Monday, June 12, 2006

What magazines to read?

I often get emails asking what financial websites people should check out to learn more about investing. Lately I've received a few emails about magazines, so I thought to sum things up in a post.
I generally prefer to read things on paper rather than online content and I know others feel the same way. For the list below, I would recommend buying one or two issues and see how you like them. If you like the magazine, then you might as well subscribe to them because it will be cheaper in the long run.

The first two magazines I would start off with are: Smart Money and Bloomberg's Personal Finance magazine. Both have articles about investing and personal finance and I probably like Smart Money a little more.

Once you get a little more familiar with things, I would suggest a subscription to Barron's. Barron's is a newspaper that comes out once per week and has a ton of information. They have great weekly recaps and specific stories highlighting stocks.

After Barron's I think Business Week is the best choice. This weekly magazine does not give as much financial data as Barron's, but it gives you more business stories. I think it's a great magazine and it sums up the major stories of the week, while writing about stocks and industries.

If you're up for even more reading then it's time to move on to the Wall Street Journal. Of course this is a daily newspaper and you will have all the info on the important business and political stories.
Another magazine I like that leans a little more toward politics/policy is The Economist. I don't think this is a magazine for people just starting off about investing, but it's worth it for other investors.
It seems like a lot of reading and it is! Most of the people I know read all of the above plus specific trade journals and other financial newspapers (like the Financial Times).
One more: for those interested more on the academic side of investing/business I would suggest The Journal of Finance. I've been subscribing for awhile and this Journal has been around for decades.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I read the following:

- Financial News (Weekly)
- The Economist
- Investors Business Daily
- Trader Monthly (more ridiculous lifestyle than real financial information -- some good stories though)
- Bloomberg Markets