The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) components changed on August 31 necessitating an update of my “How the Stock Market Works and Role of CPAs Advising Clients” booklet to keep it current. This was originally a speech handout that I made it into a booklet that could be widely distributed.
This short booklet has the basic information needed to get started investing in the stock market. I suggest what to buy, not as an investment, but as a way to get started, why businesses need investors, the purpose of the stock market and why people buy stock and what stock ownership means. I compare various choices of investing, and ways to invest in stocks, important definitions and the revelation about investing that came to a 12-year-old John D. Rockefeller that provides the “secret” of investing. I also explain what CPAs do and provide samples of many questions clients have asked me to illustrate what CPAs do in this regard. I feel proud that I was able to condense such serious information into a concise program.
The update has a chart of the new DJIA and the weight of each of its components and compares the DJIA to the other major indexes – the S&P 500 and NASDAQ – showing the top ten components of each index and how much of each stock would be owned if equal investments were made in all three indexes. I also show the sector distribution of each index. Explained is the new method of investing by buying dollar amount portions of a stock rather than a full share; with no commissions, this becomes an excellent way to develop a modest but regular periodic investment program.
A significant change was the drop in the combined ownership of Apple shares when investments are made in each of the three indexes. The previous calculation was done on May 31 and the Apple ownership was 8.35 percent. Today, because of the Apple 4 for 1 split, you would own 6.97 percent of Apple. Actually the percentage pre-split would have been over 10 percent because of the great run up of Apple’s stock value in the last three months.
You can get a free PDF of the booklet by emailing me at [email protected]. Just say “Stock Market” as the subject; please no message at all. While this booklet has some pretty sophisticated information, it would be a perfect introduction to investing for anyone of any age, including young children.
If you have any business or financial issues you want to discuss please do not hesitate to contact me at [email protected].
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