Investing 101: The Big Picture 🌟

Think of the Stock Market like a giant, global garage sale for companies. Instead of old bikes and lamps, people are buying and selling tiny pieces of ownership called Shares.

Why do people do it? Because when a company grows or makes money, those tiny pieces can become more valuable. It's like planting a seed: you put in a little bit of money today, and over time, with some patience (and maybe some luck), it grows into a massive tree. The goal is simple: make your money work harder for you than you worked for it!

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Growth Investing

You're betting on the future superstars. You buy companies that are growing fast, reinvesting every penny they make to get even bigger. The goal is to sell your shares for way more than you paid for them. It's the "fast lane" of investing!

The Future
💰

Income Investing

You're building a "money machine." You buy established, profitable companies that pay you a portion of their profits regularly—these are called Dividends. It's like owning a rental property without the leaky pipes. It's the "steady lane"!

Cash Flow
⚖️

Risk & Reward

In the stock market, risk and reward are twins. Generally, taking on more risk (like buying newer companies) gives you a chance at higher returns, but also a bigger chance of losing money. Playing it safe usually means smaller, steadier gains.

Risk Management

Time in the Market

Trying to time the perfect moment to buy or sell is nearly impossible. Instead, successful investors focus on Time in the Market. The longer you stay invested, the more your money can compound and grow, smoothing out the bumps along the way.

Long Term

Investor personas

Personas are quick profiles to help you pick a strategy that matches your comfort level, time, and goals. You can retake the quiz or change your persona anytime in Settings.

Personalization

🐣 Seedling

Brand-new investor learning the basics.

Focus

Start small, build habits, and learn how markets work.

Strengths

Patient, cautious, consistent.

Watchout

Can stall by waiting for the perfect time.

🤝 Outsourcer

Prefers guidance or automation.

Focus

Use simple portfolios and recurring contributions.

Strengths

Steady contributions, low effort.

Watchout

Needs to stay aware of fees and risk exposure.

🌱 Slow Grower

Long-term compounding mindset.

Focus

Build a balanced portfolio and reinvest regularly.

Strengths

Discipline, patience, consistency.

Watchout

May miss tactical opportunities.

🧱 Fortress Builder

Capital preservation comes first.

Focus

Favor resilient companies, cash buffers, and downside protection.

Strengths

Risk control, stability.

Watchout

Returns may lag in fast bull markets.

🎢 Thrill-Seeker

Comfortable with volatility.

Focus

Higher upside plays with bigger swings.

Strengths

High risk tolerance, opportunistic.

Watchout

Overtrading or oversized bets.

⚡ Sprinter

Fast, tactical decision-maker.

Focus

Short-term catalysts and quick adjustments.

Strengths

Speed and adaptability.

Watchout

Chasing noise or burning out.

🧠 Strategist

Research-driven and methodical.

Focus

Builds a thesis, tracks signals, and rebalances intentionally.

Strengths

Structured thinking and clarity.

Watchout

Over-optimizing or overanalyzing.

🚀 Power Investor

Ambitious, conviction-led builder.

Focus

Concentrated positions with clear upside goals.

Strengths

Confidence and scale.

Watchout

Concentration risk if a thesis breaks.

Glossary

Dividend Analysis

Payout Ratio

The proportion of earnings paid out as dividends to shareholders, typically expressed as a percentage of the company's earnings.

Think of this as your allowance. If you earn £10 and give away £5, your payout ratio is 50%. It shows how much of the company's profit is being paid out to shareholders versus how much they keep to grow the business.

Example

A company earns £100m and pays out £40m in dividends. Payout Ratio = 40%. They keep £60m to build new factories.

Dividend Coverage

The ratio of a company's earnings to the dividend paid to shareholders, calculated as earnings per share divided by the dividend per share.

This is a safety score. It tells you how many times over the company could pay its current dividend using its profits. Higher is usually safer.

Example

Profit is £100. Dividend payment is £50. Coverage = 2x. They could pay the dividend twice with that money.

