsaw losses during a sideways congestive market A standard trading rule is to buy when the 10-day moving average breaks out above the 20-day and to sell when it falls below the 20-day All moving averages lag the price action In fact, all indicators lag the price action because they're based on past data But moving averages are the most lagging of the top indicators, and the more days you put in them, the more lagging they will be If you're hot to trot, moving averages can be annoying If you're ultra-conservative and hate false signals that reverse quickly for whipsaw losses, moving averages are for you Weighted moving average You can alter a moving average by the method of calculation A simple moving average gives equal weight to each day's price But you can weight more recent prices more heavily using something called a weighted moving average, or weight more recent prices even more by using an exponential moving average Most technical traders prefer the exponential moving average See Figure 5-4, which shows the 10-day and 20-day moving average superimposed on the linear regression channel The arrow marks the crossover point where this system would have you sell Clearly, the straight-line channel did a better job in this case of warning you to exit But if you're ultra-conservative and want to be certain the breakout is authentic, the moving average crossover is confirmation Illustration by Wiley, Composition Services Graphics Figure 5-4: Moving average crossover Understanding Volatility Volatility is a tricky subject In the context of measuring security prices for trendedness, volatility refers to the degree of variability away from some central norm, like a moving average To illustrate: Say you follow a stock that is on a rising trend and it has tended to move up by an average of 50 cents per day over the past 100 days, even including the days on which it lost The average high-low range is $3.00 Now fresh news about the market or the company has emerged, and the price change from day to day tends to be triple the usual number, or $1.50 In addition, the average high-low range is widening to $6.00 This is an increase in variability, or volatility The opposite is true, too — if the average daily change sinks to 10 cents and the average high-low range contracts to $1.00, volatility is much lower Higher volatility offers profit opportunities (as well as opportunities to suffer a loss) and low volatility reduces opportunities — but low volatility often precedes a breakout, too Here are three other possibilities for forming a band: You could make a moving average of the highs and of the lows and form a band You could calculate the daily high-low range, average that, and add a fudge factor to the central number to form a band You could use the average true range band, based on the work of J Welles Wilder, that adds a fraction or a multiple of the average true range to a central moving average to get the outer limits of what is likely to happen in the price series The Bollinger band, named after its inventor, John Bollinger, is probably the most widely used of the dynamic line bands The Bollinger band starts out with a simple 20-day moving average, and the bands are formed on either side of it by adding and subtracting double the standard deviation from the moving average The standard deviation measures the variability or volatility of the prices in the 20-day sample, so a wide band means lots of volatility, and a narrow one means little volatility Notice in Figure 5-5 that as the price rise accelerates, the bands widen, meaning volatility is high You expect prices to remain within the band and to rise and fall from the top band to the bottom and back again You don't expect a breakout because that would be seriously abnormal behavior You expect that, after pressuring the top or bottom of a channel, the price will cycle to the midpoint (named reversion to the mean) or to the other side Illustration by Wiley, Composition Services Graphics Figure 5-5: Bollinger bands A Bollinger band doesn't give you a specific buy/sell signal (except in the case of the rare breakout), but the widening of the bands mean higher volatility and higher volatility means higher risk of loss Conversely, contracting bands (lower volatility) implies a pending breakout The bands don't tell you which way, and for that you need to consult other indicators or the fundamentals Notice that the price on Figure 5-5 is at the historic low, but the Bollinger band crosses the horizontal line Does this mean the price will break it, too? Probably Many other bands and envelopes have been developed over the years, including a fancy Japanese version named ichimoku kinko hyo, which looks like a cloud and also offers estimates of support and resistance You don't need to understand standard deviation or standard error beyond grasping that they are measures of variability away from a norm You certainly don't need to calculate them yourself — let software it