This document provides an overview of stocks and bonds for beginner investors. It defines what stocks and bonds are, describes different types of each, and highlights key factors to consider like risks, returns, and how to research companies. For stocks, it covers common and preferred shares, dividends, and growth vs. value investing. For bonds, it defines various types and bond yields. It aims to educate readers on the basics of picking stocks and bonds as well as the risks involved.

2. Disclaimer
• Andreas Rauterkus is not a registered
investment advisor or broker/dealer. Readers
are advised that the material contained herein
should be used solely for informational
purposes. Andreas Rauterkus does not purport
to tell or suggest which investment securities
attendants should buy or sell for themselves.
You should always conduct your own research
and due diligence and obtain professional
advice before making any investment decision.

3. Objectives
• What are stocks and bonds
• How to pick stocks and bonds
• What are the risks?

4. Stocks
• Stocks represent a partial ownership of a company
• Common stocks versus preferred stocks
– Common stock carries a voting right
– Preferred stock does not carry a voting right, but normally
receives a fixed dividend
– Preferred shareholders need to be paid before common
shareholders
• Stock price
– Amount paid for one share of stock
• Dividends
– Distribution of a company’s profit
– Generally paid quarterly

5. Different Kinds of Stocks
• Growth stocks
• Blue-chip stocks
• Income stocks
• Cyclical stocks
• Defensive stocks
• Value stocks
• Speculative stocks

6. What Do You Need to Know
• Have the right information and know how to interpret it
• Invest for growth and value
• Things to look at:
– Earnings per share
– Price-earnings ratio
– Dividend yield
– Book value
– Return on equity
– Debt equity ratio
– Price volatility

7. Where to Get Information
SOURCE WHAT’S IN IT AND WHERE TO GET IT
COMPANY’S ANNUAL Basic information about the company, including audited financial data for
REPORT the most recent year and summaries of prior years is available from brokers
and the investor relations office of the company.
FORM 10-K Extensive financial data, required to be filed annually with the Securities
and Exchange Commission. Includes two years‘ worth of detailed, audited
financial balance sheets, plus a five-year history of the stock price, earnings,
dividends and other data. You can view the forms online (www.sec.gov ) or
order copies by contacting the Public Reference Branch at: U.S. Securities
and Exchange Commission, 450 5th St., N.W., Room 1300, Washington,
DC 20549-0102; phone 202-551-8090;. email publicinfo@sec.gov.
ANALYSTS’ REPORT Commentaries by brokerage firms‘ research departments, containing varying
amounts of hard data to accompany the analysts‘ recommendations to buy,
sell or hold stocks followed by the firm. Available from brokers.
VALUE LINE A vast collection of data, including prices, earnings and dividends,
INVESTMENT stretching back many years, along with analysis and several unique features,
SURVEY such as a ―timeliness‖ rating for each stock. Follows approximately 1,700
stocks. Available from libraries, or from Value Line ($598 a year, 13-week
trial subscriptions are $75 for the print version; 800-634-3583;
www.valueline.com.)
STANDARD & POOR’S S&P Stock Reports offer a wealth of current and historical data covering the
three major exchanges (NYSE, AMEX and Nasdaq) in three volumes that
are updated every six weeks. The monthly S&P Stock Guide is a
compendium of similar data on more than 7,500 stocks, but with no
analysts‘ commentary. The guide provides most of the hard data you need to
check out a company. Available from libraries, brokers or by subscription
from S&P (55 Water Street, New York, NY 10041; 800-221-5277;
www.standardandpoors.com ).
MERGENT Mergent publishes eight Mergent‘s Manuals containing current and
PUBLICATIONS historical data on thousands of companies. The Handbook of Common
(formerly Moody’s Stocks covers approximately 900 stocks, and the Dividend Record keeps
Investors Service) track of current dividend payments of 30,000 U.S., Canadian and significant
global securities. The Dividend Achievers guide is widely used by
individual investors. Available from Mergent Inc. (Customer Care Center-
Consumer Accounts, 10475 Crosspoint Blvd., Indianapolis, IN 46256;
phone: 877-762-2974; fax: 800-597-3299; www.mergent.com ).
FINANCIAL The stock listings of the Wall Street Journal, Barron‘s and Investor‘s
NEWSPAPERS Business Daily contain current information on prices, dividends, yields and
price-earnings ratios, as do the stock listings of most daily newspapers.
What sets these three apart is the accompanying depth of coverage of the
investment markets. Available from libraries, at newsstands, online or by
subscription.
COMPUTER ONLINE America Online , CompuServe, MSN, Yahoo finance (finance.yahoo.com)
DATA BASES and other dot-com portals offer plenty of stock and investment information,
as do countless Internet sites, including www.kiplinger.com.

8. When To Sell Stocks
• Fundamentals change
• The dividend is cut
• You reach your target price
• Return on your stock investment
includes increases in the price and any
dividend payments

9. Avoid Common Mistakes
• Acting on tips
• Getting sentimental
• Forgetting taxes and commissions
• Failing to diversify
• Losing patience
• Buying a penny or microcap stock

10. Bonds
• A bond is basically a traded loan
• Bonds are debt securities that provide a predictable
stream of income
• Some interest income is tax exempt
• Bonds can have maturities of up to 30 years
• Face values typically range between $1,000 and
$5,000
• Bonds are traded “over-the-counter”

11. Types of Bonds
• Secured bonds
• Debentures
– Unsecured
• Zero-coupon bonds
• Corporate bonds
• Municipal bonds
• U.S. Treasury bonds
• Agency securities
• U.S. savings bonds
• Callable bonds
• Convertible bonds

12. Bond Yield
• The yield is the actual return on your bond
investment
• Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions
• Coupon yield
– Yield expressed as % of face value
• Current yield
– Yield expressed as % of current price
• Yield to maturity
– Yield if you hold the bond until maturity

13. Risks of Bond Investments
• Interest rate risk
– Impact of changes in market interest rates on the value of a
bond
• Default risk
• Bond ratings
S&P Moody’s What it Means
AAA Aaa The highest possible rating, indicating the agencies‘ highest degree of
confidencein the issuer‘s ability to pay interest and repay the principal.
AA Aa A very high rating, only marginally weaker than the highest.
A A High capacity to repay debt but slightly more vulnerability to adverse economic
developments.
BBB Baa The lowest investment-grade rating, indicating ―adequate capacity to pay
principal and interest but more vulnerability to adverse economic developments.
• Anything rated below BBB or Baa is considered
“junk”

14. How to minimize interest rate risk
• Don’t buy bonds when interest rates are low or
rising
• Avoid long term issues
• Acquire multiple maturities
• Bond mutual funds best choice for individual
investor

15. What Can Bond Do For You?
• Means to diversify your portfolio
• Relative safety of bonds
• Income component
• Large variety of bonds offers array of risk choices