Dividend Per Share (DPS)

The sum of declared dividends issued by a company for every ordinary share outstanding.

The actual cash amount you get for owning one single share of the company for the year.

Example

If you own 100 shares and the DPS is £2.50, you receive £250 in total for the year.

Dividend Yield

A financial ratio (dividend/price) that shows how much a company pays out in dividends each year relative to its stock price.

The return you get on your money right now if you bought the stock today. It's like the interest rate on a savings account.

Example

Share price is £100. Dividend is £5. Yield = 5%. If the price drops to £50, the yield goes up to 10%!

Yield on Cost

The dividend yield based on the original purchase price of a stock rather than its current market price.

Your personal return based on the price YOU paid, not the current price. This rewards long-term holding.

Example

You bought at £10 years ago. The dividend is now £1. Even if the stock is £1000 today, your personal yield is 10%.

Div Cover

Synonym for Dividend Coverage. It measures how many times a company's earnings can cover its dividend payments.

Another way to say 'Dividend Coverage'. It's a safety check to see if the company can comfortably afford its dividends.

Example

See Dividend Coverage for details.

Div Yield TTM

Trailing Twelve Months Dividend Yield. It's the dividend yield based on the dividends paid over the last 12 months.

This is the 'Dividend Yield' but looking specifically at the last 12 months of payments.

Example

If a company paid $2 in dividends over the last year and the price is $40, the TTM yield is 5%.

Div Yield (Cost)

Yield on Cost. It calculates the dividend yield based on what you originally paid for the stock.

Your personal yield based on your purchase price. As the dividend grows over time, this number becomes much higher than the current yield.

Example

You bought at $10. The dividend is now $1. Your personal yield (Cost) is 10%.

Valuation & Price

Market Cap

The total value of a company's shares of stock, calculated by multiplying the price of a stock by its total number of outstanding shares.

The total price tag of the company. It's the cost to buy every single share in existence.

Example

1 million shares x £10 per share = £10 million Market Cap.

Fair Value (Discounted Cash Flow)

An estimate of what a stock is worth today based on the cash the business is expected to generate in the future, discounted back to the present.

A best-guess price tag for a stock based on future cash flows. If the fair value is higher than the current price, the stock may be undervalued.

Example

Fair value is $50 while the stock trades at $40, suggesting about a 20% discount to fair value.

P/E Ratio (Price-to-Earnings)

The ratio for valuing a company that measures its current share price relative to its per-share earnings.

How expensive the stock is compared to how much money it makes. It tells you how many years it would take to earn back your investment through profits alone.

Example

P/E of 20 means you are paying £20 for every £1 of profit the company makes.

PEG Ratio

The Price/Earnings-to-Growth ratio determines a stock's value while taking the company's earnings growth into account.

The P/E ratio but with a twist—it accounts for growth. A low P/E might be a trap if the company isn't growing. PEG fixes that.

Example

PEG under 1.0 is often considered 'cheap' or undervalued relative to its growth rate.

P/E (TTM)

Price-to-Earnings Trailing Twelve Months. It uses the last 12 months of actual earnings to calculate the ratio.

The standard P/E ratio using the most recent 12 months of real data.

Example

Price is $50, last year's earnings were $5. P/E (TTM) = 10.

EV/EBITDA (TTM)

Enterprise Value to Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization. A valuation multiple used to compare companies including their debt.

A more comprehensive version of P/E. It looks at the whole company (including debt) relative to its 'cash' earnings. Lower is often better.

Example

EV of $100M and EBITDA of $10M = 10x EV/EBITDA.

Profitability & Efficiency

ROE (Return on Equity)

A measure of financial performance calculated by dividing net income by shareholders' equity.

A score for management. It shows how good they are at turning shareholders' money into more profit.

Example

ROE of 20% means for every £1 shareholders put in, the company generated 20p of profit.

ROIC (TTM)

Return on Invested Capital Trailing Twelve Months. A calculation used to assess a company's efficiency at allocating capital to profitable investments over the last year.

