Understanding Stocks

by Michael Sincere

Understanding Stocks  is an entertaining, easy-to-read book about one of the most fascinating subjects in the world: the stock market.

You don't have to be a dummy, idiot, or fool to understand the market. You also don't have to be a genius. After reading this book, you'll realize that understanding stocks is not that hard. The hard part is making money, which you'll also learn how to do. 
Because the stock market is a brutal game that is often rigged in favor of the house, you need to know what you're up against when investing or trading. One of the goals of Understanding Stocks is to educate you how the markets operate so you can decide for yourself whether you want to participate. By the end of the book, you'll know the players, the rules, and the vocabulary.

Genres: Finance, Business, Nonfiction, Economics, Money, Self Help, Personal Finance

180 pages, Paperback

First published August 19, 2003

About the author

Michael Sincere (www.michaelsincere.com) is the author of a number of investment and trading books, including "Understanding Stocks 2E" (McGraw-Hill) and "Understanding Options 2E" (McGraw-Hill), each which sold over 100,000 copies each.

His two latest books are "Help Your Child Build Wealth" (Wiley) and "Mr. Sincere Teaches You How to Sell Covered Calls."

Sincere has written hundreds of columns and magazine articles on investing and trading, including a monthly column for MarketWatch, "The Long-Term Trader."

Reviews

[Michael Fox]

Great information in here not just for newbie traders. He gives you many valuable resources to help in researching companies for long term investments and short term strategies. It is also a great primer if you are completely new to indicators and technical trading off the charts. The only thing you will not read much about here is risk management, which I believe is a huge reason why most traders fail. Otherwise it is a solid book.

[Baqer Al-katab]

What I liked in this book is that it is really simple in the way it explains the basics of investing and trading in stock market and how it operates for the ones that have no idea what the stock market is all about. Whether you want to start in this field or just curious about this topic, I highly recommend it to you as the stock market is the backbone of the economy.

[Alican Buyukcakir]

An introduction level book for investors who don't know anything about the stock market. The advice Sincere gives is sound. Even if you don't want to start investing in the stock market, you can read this just to understand what is going on inside. The best bits of the book are (IMHO) the Q/As with John Bogle and William J. O'Neil.

[R MANOJ KUMAR SINGHVI]

The author has made a complex subject so simple to understand. A good read.

[Jason]

This is a good book I picked up at the library for reviewing basic fundamentals regarding stocks and the market. Remember how to calculate a P/E ratio and what it means? What about ROE, EPS, analysts upgrades and downgrades? Do you know how to read a stock chart? What is support and resistance?

However, this book turned out to be very interesting because it was published between the technology crash/recession of 2000 and the real estate bubble/banking crash/recession that hit in 2008. It was fascinating to note the mistakes which many made regarding the events in 2000 and how this book attempted to prevent others from making similar mistakes in the future. Now as a reader, once can look on this advice with the clear benefit of history regarding the events of 2008.

Read a book like this and reflect on the recent market recovery since March 2009. Even more interesting, think about the current bull market which started in the Fall of 2010 combined with ongoing daily concerns over state budgets and the unrest in North Africa and the Middle East.

Could rising oil prices and domestic uncertainty cause many to lose the paper gains they may have made since the Fall of 2010?

One might ask if it is time to sell, move to cash and wait for events to unfold.......

[Connor Sams]

I was gifted this book 10+ years ago by my grandfather, the man who sparked my interest in investing and the ability to make money with wise investments. And for 10+ years it sat in my bookcase as a bookend. At the wise age of 25, I finally took the time to sit with the idea of taking investing to the next step. Instead of sitting with a 401K and letting it grow, why not do the same with my own stock account. And so the research began, and this book was the perfect entry point into that. Not only is it easy to comprehend and read, but the references to other books and but so history allows you to take the next step yourself, and learn more on your own. By all means, this is not the only book that will carry me forward in my future endeavors, yet it’s a great start to a solid foundation. Can’t recommend enough, and be sure to take notes. Highly recommend for those seriously wanting to learn about the stock market.

[Peter Dunn]

A good introduction for a novice who wants to get into stock trading and investing. The author points to other references for a deeper understanding after reading this book.

[Asma Almalki]

الكتاب جدا ممتاز اذا كنت مبتديء في عالم الاسهم
مفصل جدا وشارح من بداية تاريخ الاسهم الى حتى كيف تفتح حساب خاص فيك للتداول على الانترنت
وشارح كل الطرق للبيع والشراء , والحيل اللي ممكن تمارس عليك, وكيف تفهم وتحلل سوق الاسهم بنفسك
ويعطيك مراجع من كتب ومواقع للانترنت كثيرة جدا
وأفضل شيء انه بيقدم نصائح شخصيه من خبرته وقصص وأمثله عشان يدعم المفاهيم
الشي السلبي الوحيد اللي ممكن أذكره انه موجه أكثر للمستثمرين وليس للمضاربين

[Tim]

I've wanted to get involved with stocks, but not blindly. I tried reading several books about the stock market, all of which were way too advanced for someone like me with a math background but zero experience in financial markets. I was easily able to follow this book. This is the book that professional financial advisers don't want you to read because it'll get you started on the right track for learning how to analyze the stock market on your own. Well done Mr. Sincere.