for you, either your own or that which is offered on the many websites that show charts and indicators Gauging Momentum Momentum refers to the speed at which prices are changing, or the rate of change Simple momentum tends to be somewhat underrated because it offers nuance about a move rather than a black-and-white buy/sell signal Complex momentum uses more arithmetical manipulation and can be used to generate buy/sell signals Simple momentum To understand simple momentum, consider that in a rally, the average price change each day is more than the day before You can measure this bullish sentiment by taking today's closing price and dividing it by the closing price (say) ten days ago to get a simple momentum indicator There are several different ways of calculating momentum, but they all compare today's price to a price several periods back When the simple momentum indicator is rising, it means prices in recent days are higher than before — accelerating The trend has strong momentum, and it's therefore safe to consider your trend identification to be correct When the simple momentum indicator is falling, today's prices are decelerating If the momentum indicator is a negative, it means prices must be lower than before The move has lost momentum, and the trend is weaker, possibly signaling a trend reversal Figure 5-6 shows the addition of a simple momentum line Notice that it lags the straight-line breakout by a few days but it signals you to sell earlier than the moving average crossover Momentum is useful for confirming or modifying your trend identification rather than as a stand-alone indicator on which to base trading decisions The rate of change of prices reflects market sentiment toward the security, and thus momentum can be a handy early warning system Complex momentum indicators Following are some complex indicators to be familiar with: Relative strength indicator (RSI): You can find several variations of the RSI, but the core concept is to take prices from the days on which the price moves up from the open and compare them to the prices on the days the price moved down, over a fixed period, like 21 days The original concept comes from J Welles Wilder The RSI indicator gets rid of the problem of the simple momentum indicator of comparing today's price to a single price x number of days ago when that particular day may have been wild and aberrant The RSI is, therefore, a smoother-looking indicator on a chart RSI is converted into an index so that it fluctuates between and 100 Prices hardly ever go as far as or 100, so when the RSI indicator is nearing those extremes, you may deduce that the security is becoming overbought or oversold (see Chapter in Book X for details on the terms overbought and oversold) Illustration by Wiley, Composition Services Graphics Figure 5-6: Adding momentum Moving average convergence-divergence (MACD): Devised by Gerald Appel, MACD is a refinement of the moving average crossover decision tool mentioned in the earlier section “Double moving average” and contains a big dose of momentum It takes a little thought to wrap your mind around how it's calculated: Take the difference between a longer-term moving average (26 days is recommended) and a shorter-term one (such as 12 days) Plot that difference on the chart Think about it — if prices were lower 26 days ago, and you subtract them from prices 12 days ago, you'll get a rising line Take a 9-day moving average of the difference and plot that, too This becomes your signal line When the 9-day signal line converges to the 26-12 difference line and crosses it, you have rising momentum and a buy signal Similarly, when the 9-day diverges from the difference line, momentum is being lost MACD is one of the most consistent and reliable of indicators, but only when prices are trending When prices are consolidative and moving sideways, momentum is lacking MACD will generate false buy/sell signals just like any indicator based on moving averages Putting Lines and Indicators Together Every trader has his own favorite indicators Many invent their own indicators What indicators you prefer is a direct function of how much risk you're willing to take that your trend analysis is correct If you're convinced your security is on a long-lasting uptrend, you are unwilling to heed indicators that are giving warnings of a pause or a reversal After all, the reversal could be a false breakout or a temporary pullback If you're a more active trader and not averse to exiting to book gains only to reenter in the same direction after a pause or a pullback, you'll like the zippier indicators, like RSI or MACD (see the preceding section) They give buy/sell signals tighter to the price action Grasping how MACD melds direction and momentum takes a little practice, but persistence pays off Take a look at Figure 5-7 On this chart, you see that MACD comes the closest to the support line breakout in generating the sell signal It's closer than simple momentum, which