Here is a list of resources that I often use when I quickly want to find information on the markets, investments and economy. All of these provide access for free, with some tools requiring payments for premium access. Do not consider these as the only tools available, or that these are the best tools available. I just wanted to share these tools to provide you with easy access to great information that doesn’t cost anything. These are absolutely not affiliate links that I get paid anything for. You can search for these yourself without clicking on any links below.
Calculators
Investment Calculator (www.calculator.net/investment-calculator.html): Calculate the future value of your savings/investments based on various factors. This can be quickly used to see how much money you may have in the future based on your savings and anticipated returns. There are a ton of financial calculators on the internet, but this is an easy one to use and visualize. Calculator.net has a ton of easy to use calculators for financial or other needs.
Investment Research & Economic Data
Morningstar (www.morningstar.com): Easily gain quick investment insights into mutual funds, exchange traded funds (ETFs), closed end funds and individual stocks. I use this to very quickly analyze ETFs and mutual funds when I do not have my institutional version of Morningstar, called Morningstar Direct.
CEF Connect (www.cefconnect.com): I use this to quickly analyze closed end funds. Quickly get access to current premium/discounts, distributions (income vs. return of capital), asset allocations, performance, etc.
Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED) (fred.stlouisfed.org): Gain access to a ton of great current and historical economic and market data.
Yardeni Research (www.yardeni.com): A lot of great charts for broader market indices.
FINRA Mutual Fund Fund Analyzer (https://tools.finra.org/fund_analyzer/): Compare mutual fund share classes to determine best share class based on your investment amount and anticipated holding period.
Technical Analysis
Stockcharts.com (www.stockcharts.com): Quickly see price charts and technical indicators for exchange traded stocks and ETFs. I use this to very quickly see the charts of ETFs and stocks, with pre-set 50- and 200-day/week moving averages, with the ability to get more detailed if desired.
TradingView (www.tradingview.com): Get more detailed charting capabilities across global equities, bonds, currencies, commodities and cryptocurrencies. I use this to quickly find historical charts for many asset classes and investments. I also use this site to calculate a defined trading strategy with signals using the coding tools available.