Author: Kiril Nikolaev, CFA

About: Kiril Nikolaev

Kiril Nikolaev is the founder and main writer of InvestorAcademy.org.   Mr. Nikolaev's educational background is in finance and he's a CFA Charterholder. He has worked as a financial analyst for BMO Financial Group, which is one of the largest banks in Canada. He's also worked at Mitre Media where he was responsible for content strategy and product management for a few of their properties, including ETFdb.com, MutualFunds.com, Dividend.com, and a few others. Some other financial writing work can be found on CCN.com, Earn2Trade.com and many other websites. His passion is in investment finance and he loves to spread awareness of finance and analysis, so that anyone can become an investor. Hire Kiril on Upwork, or find him on LinkedIn.

    Stock Options at Startups

    When it comes to building wealth and securing a stable financial future, understanding stock options at startups is a vital piece of the puzzle. Just like a key that unlocks hidden treasure, stock options can offer tremendous opportunities for growth and financial success. So, what exactly are stock options, and why should you care? Stock […]

    | July 2nd, 2023 | Middle School
    Man standing in front of a discovery

    How and When to Exercise Stock Options

    Let’s talk about a topic that might seem a bit intimidating at first glance, but is actually a fantastic tool for growing your wealth and securing your financial future. We’re talking about stock options, specifically, how to exercise stock options. Think of stock options like a secret door in a video game. Many players might […]

    | June 25th, 2023 | Middle School
    Target price

    What is the Stock Options Strike Price?

    Imagine standing in a bustling marketplace, surrounded by stalls offering juicy apples at various prices. You have a specific type of apple in mind that you want to buy, but you also have a price in your head that you’re willing to pay. How does this relate to stock options strike price you might ask? […]

    | June 11th, 2023 | Middle School
    Technical analysis

    Top 10 Technical Analysis Indicators for Trading and Investing

    There are many different indicators that can be used in technical analysis, and different traders may have different preferences for which ones they use. Any modern software has all of these available at the click of a button. You don’t necessarily need to know how to calculate each technical analysis indicator, but you should know […]

    | May 23rd, 2023 | Middle School
    Laptop with chart

    Stock Options: Everything You Need to Know

    Investing in the stock market can seem like a daunting task, filled with complex jargon and financial intricacies. But fear not! In this beginner’s guide, we will demystify a powerful investment concept called stock options. Think of stock options as your secret weapon in the financial world, giving you the ability to unlock new opportunities […]

    | May 19th, 2023 | Middle School
    Computer screen with a stock chart

    Top 5 Ways to Invest in Hedge Funds

    We talked about the different hedge fund strategies that exist in the previous article. Now let’s dive into how you can actually gain exposure to these strategies. Here are the top five ways to invest in hedge funds: 1. Direct Investment in a Hedge Fund Direct investment: You can invest in a specific hedge fund […]

    | January 11th, 2023 | Middle School
    hedge fund manager staring at a screen

    Top 5 Proven Hedge Fund Strategies for Maximum Returns

    You may have heard about hedge funds but aren’t quite sure what they are or how they work. Simply put, hedge funds are investment vehicles that use a variety of strategies to generate returns and manage risk. In this article, we’ll cover the top 5 hedge fund strategies, including long/short equity, event-driven, global macro, relative […]

    | January 10th, 2023 | Middle School

    Fundamental Analysis: 4 Most Important Financial Statements

    Fundamental analysis is the process of studying the financial and economic health of a security or a company in order to make informed investment decision making. This involves an in-depth and thorough examination of the accounting books and interpreting the results. This involves looking at and analyzing the financial statements of a company. Financial statements […]

    | July 15th, 2019 | Elementary

    Top 10 Fundamental Analysis Indicators for All Investors

    The maxim “knowledge is power” applies to just about every facet of everyday life, but even more so when it comes to investing in the financial markets. In today’s online, computer-driven investing world, knowing the right information is often the difference between being an investor in the driver’s seat of your investments and a helpless […]

    | July 9th, 2019 | Elementary

    How to Read a Stock Quote

    Investors and traders consider various details about a stock before they buy it. In this article, we will discuss the different terms often seen in stock quotes so you learn the basics of how to buy stocks. For this article, we’ll use Yahoo! Finance for all the major stock quote data. Other sites and resources […]

    | June 19th, 2019 | Kindergarten

    6 Best Ways of Investing in Real Estate

    Real estate is one of the best asset classes to invest in. Financial advisors and portfolio managers won’t tell you this because they don’t earn percentage fees when you invest in real estate unless you are buying a real estate investment trust (REIT) fund, mutual fund, or ETF. Obviously, if you speak to mortgage brokers […]

    | June 11th, 2019 | Middle School

    Intro to Forex Trading for Beginners

    Foreign exchange (forex) is where investors and traders buy and sell currencies to try and make a profit. To maximize their earnings in forex trading, traders buy currencies for as low a price as possible and then sell for higher prices. Essentially, when you bet on a currency to go up, you’re also betting on […]

    | June 10th, 2019 | Middle School

    Top 3 Pros and Cons of Having an Investment Adviser

    Children with verbal developmental delays need speech therapists so they can improve their communication skills. Athletes need coaches to enhance their strategies in their chosen sport. Professional singers reached their success not on talent alone, but also with mentoring from voice instructors. One doesn’t become an established baker overnight, sometimes he or she needs training […]

    | May 25th, 2016 | Kindergarten

    What Are Stock Splits?