is closer than the moving average crossover This is tremendously valuable because even a linear regression channel entails some subjective judgment (specifically, your starting point), whereas the MACD and other math-based indicators are calculated by their own internal formulas and objective You use technical indicators to fight back against preconceived ideas about the value of a security and against your own emotions In the case presented here, no matter how much you believe or wish that this security will continue rising, it becomes increasingly clear as you add indicators that you really, truly need to exit in order to avoid losing your entire stake, assuming you entered at the low on the left-hand side of the chart Even the Bollinger band in Figure 5-5 screams a warning as it widens out In the end, avoiding losses is just as important as selecting high-value securities in the first place If the technical mind-set confers one gift, it's that selling is a good thing when the chart dictates it If you love your security, you can always buy it back later at a lower price Prices fall back for many reasons, including overall market conditions and temporary corrections, that are not a disgrace of your security's reputation In a way, using technicals to add systematically to your portfolio is a form of price-averaging — smart price-averaging Illustration by Wiley, Composition Services Graphics Figure 5-7: MACD About the Authors Jason W Best, co-founder and principal of Crowdfund Capital Advisors (CCA), co-authored the crowdfund investing framework used in the JOBS Act and was a leader in the U.S fight to legalize debt- and equity-based crowdfunding CCA is an advisory firm to investors, governments, and development organizations on early-stage finance issues His prior experience has been in leadership roles in successful web-based healthcare businesses Jason is an Entrepreneur in Residence at the Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology at UC Berkeley, and is an author of Crowdfund Investing For Dummies Amine Bouchentouf is a partner at Commodities Investors, LLC (CI), an international financial advisory firm headquartered in New York City A world-renowned market commentator, Amine has appeared in media in the United States, Great Britain, France, the United Arab Emirates, and Brazil He is a member of the National Association of Securities Dealers and the Authors Guild and is also involved with the Council on Foreign Relations He’s the author of Commodities For Dummies, 2nd Edition Zak Cassady-Dorion is currently the CEO and co-founder of Pure Mountain Olive Oil, LLC, a chain of olive oil and balsamic vinegar tasting shops in the Northeast United States He is also a co-founder of Startup Exemption, where he led the effort to legalize debt- and equity-based crowdfunding He co-authored the crowdfund investing framework that was used in the JOBS Act to legalize equity- and debt-based crowdfunding in the United States and is a partner of Crowdfund Capital Advisors (CCA) Zak speaks regularly across North America about crowdfunding to entrepreneurial groups and universities; he’s an author of Crowdfund Investing For Dummies Brian Dolan is the author of Currency Trading For Dummies, 2nd Edition, and a career veteran of the foreign exchange market He has more than 20 years of experience as both a trader and a strategist at leading global banks, including Dai-Ichi Kangyo, Credit Suisse, and Julius Baer Most recently, Brian was the Chief Currency Strategist at Gain Capital/FOREX.com from 2003–2012, where he was a frequent commentator on CNBC, Bloomberg TV, and BNN (Canada), as well as a regular source for Reuters, DJ/WSJ, MarketWatch, and numerous other financial media Brian is currently the head of global market education at Market Trader Academy Joe Duarte, MD, is a widely read market analyst, writer, and active trader He is the author of Successful Energy Sector Investing, Successful Biotech Investing, and Trading Futures For Dummies, and is a coauthor of After-Hours Trading Made Easy His daily “Market IQ” columns appear at www.joe-duarte.com and are syndicated worldwide by FinancialWire Janet Haley is a securities industry professional and has a bachelor’s degree in international business and political science from Marymount College She’s the coauthor of Value Investing For Dummies, 2nd Edition Faleel Jamaldeen, DBA, is the founder and editor of the Islamic Finance Expert website (ifinanceexpert.wordpress.com/) and an assistant professor of Islamic finance and conventional finance at the College of Business, Effat University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia He has published multiple journal and newspaper articles on the subject of Islamic finance and has presented papers at international forums Dr Jamaldeen has a Doctor of Business Administration degree from the California University of Business and Technology His research interests include Islamic finance, Islamic