[Ziyad Qudsi]

A really nice book to read that gives you a good idea on the stock market and how to invest / trade in stocks.

I wish I read this book 3 or 4 years ago, when I wanted to know more about the stock market and have a better idea on it. I also love the the appendix that includes book recommendations as well as useful websites.

I would definitely recommend it to beginners.

[Mohamed Almatrooshi]

A must read beginner-friendly guide book about the stock market and different financial strategies & instruments for anyone interested in the world of investing/trading. including explanations and simple definitions with huge amount of knowledge needed to begin your journey to investing and/or (trading).

[Harith Alrashid]

كتاب جيد للمبتدئين ولكن المشكلة ان هناك ادوات استثمارية موجودة في السوق الامريكي ليست موجودة في اسواقنا مثل الخيارات وصناديق المؤشرات لكن في المجمل هو كتاب جيد مكتوب بلغة واشحة وامثلة شارحة حتى للممتعمقين في الاسهم سيجد في هذا الكتاب بعض الفوائد خاصة مايتعلق باستراتيجيات التداول

[Alaa Alhazmi]

Amazing and enlightening book.

Very easy to read and remains engaged. It encourages me to look up other books written by the author. I would definitely recommend reading this book for anyone considering joining the stock market.

[Omar]

The best stock market book for newbies

[Ahmad]

By far, one of the best books on the stock market with invaluable tips. Michael Sincere's is easy to read and I enjoyed his writing style.

[Saadaj90]

جميل للمبتدئين يوضح لك أهم الأمور في عالم الأسهم ويتطرق للصناديق أيضًا .. خفيف وواضح

[Muath Khan]

كتاب رائع جداً. علمني كثيراً عن الأسهم وأنا كنت شاب لا يعرف شئ عن الأسهم وجعلني أحب الأسهم بشدة

[Manhal Haroun]

كتاب بسيط و جميل لكل هاوي في مجال الأسهم و الاستثمار

[Jaan Liitmäe]

Pretty basic stuff, but probably there is a need to remind this from time to time

[Ahmed BenArfa]

Great book in understanding stocks in a simple way but with very high professionally , one of the best to beginners and an important to experienced One.

[Omar Taufik]

I would consider this book a very decent start for beginners and also very useful for inexperienced individuals in the field of stocks.
The author in simple language provides the basic knowledge needed to start by covering:
- General History of the Stock Market
- Main Stock Categories
- How to buy and sell along with Strategies
- Long Term Investment & Short Term Trading.
- Legendary Investors Interview Experience
- Tools for choosing your Stock / Analysis
- Briefing on other Investment Options
- Learning from Mistakes
- Resources for Help

The author wrote in an honest tone expressing his own views on the subjects according to his experiences which are definitely useful. He asks the reader to not follow everything he says but use this informative book as a basic foundation and build on it with further learning and experience.

Would like to thank the author for his honesty and for sharing his useful experience making it simple for many ..

[Fed]

Well.. Let me say that this is not the best book out there nor the author himself is.

I found it a good book to give a general comprehensive idea for absolute beginners, but his advices are not the best ones.
The beginner must know that there are different investment philosophies and thus he/she should be aware of the authors' preferences to be able to judge their advices and recommendations.

Besides I found it totall absurd to praise a speculator who have lost his money many times and end up killing himself, while on the other hand telling the reader that he/she is not Warren Buffett and he/she should not follow his steps!!

[Liquidlasagna]

Amazone

Worth the read!!
10

I enjoy how the book breaks down complicated concept to a level that is explainable to anyone. I don’t believe that by reading this book you’ll become an expert in the stock market. However, it is a good introduction in understanding how the market works.

I strongly recommend to use this book as a stepping stone in your journey of learning more about the stock market. There are plenty of book out there that that can teach you about investment, but without a solid foundation they might be a little hard to understand. Use this book to learn the basics, so the other books could be understood!

Irvin

[Tim]

Great book for beginners

Thinking of investing? This should be the first book you read! Sincere explains the concepts simply and provides plenty of examples to drill in the concepts.

[Sebastian]

This is a fantastic book as an intro to trading. The narrative flows as if you are meeting with a mentor and the subject structure is well placed. This is the third book I've read on this subject and the content was on par.

[Bryan Davenport]

Great information!

This book is very straight-forward and packed with very good information. It’s an easy read that will definitely give you information to build on with continued learning for the market.

I recommend!

[Nadia Fredj]

A must read book if you want to start in the stock market, I had no idea about trading before this book and it helped me start my path in the stocks plus other books and knowledge as well. Strongly recommend if you want to start trading

[Alaa Bahabri]

كتاب ممتاز للمبتدأين في الأسهم
يشرح فكرة الأسهم منذ البداية وتاريخها، ثم اتجاهات السوق،\
وأهم ما عليك كمبتدأ تعلمه

[Eric Tan]

Explanation is very clear cut, no fluff. This book is great if you absolutely have no idea about the stock market and are in need of advice on how to trade and the pitfall mistakes to look out for.

[Tung Do]

My first ever book about stocks. Glad that it was my first. So easy to understand.