    Let’s compare stock splits to slices of pizza for a sec. Let’s say you have a whole pizza. You split the pizza into 6 slices. But you realize it is an extra-large pizza, so dividing it into so few slices means each one is huge. Therefore, you decide it’ll be better to cut it into […]

    | May 12th, 2016 | Elementary

    The 11 Stock Market Sectors Explained

    In high school, students are often classified based on their clique; the people who they hang out with in school. For example, in movies like “Mean Girls” the cliques were Jocks, Band Geeks, Cool Asians, Nerd Asians, Skinny Girls, Girls Who Eat Their Feelings, The Plastics, and so on. Turns out, newbies in school should […]

    | May 11th, 2016 | Elementary

    Business Cycle 101

    We’ve all heard that Maroon 5 song line “it’s not always rainbows and butterflies”. We definitely wish life were just a walk in the park, but there ain’t no better teacher than challenges and experiences, right? Like the wonderful mess that is our life, businesses have their ups and downs, too. Businesses and the economy […]

    | May 10th, 2016 | Elementary

    Market Capitalization vs. Book Value

    Isn’t it crazy that a G.I. Joe action figure only cost two dollars or so in the 80s? Yet here we are, thirty-ish years after, and the same action figure sells for $280 on eBay! That’s about a 13,900% increase! Insane, right? So, how could this happen? How can something that was bought for $2 […]

    | May 5th, 2016 | Elementary

    Understanding Stock Technical Analysis

    What do the color of the year and stock technical analysis have in common? Trends and patterns! Let me explain and we’ll get into the technicals below. Before a year begins, some people anticipate what the next color of the year will be. Superstitious people would want to wear something with a shade of that […]

    | May 3rd, 2016 | Elementary

    Top 9 Reasons Why Stock Prices Change Every Second

    Now picture this – you are on Wall Street and you see all these flashy numbers on the board that change every time you turn around. Sounds like a familiar movie scene? Now, you may ask: Why in the world do these numbers change all the time? The short answer is two words: Supply and […]

    | May 2nd, 2016 | Kindergarten

    What Are the Major Asset Classes and How Do You Invest in Them?

    Oftentimes, when a subject is too broad and complex, people tend to classify it into “groups” to simplify identification, observation and analysis. Take for example the entire animal kingdom that you and I are both apart of (unless, of course, you’re an alien, yikes!). There are a lot of different creatures in the animal kingdom […]

    | April 28th, 2016 | Preschool

    Basic Investment Definitions: Bull and Bear Markets

    Chances are, you have seen at least one of these movies: The roaring 80’s Wall Street, Leo D’s epic performance in The Wolf of Wall Street, The comic relief of Trading Places, The making of young millionaires revealed in Boiler Room, Obi-Wan Kenobi’s Ewan McGregor’s role as a stockbroker in Rogue Trader, Richard Gere playing […]

    | April 27th, 2016 | Kindergarten

    Primary vs. Secondary Markets

    We all know what a market is. It is where all trade happens. It could either be a physical location or an online-based platform where buyers and sellers meet and interact to trade goods, services, instruments – anything, really – for money or exchange. At this point, you already know that stocks, too, are traded. […]

    | April 26th, 2016 | Kindergarten

    Public vs. Private Companies

    At some point in our lives, we’ve all been inspired by success stories. Usually, the hero of these stories starts from the bottom with close to nothing – then, boom! It takes one brilliant idea, a single streak of luck or one convinced person to pave the way for success. Like our heroes, most businesses […]

    | April 25th, 2016 | Kindergarten

    The First Thing You Need to Know About Diversification in Investing

    In a company, there are several departments, each with its own function. There’s the Sales Department, in charge of, well, selling. There’s the Marketing Department, tasked with branding and consumer insights. There’s the Finance Department, those responsible for recording and analyzing the numbers. Then there’s the Operations Department, in charge of producing and storing the […]

    | April 22nd, 2016 | Preschool

    Understanding the 5 Financial Stages of Life

    “I wish I was a child again, so I don’t need to worry about paying bills.” Such is the phrase of many people going through that point in life known in media as “adulting” – or being responsible enough to actually care about where your money goes. Whether we like it or not, money is […]

    | April 21st, 2016 | Preschool

    The 5 Crucial Investment Constraints for your IPS

    In the previous article I explained how important an IPS or Investment Policy Statement is in guiding investors to understand what they currently have, to identify their financial objectives, and to stay the course towards growing their money. As an investor, the IPS is a road map for your success; a means to help you […]

    | April 20th, 2016 | Preschool