Tekoversity: Investing basics for beginners

Fractional shares let beginners buy part of a high-priced US stock or ETF with a small amount, but market risk, fees, exchange rates, ownership rights and platform rules still apply.

Investment costs include fees you pay on every trade and fees you pay every year. Learn the difference between returns before and after costs, and why small fees add up over time.

Dividends are profits a company may pay to shareholders in cash or shares. Learn how they are paid, the key dates, what dividend yield means and why dividends are never guaranteed.

The S&P 500 tracks around 500 large US companies. Learn how it is weighted, how it differs from US500 and S&P 500 ETFs, and the risks to understand first.

A beginner-friendly explanation of what stocks are, how shareholders may earn money, the risks to understand, and what to check before buying.

An index ETF does not buy the index itself. It builds a portfolio to replicate a reference index. Learn about replication methods, rebalancing and tracking error.

Not all ETFs are alike. Learn how broad-market, sector, international, bond and commodity ETFs differ, and which ETF types beginners should approach with caution.

The Nasdaq-100 and the S&P 500 are both well-known US indexes, but they differ in sector coverage, concentration and how ETFs track them.

Individual investors in Vietnam pay 0.1% tax when they sell securities and 5% on cash dividends. Learn how each is calculated, the open-ended fund incentive and how taxes differ from fees.

A fund certificate confirms your share of a fund's capital. This lesson explains NAV, the main fund types in Vietnam and how open-ended funds differ from ETFs.

The VN-Index is the main index of the HOSE exchange. Learn how it is weighted, how to read points and percentages, what the VN30 is, and how HOSE, HNX and UPCoM differ.

A US ETF is often a simpler starting point because it spreads your money across many companies. Individual stocks suit people who want to research businesses and accept concentration risk.