Similar to ROE but includes debt. It measures how efficiently the company uses ALL its money (debt + equity) to generate profit over the last 12 months.

Example

ROIC of 15% means the company generates a 15% return on all the cash invested in it.

ROCE (TTM)

Return on Capital Employed Trailing Twelve Months. A financial ratio used in assessing a company's profitability and capital efficiency over the last year.

A strict efficiency measure. It looks at profit relative to all the capital used in the business. Great for comparing similar companies.

Example

Company A has 20% ROCE, Company B has 10%. Company A is getting double the return for every pound put to work.

R&D / Revenue (TTM)

Research and Development to Revenue Trailing Twelve Months. The proportion of a company's revenue that is spent on research and development.

How much of their sales money they are plowing back into invention and new tech. High spend often means a focus on future growth.

Example

Revenue of $1B and R&D of $100M = 10% R&D/Revenue.

Gross Margin

The difference between revenue and cost of goods sold (COGS), divided by revenue.

The percentage of money left after paying for the direct costs of making the product (materials, labor).

Example

It costs £40 to make a £100 shoe. Gross profit is £60. Margin is 60%.

ROE (TTM)

Return on Equity Trailing Twelve Months. Measures profitability for the most recent 12-month period.

Shows how efficient the company was with shareholder money over the last year.

Example

Net income of $1M on $5M equity over 12 months = 20% ROE (TTM).

Financial Health & Risk

Cash Flow Coverage

A ratio that measures a company's ability to pay off its liabilities with the cash generated from its operations.

Checks if the company has enough actual cash coming in to pay off its debts. Profit is opinion, cash is fact. This measures the real money.

Example

A company owes £50m this year but has £100m in cash flowing in. They can easily cover their debts.

Debt-to-Equity

A ratio used to evaluate a company's financial leverage, calculated by dividing a company’s total liabilities by its shareholder equity.

How much the company relies on borrowed money versus money from shareholders. Too much debt can be risky.

Example

Ratio of 0.5 means for every £1 of shareholder money, they have 50p of debt. Ratio of 2.0 means £2 of debt for every £1 of equity (Riskier!).

Volatility

A statistical measure of the dispersion of returns for a given security or market index.

How much the stock price jumps around. High volatility means big swings (exciting but scary), low means a smoother ride.

Example

A stock that moves between $10 and $100 in a month is very volatile.

Net Debt / EBITDA

A leverage ratio that shows how many years it would take for a company to pay back its debt if net debt and EBITDA are held constant.

A speed test for debt. It tells you how many years of profit (EBITDA) it would take to pay off all their net debt. Lower is safer.

Example

Net debt of $20M and EBITDA of $10M = 2.0x. It would take 2 years of profit to clear the debt.

Components

Calendar

Definition

Month view calendar that lists dividend dates, earnings, and news events for portfolio holdings.

Benefit and insight

Helps you plan cash flow and stay ahead of key dates.

How it's calculated

Events are generated from each holding's dividend schedule and company calendar data; tooltips show past or estimated dividend amounts when available.

Estimated Dividends

Definition

Stacked bar chart of projected dividends by month.

Benefit and insight

Shows income seasonality and which holdings drive each month.

How it's calculated

Each bar sums per-holding estimates; total equals the sum of holding dividends for that month.

Fair Value Discounts

Definition

Comparison grid of fair value (DCF) versus current price per holding.

Benefit and insight

Surfaces discounts and overvaluation quickly.

How it's calculated

Gap = fair value - price; gap percent = gap / price. Values are normalized to portfolio currency.

Stock Info Card

Definition

A compact card that summarizes a single holding with key portfolio metrics.

Benefit and insight

Lets you scan cost, value, gains, dividends, and rating to spot winners and laggards quickly.

