In yesterdays post I highlighted the free on-line courses that could be undertaken for individuals wanting to gain understanding of the futures and options market. The focus today will be on the equity market, in particular the Australia equity market. I know that the majority of my readers are from the US however I think that it is important to expand your horizons as there are many investment opportunities outside the US.

The ASX much like the CME has an excellent investor education section. The first place to start would be the Getting Started in Shares(PDF) publication, this will give you a very brief introduction to share trading and the ASX. There are also a series of audio visual presentations that can be viewed while you are online. These audio visual presentations include: Read the full story

Popularity: 11% [?]

<brag>It is official yours truly is the South Australian winner of the ASX share market game.</brag> It has been all quiet on my website for a while as I have been busy with programming and other non-trading related tasks. I am sure everyone can relate to life getting in the way of all the best-laid plans. In case you are unaware with what the ASX share market game is, you might like to read my introduction to the ASX share market game.

How did I come first in South Australia in the ASX share market game?

I know you are all wondering how I came to be in first position so without any further ado I will tell you. It was simply a matter of buying shares holding them until they increased in value and then reducing my holdings via pending orders. Due to rules of the game, the pool of shares I could choose from was only 100 companies and could not short sell. As I do with any problem I face I try to break it down into its component form. Read the full story

Popularity: 9% [?]

The ASX share market game is conducted bi-annually, each player is assigned a hypothetical AUD$50, 000. This year however due to technical difficulties game one was cancelled. The Australian Stock Exchange’s (ASX) education arm administers the share market game. The share market game has some very specific rules for trading and takes into account actual functioning of the ASX. Therefore, the simulation is very close to actual trading. Below are some specifics of this year’s games rules.

The Trading PeriodThe first day of trading in the Game is Thursday 6 September 2007 and the last day of trading is Wednesday 14 November 2007 (”Game Period”).

Trading hours indeed reflect the true nature of ASX trading hours making the simulation more realistic

An order to buy or sell shares may be placed at any time of the day during the Game period. Orders will only be matched during the trading hours of the ASX market (which is usually 10.00 AM EST and 4.15 PM EST). Orders in the Game are not matched until they have been matched on the ASX market (i.e. if a participant places an ‘at market’ order to buy or sell a parcel of shares, it will not be executed until there is a match on the ASX market). Orders placed ‘at market’ when the ASX market is closed will be processed at the opening trade price on the next trading day. ‘At market’ orders will be processed within the limitations of the stock volumes available for trading in the ASX market. ‘At market’ and ‘at limit’ orders that can be filled will be processed continuously from the time the ASX market is open at 10:00 AM EST to the time the ASX market closes at 4:10 PM EST*. Read the full story

Popularity: 6% [?]