accounting, and Islamic financial engineering He’s the author of Islamic Finance For Dummies Ann C Logue, MBA, has more than a dozen years of experience working in financial services and has taught business administration at the University of Illinois She is a finance writer who has written numerous articles on investment and has edited publications on equity trading and risk management She is the author of Day Trading For Dummies, 2nd Edition; Hedge Funds For Dummies; Socially Responsible Investing For Dummies (2010 Green Book Festival Award Winner); and Emerging Markets For Dummies Paul Mladjenovic is a national seminar leader and author of Stock Investing For Dummies, 4th Edition; Micro-Entrepreneurship For Dummies; Precious Metals Investing For Dummies; and Zero-Cost Marketing His educational programs on investing and home business start-up and his free newsletter, the Prosperity Alert, can be found at www.RavingCapitalist.com Sherwood Neiss is a successful entrepreneur who returned 37.8 times what his investors put into the company he co-founded by focusing on cash and customers He co-wrote the framework for Title III, the crowdfunding portion of the JOBS Act; speaks about crowdfunding globally; and consults with the World Bank He’s an author of Crowdfund Investing For Dummies Optionetics has provided investment education services and trading tools to customers from more than 50 countries, helping traders navigate the markets and chart paths to financial security The company provides a practical, balanced approach to trading profitability and has a diverse range of educational offerings including seminars, publications, workshops, and study materials Kerry Pechter, the author of Annuities For Dummies, is the editor and publisher of Retirement Income Journal and RIJAdvisor, two online magazines for and about the retirement industry He is a graduate of Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio Barbara Rockefeller is the author of How to Invest Internationally, published in Japanese in 1999, CNBC 24/7, Trading Around the Clock, Around the World, and The Global Trader She also writes a monthly column for Currency Trader Magazine She’s the publisher of The Strategic Currency Briefing, a daily newsletter on the foreign exchange market that combines technical and fundamental observations Barbara has a B.A in economics from Reed College in Portland, Oregon, and an M.A in international affairs from Columbia University She’s the author of Technical Analysis For Dummies, 2nd Edition Peter J Sander, MBA, is a professional author, researcher, and investor whose 15 personal finance and location reference book titles include The 250 Personal Finance Questions Everybody Should Ask, Everything Personal Finance, and the Frommer’s Cities Ranked & Rated series He has developed more than 150 columns for MarketWatch and TheStreet.com His education includes an MBA from Indiana University, he has completed Certified Financial Planner (CFP) education and testing requirements, and his experience includes 20 years as a marketing program manager for a Fortune 50 technology firm and more than 40 years of active investing He’s the coauthor of Value Investing For Dummies, 2nd Edition Russell Wild, MBA, is the author or coauthor of nearly two dozen non-fiction books, including Bond Investing For Dummies, 2nd Edition; Exchange-Traded Funds For Dummies, 2nd Edition; and Index Investing For Dummies He has contributed to many national magazines and currently writes a regular column on personal finance for The Saturday Evening Post Wild is also a NAPFA-registered, fee-only investment advisor based in Allentown, Pennsylvania Publisher’s Acknowledgments Senior Acquisitions Editor: Tracy Boggier Compilation Editor: Tracy L Barr Senior Project Editor: Georgette Beatty Copy Editor: Christine Pingleton Technical Editor: Juli Erhart-Graves Senior Project Coordinator: Kristie Rees Cover Image: ©iStockphoto.com/Danil Melekhin To access the cheat sheet specifically for this book, go to www.dummies.com/cheatsheet/highpoweredinvestingaio Find out ”HOW” at Dummies.com Take Dummies with you everywhere you go! Go to our Website Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Watch us on YouTube Join us on LinkedIn Pin us on Pinterest Circle us on google+ Subscribe to our newsletter Create your own Dummies book cover Shop Online ... or high- end investing options aren't an ideal fit (or a good option) for everyone, and High- Powered Investing All- in- One For Dummies, 2nd Edition, was written with a particular reader in mind... beginning your foray into more advanced investing, however, you may want to begin with Book I, which contains basic information Book I Getting Started with High- Powered Investing Visit www .dummies. com... 978-1-118-75613-3 (ebk) Manufactured in the United States of America 10 High- Powered Investing All- in- One For Dummies, 2nd Edition Visit www .dummies. com/cheatsheet/highpoweredinvestingaio to view this book's