Some Basics ...

There are tons of info on the types of accounts out there. So I will simply blaze thru them fast assuming you have read some of those, visited some websites, wikis such as those related to Vanguard, Fidelity, Boggle heads and about 10 big books speaking 10 different philosophies each of which are cornerstone of a major market like the US ones. Dont get too bothered on the semantics like NYSE or NASDAQ or any such stock exchanges - they are just places - electronic or offline where money changes hands. I will also steer away from Futures - I think they are pretty close to the gambling tendencies such as betting and contemplating rather than making an informed guess. Fundamentally there is a component where the outcome is manipulated or follow inconsistencies beyond what would constitute as investing or banking one's hard-earned money. Options are fair game and can be used as a risk management or hedging tool. But right now, I am steering away  from Options too as I think they also have a betting component. There is a certain detached action associated with investing in such instruments or derivatives or similar kind investments. They also come in various forms presented to the naive investor in the form of Inverse ETFs or similar stuff. 

Bottom line: I look at the debt model. I loan a company, a product or a project some money and expect timely interest payments and full payment on principle after certain years. Similar to what your local credit unions does. Now, add an ownership component and you have stocks. So basically I will focus on stocks and bonds, mutual funds and ETFs. I used to actively trade once upon a time. There is simply not too much for a retail investor to make in this route. Yeah, I did have about 20% + returns at times but I think one is better off this is a strategy that is applied when there is large-scale amount in picture. Also, most big managers or hedge fund folks that capture imagination of 20s and 30s are essentially people who are making money off the fees rather than hitting a homerun. The money in most developed market like US is saturated and you have recent IPOs who might have a real world evaluation of 20s but are propelled by big players to keep them in 60s by actively buying off pools of shares. Of course, some MBA from Harvard will try to put a noun and spin on it so that it is not known as manipulation. Those stuff aside, without getting overwhelmed by lot of stuff from the finance bling bling world, the  most important things to consider are the writings of Warren Buffet in his annual letter. The archives are there in the Berkshire website for free download. A bunch of books like the "Random walk down the wall street" or some study showing that the monkeys make better fund managers. Must read for any one, beginner or veteran needing a constant reinforcement in their beliefs is the writings of John Boggle of Vanguard. I will go over their philosophies and differences in subsequent posts.