Finance Illustrated

Get to know shares and investing.

Find out what you own, compare the costs and practise buying and selling with virtual money.

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A learner holds a puzzle piece that fits a missing part of the bakery facade, illustrating ownership of part of a business.
Chapter 1

Understand what you own

Connect your goals with shares, fractions and funds.

  1. Lesson 1Start hereWhat to check before you invest
  2. Lesson 2What does a share price tell you?
  3. Lesson 3Buy a slice of a share
  4. Lesson 4ETFs or mutual funds?
Chapter 2

Look beyond the price

Explore your portfolio mix, fees, orders and charts.

  1. Lesson 5Check your portfolio mix
  2. Lesson 6What does investing cost?
  3. Lesson 7Choose an order type
  4. Lesson 8Read a stock chart
Chapter 3

Learn from a practice trade

Try virtual trades and review what happened.

  1. Lesson 9Try a stock simulator
  2. Lesson 10Keep a practice journal

Try it yourself

Grow your money garden

Press "Start 10 years earlier" and watch the green line. Then slide the years past 20 and see the yellow growth take over.

Putting $100 a month away at 6% a year (added monthly) gives about $46,204 after 20 years. $24,000 of that is your own money. Start 10 years earlier and you have about $100,452 at the same finish line, from $36,000 put in.

What would you expect?

What this shows: Time does most of the work. Over 20 years, $100 a month grows to $46,204. Start 10 years earlier and it is $100,452.

You only put in $12,000 more, but every month your growth also earns growth, so the pile grows faster the longer it runs. At 6% a year, from year 22 the growth is bigger than all the money you put in.

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