Artificial intelligence (AI) and automation have moved from futuristic buzzwords to mainstream tools that are reshaping how individuals and institutions manage capital. By 2025, more than 90 % of asset managers are using or planning to use AI in portfolio construction and research workflows, and the share of companies applying AI in at least one business […]
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.
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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 […]
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 […]
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? […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
4 Risk-Adjusted Investment Return Metrics to Maximize Your Investment Profits
There are many different ways to compare investment returns to different types of risk. But why would you even want to compare returns to levels of risk? Well, that’s because it helps you determine whether the return you received was worth the risk you took. Sometimes investments that have the potential to make a lot […]
Top 5 Ways of Evaluating and Calculating Investment Return
When you invest your money, don’t you want to make sure you’re getting a good return on it? Of course Sherlock, you might say! That’s obvious. That means you want to make as much money as possible from your investments, with as little risk as possible. But how do you know if you’re really making […]
One of the Best Ways to Invest in Bitcoin, Ethereum and Cryptocurrency
It’s a good time to add this post on Investor Academy. Especially as a new wave of crypto bullishness is in the markets again. I am once again receiving phone calls and messages where people are asking: “How can I get Bitcoin?” “Is it too late?” “Which coins to buy?” This is a sign that […]
How to Grow Your Net Worth with Residential Rental Real Estate Investing
Residential real estate investing is one of the fastest ways of growing your net worth and becoming rich. This detailed article will show you how, based on a real example with real numbers. It will also talk about the first real estate deal I’ve ever done a few years ago. So I made many mistakes […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Asset Allocation vs. Security Selection – What’s the Difference?
Diversification is used to reduce an investor’s exposure to the risk of a particular asset class or security. By diversifying, an investor is less likely to suffer a major loss compared to what the risk would be if the portfolio was concentrated in a single asset or security. Diversification is a technical topic but here are […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Learn the Building Blocks of a Company – Assets, Liabilities, and Equity
At some point in your life, you have owned something (We hope you still do now!). Take for example your hard-earned money. In exchange for doing your job, you get paid with “cash”. The money that you earn becomes yours. This money is considered your asset because you own it. But.. SURPRISE! Not everything you […]
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 […]
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 […]
Basic Investment Approach Definitions: Chicken, Pigs and Stock Market Risk
What do a farm and the stock market have in common? Chicken and pigs. Yes, that’s right. Forget the age-old question “Which came first, the chicken or the egg?”. The new question would be “Are you a chicken, a pig, or neither?”. The terms chicken and pig are used to describe investors based on their […]
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 […]
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 […]
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. […]
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 […]
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 […]