Are you interested in owning part of a business? Perhaps the stock market is the place for you. Before you invest your life savings, you should do some serious research on investing in the stock market. You will find the pertinent information in this article.

Always look into free resources for investments rather than a broker who is motivated by commissions. When you have done the proper research into a company’s background, you are less likely to become the victim of investment fraud.

When you are investing your money into the stock market, keep it simple. Your philosophy of investing should be easy to understand. The stocks you pick should be things you understand. Do not take on undue risk, much like you avoid blowing your whole paycheck on lottery tickets. Keep things simple.

Before investing in the stock market, learn how to invest. Before plunking down real money, you can avoid some of the common beginner mistakes by watching the market for a while. Three years of watching will give you all the knowledge you need. This will give you a good idea of how the market is working and increase your chances of making wise investments.

Exercise your voting rights for any common stocks that you own. Depending on the company charter, you might get voting ability when it comes down to electing board members or directors. Voting normally happens during a company’s shareholder meeting or by mail through proxy voting.

Try to spread out your investments. Investing in a single type of stock is very dangerous. If you only invest in one company and it loses value or goes bankrupt, you stand a chance of losing everything.

Put at least six months worth of living expenses away in a high interest account in case something happens to your job. Then if a sudden emergency happens, like an extended period of unemployment, or a medical emergency, you have enough cash to carry you through the rough patch. Do not sacrifice your security by having this cushion tied up in investments you cannot access quickly.

When you decide upon a stock to invest in, only invest five to ten percent of your total capital fund into that one choice. By doing this, you can really minimize your risk, should the stock experience serious decline in the future.

Now that you are better informed, is stock market investing still alluring? If the answer is yes, then let’s get started! Keep the advice of this article in mind and before you know it, you’ll be trading stocks like a pro, knowing all the while how to protect your investments and make sound, profitable decisions.

There are tremendous opportunities for small businesses and social entrepreneurs to support their communities through community foundations, donor advised funds and other means of giving back. Find the neighborhoods in Santa Clara County where you can make the most impact on civic engagement in the community.