Investment Research
Once the money is invested in the market, the investors have to constantly trace the market and get the updated information. Various free or subscription based sources are available which assist the investor to retrieve latest research and information on mutual funds, stocks, bonds or other instruments.
The investor is always eager to know where his investment will deviate in near future so that he can make right move.
Many financial experts analyze the market everyday based on the factors and attempts, so that they can predict the market and circulate the information.
SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) is the chief regulatory body that protects the investors from prosecuting frauds, fraudulent practices and other insider trading which happen in the stock market. Investment reports are also available online and can be accessed any time. Before investing in the market, the investor must know what reports he should go through.
Annual Report:
It is a report which is issued by the public company annually, to all its shareholders. It acts as the primary means of investment research of the company which include company’s business information such as finance, operation and management. It is a detailed report signed by the CEO and other higher management authorities, which states information about the products, employees, branches and facility pictures.
10 K Reports:
It is mandatory for a public trading company to send 10K filing to the Exchange Commission and Securities, so that its investor could read it before purchasing or selling their shares. These documents are freely available which contains business reports full of nitty-gritty details, which could amaze common investor and normally, all the reports follow same pattern. Some of the documents are related to:
- Company information: It states how the company makes money and the market in which it presently operates.
- Disclosures: It mentions all about the current lawsuits and the risks the company faces.
- Financial statements: It includes balance sheet, the income sheet and important data such as debt levels and how much money the company has earned.
- Company accounting policies: Provides debt information which could make the company bankrupt.
- Signed letters: CEO’s and CFO’s signed letters for the accuracy of the book.
10 Q Reports:
It is a smaller issue of 10K report, usually filed with SEC at the end of financial quarter (4 times a year) normally in the months of January, June, September and December. Whenever the company changes its investment policy or wants to publish equally important related data, it mentions it in its 10Q report. These reports are available free of cost to any interested investor.