The Financial Literacy Initiative at Dartmouth College
Investing in the Stock Market
In April 2011, a Gallup poll showed that 54% of Americans have investments in the stock market. Many of these are not managed directly by the owners of the stock, but some of them are bought directly, often using an online brokerage. These services make it easy to invest small amounts of money in the stock market, often requiring as little as $500 to get started. Buying and selling stocks online is as simple as ordering from an online store. So it is imperative that students understand the stock market—what it is, how it works, the risks and advantages of using it. They have the power to interact directly with the markets of the world and, as with every other aspect of communications mediated by the internet, they will exercise that power.
This module serves as an introduction to buying and selling stock directly using online services.
We suggest that instructors open the instructor notes for this module, save them as a PDF file, and print them for reference.
This module also includes assessment tools (pre and post test) and a case study for deeper investigation of this topic. These resources are available by contacting Audrey Brown .
Contributors:
Eric Gaze, Bowdoin College,
Dorothy Wallace, Dartmouth College, Kim Rheinlander, Dartmouth College, Caren Diefenderfer, Hollins University