Before you invest in stocks, you need to be completely familiar with the basics of stock investing. At its most fundamental, stock investing is about using your money to buy a piece of a company that will give you value in the form of appreciation or income. Fortunately, many resources are available to help you find out about stock investing. Some of my favorite places are the stock exchanges themselves.

Stock exchanges are organized marketplaces for the buying and selling of stocks (and other securities). The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the premier stock exchange, provides a framework for stock buyers and sellers to make their transactions. The NYSE makes money not only from a piece of every transaction but also from fees (such as listing fees) charged to companies and brokers that are members of its exchanges.

The main exchanges for most stock investors are the NYSE and the American Stock Exchange (AMEX). Nasdaq is technically not an exchange but it is a formal market that effectively acts as an exchange. These three encourage and inform people about stock investing. Since these exchanges/markets benefit from increased popularity of stock investing and continued demand for stocks, they offer a wealth of free (or low-cost) information and resources for stock investors. Go to their Web sites and you find useful resources such as:

• Tutorials on how to invest in stocks, common investment strategies, and so on
• Glossaries and free information to help you understand the language, practice, and purpose of stock investing
• A wealth of news, press releases, financial data, and other information about companies listed at the exchange or market, accessed usually through an onsite search engine
• Industry analysis & news
• Stock quotes and other market information related to the daily market movements of stocks including data such as volume, new highs, new lows, and so on
• Free tracking of your stock selections (You can input a sample portfolio, or the stocks you are following, to see how well you are doing.)

What each exchange/market offers keeps changing or is updated, so go explore each at their Web sites:

• New York Stock Exchange: www.nyse.com
• American Stock Exchange: www.amex.com
• Nasdaq: www.nasdaq.com