Pocket Adviser Education

Learn everything you need to know about the stock market, from the basics to fundamental analysis and portfolio management.

The Mistake Every Beginner Makes in the Stock Market

The Mistake Every Beginner Makes in the Stock Market

Everyone makes mistakes. But in the stock market, those mistakes can set you back significantly if you're not careful.

Lachie Duncan
by Lachie Duncan
May 28, 2025

Stock Market Basics

Introduction to Investing

Introduction to Investing

What is investing and why should you bother doing it?

Difficulty
Importance
Stock Market Basics
Stock Market Basics

What are you getting when you buy a stock?

Difficulty
Importance
Exchanges & Auction Pricing
Exchanges & Auction Pricing

How do you actually buy and sell stocks?

Difficulty
Importance
Dividends & Share Buybacks
Dividends & Share Buybacks

How do companies reward their shareholders?

Difficulty
Importance
Tax Basics
Tax Basics

From Capital Gains Tax to Franking Credits, learn how tax works in the stock market

Difficulty
Importance
Risk and Reward
Risk and Reward

Understand the relationship between risk and reward

Difficulty
Importance
Efficient Market Hypothesis
Efficient Market Hypothesis

Learn about the Efficient Market Hypothesis and why it is so hard to beat the market.

Difficulty
Importance

Exchange Traded Funds

Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs)
Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs)

What are ETFs and why you are probably better off in them?

Difficulty
Importance
Researching ETFs
Researching ETFs

How do you decide which ETFs to buy?

Difficulty
Importance
How to Build a Portfolio of ETFs
How to Build a Portfolio of ETFs

How to build a portfolio that is aligned with your investment needs

Difficulty
Importance

Portfolio Management

Diversification
Diversification

Why you shouldn't put all your eggs in one basket

Difficulty
Importance
Dollar Cost Averaging
Dollar Cost Averaging

How to reduce risk my spreading your purchases over time

Difficulty
Importance
Circle of Competence
Circle of Competence

How what you already know can help you beat the market

Difficulty
Importance

Fundamental Analysis

Intro to Fundamental Analysis
Intro to Fundamental Analysis

How to analyse businesses using fundamental analysis

Difficulty
Importance
Business 101
Business 101

What are the common qualities that good businesses share?

Difficulty
Importance
The Income Statement
The Income Statement

What do revenue, income, and earnings per share mean?

Difficulty
Importance
The Balance Sheet
The Balance Sheet

Assets, liabilities, and shareholder's equity

Difficulty
Importance
Cashflow Statement
Cashflow Statement

What is cashflow and why is it possibly the most important financial metric?

Difficulty
Importance
Valuation Ratios
Valuation Ratios

What is intrinsic value and how do we measure it?

Difficulty
Importance
Efficiency Ratios
Efficiency Ratios

How to measure the profitability and efficiency of a company

Difficulty
Importance
Health Ratios
Health Ratios

How to measure the financial health of a company

Difficulty
Importance
Analyst Forecasts & Company Guidance
Analyst Forecasts & Company Guidance

How to predict the future?

Difficulty
Importance

Macroeconomics

GDP & Economic Cycles
GDP & Economic Cycles

What is the economic cycle and how do we measure it?

Difficulty
Importance
Inflation & Unemployment
Inflation & Unemployment

What is inflation and how does it effect the stock market?

Difficulty
Importance