How it's calculated

Shares held are total buys minus total sells. Cost basis uses buy lots minus sold cost basis. Value is shares times current price (converted to portfolio currency). Gain is value minus cost. Dividends are summed across payments. Return ratio is (value - cost + dividends) / cost. SS rating is a weighted score of yield, volatility, cover, and payout.

SS Rating

Definition

A composite score that rates a holding's income quality and risk on a 1-5 scale.

Benefit and insight

Gives a quick, comparable signal of dividend strength across holdings.

How it's calculated

Weighted score of yield, volatility (inverted), dividend cover, and payout ratio. The score is mapped to 1-5 using threshold bands in the app.

Stock Detail Modal

Definition

A deep dive modal that expands a holding into valuation, dividend, and performance panels.

Benefit and insight

Gives full context for each holding so you can judge risk, value, and income in one place.

How it's calculated

Weight is holding value divided by portfolio value. Dividend yield on cost uses total dividends divided by cost. Financial profit is revenue minus costs. Charts plot historical dividend and price series.

Add Stock Modal

Definition

A transaction form for adding and editing buy and sell lots with auto-filled dividends.

Benefit and insight

Keeps cost basis and income history accurate so performance metrics stay trustworthy.

How it's calculated

Shares on each dividend date are buys to date minus sells to date. Dividend amount is shares times dividend per share (HKD uses raw amount), then converted to the user currency.

Portfolio Split (Sector, Cost, Value)

Definition

Breakdowns that show how portfolio weight changes by sector, cost, and current value.

Benefit and insight

Reveals concentration and cost vs value drift.

How it's calculated

Each slice equals category total divided by portfolio total; cost uses purchase lots and value uses latest price times shares.

Dividends Received Split (Sector, Cost, Value)

Definition

Dividend distribution view grouped by sector with optional cost and value context.

Benefit and insight

Shows which sectors fund your income and where yield is concentrated.

How it's calculated

Dividends are summed per sector; percentages use total dividends as the denominator and can be compared against sector cost or value weights.

Price Change

Definition

A summary of daily or period price moves across holdings.

Benefit and insight

Highlights momentum and laggards quickly.

How it's calculated

Percent change equals (current price minus previous price) divided by previous price; lists are sorted by magnitude.

Portfolio Value / Cost Over Time

Definition

Time series chart of portfolio value versus total cost.

Benefit and insight

Shows growth, drawdowns, and performance relative to invested capital.

How it's calculated

Value series sums shares times price by date; cost series sums net purchases minus sold cost basis.

Diversification Target

Definition

A sector allocation tool that compares your ideal mix to your actual holdings.

Benefit and insight

Highlights overweight and underweight sectors so you can rebalance with intent.

How it's calculated

Actual percent is sector value divided by total portfolio value. Target percent comes from user inputs. Difference is actual minus target and is flagged as over or underweight.

Price Target Tracker

Definition

A tracker that monitors target prices for each holding with progress indicators.

Benefit and insight

Keeps your entry and exit plans measurable and easy to monitor.

How it's calculated

Progress percent is current price divided by target price. A target is reached when price is greater than or equal to the target.

Goals

Definition

Goal list for portfolio objectives.

Benefit and insight

Keeps your strategy visible and organized.

How it's calculated

Goals are stored text entries and persisted to your profile without numeric calculations.

Wishlist

Definition

Watchlist builder for stocks you want to research.

Benefit and insight

Separates ideas from active holdings.

How it's calculated

Search results are filtered by exchange; selected tickers are saved to the wishlist.

Income vs Growth Toggle

Definition

A two-state switch that flips the view between income and growth metrics.

Benefit and insight

Lets you quickly compare the portfolio through different investing lenses.

How it's calculated

Switching the toggle updates the selected dataset, and connected widgets recalculate based on the chosen view.

Portfolio Reports

Definition

An automated report view that summarizes trends, strengths, weaknesses, and recommendations.

Benefit and insight

Turns raw data into a narrative summary so you can focus on decisions.

How it's calculated

Report sections are parsed from stored report JSON and rendered into structured insights sourced from portfolio data and news.