Reading list
Books, research and official guidance behind the explanations.
These references support the explanations in the handbook. They include public authorities, research papers, author-hosted materials and commercial publishers. A source's authorship and rights remain separate from the handbook's editorial presentation.
A reference is not a licence to reproduce the source, a claim of affiliation or an endorsement of STOCKS HELP. Product-provider pages describe their own products; their inclusion is not a recommendation to buy. Read about sources and third-party rights.
A guide to the evidence
Choose a source for the question it can answer. Official guidance is scoped to its jurisdiction. A provider’s prospectus explains its own product; an exchange describes its own service. Research can test a relationship or a model without establishing that an investment suits a reader. A long bibliography alone establishes none of those things.
The selections below give a starting point, purpose and reading difficulty. Sources also appear beside the lessons and questions that use them. Some references support definitions, some supply evidence, and others help frame an editorial check or a hypothetical calculation.
Goals, access and everyday risk
Start with the constraints that a portfolio must serve. Reading level: Introductory guidance.
- An essential guide to building an emergency fund — Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
US public-authority guidance. Reserve access and unexpected expenses; local account protections still need checking.
- Liquidity (or Marketability) — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
US official glossary. What readily saleable means, including the price concession.
- Online Investing — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
US official guidance. Execution and cancellation status; an uncertain order can lead to a duplicate trade.
Identify the claim and its terms
Use the document for the exact vehicle, share class or trading line being examined. Reading level: Intermediate; product documents can be technical.
- Vanguard Funds plc — Prospectus (currency and hedging sections) — Vanguard Funds plc
Issuer legal/product document. Classes of Shares, printed pp. 45–46, 15 October 2026 edition: denomination and hedging features. This is evidence of that issuer’s terms, not an independent comparison.
- Build Better Bond Ladders with iBonds — BlackRock
Issuer product explanation. Stated-year termination and final net assets after liabilities; not a promise to return the purchase cost.
- Multi-Currency Trading for ETFs & ETPs — Deutsche Börse
Exchange service documentation. Same ISIN with currency-specific short codes; dealing currency alone does not establish underlying currency exposure.
- Trusted Contacts — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
US official guidance. A trusted contact has no transaction authority simply by being named; other legal roles and countries need separate checks.
Bonds, cash flows and inflation
Separate contractual payments, market price and the return actually earned. Reading level: Intermediate; read the worked examples first.
- Bonds — buying, pricing and risks — Financial Industry Regulatory Authority
US self-regulatory investor guidance. Selling Before the Maturity Date and Bond Pricing: contract price, accrued interest and quotes.
- Understanding Interest Rate Risk in Bond Funds — Investment Company Institute
Industry-association explanation. Comparable maturity and interest-rate sensitivity; not a prediction of the next price change.
- TIPS — U.S. Department of the Treasury
US official issuer information. US TIPS principal, CPI linkage and maturity protection; other issuers have different terms.
Decisions, behaviour and evidence
Distinguish a useful decision prompt from an experimentally measured result. Reading level: Introductory summaries through technical research.
- Outcome bias in decision evaluation — Jonathan Baron, John C. Hershey (1988)
Research abstract via PubMed. Experimental evidence about judging decisions by outcomes. The inspected abstract is not a full-paper review.
- Understanding Managed Futures — Brian K. Hurst, Yao Hua Ooi, Lasse H. Pedersen (2010)
Investment-manager research and interpretation. Printed p. 4, trend-continuation discussion: anchoring and confirmation bias. Practitioner interpretation is distinct from independent replication.
- Investor Bulletin: Performance Claims — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
US official guidance. Actual versus hypothetical performance and the treatment of fees and expenses.
Portfolio models and unfamiliar exposures
Read assumptions and obligations before transferring a model to a real holding. Reading level: Advanced; models and contract mechanics.
- Tail Risk Constraints and Maximum Entropy — author-hosted manuscript — Donald Geman, Hélyette Geman, Nassim Nicholas Taleb (2015)
Research model. Conservative and uncertain allocations under the paper’s stated constraints; no universal loss-floor promise.
- Private Placements under Regulation D — Updated Investor Bulletin — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (2026)
US official investor guidance. Disclosure and resale limits in US private placements; no worldwide eligibility rule.
- Money Calculations for Futures and Options — CME Group
Exchange-operator educational material. Futures cash-settlement mechanics. It does not define every index provider’s return attribution.
A page or abstract check is not a claim that an entire book, paper or curriculum was read. Access restrictions and publisher conditions remain source-specific; an inaccessible destination is not evidence that a claim is false. Dates identify a reviewed version and cannot promise that external rules or product terms remain current.
Complete bibliography
- Identifiers — ISINs and FISNs — Association of National Numbering Agencies
- Understanding Managed Futures — Brian K. Hurst, Yao Hua Ooi, Lasse H. Pedersen (2010)
- Risk Parity, Risk Management and the Real World — Michael Mendelson, Adam Berger, Daniel Villalon (2011)
- The Probability of Backtest Overfitting — February 2015 manuscript — David H. Bailey, Jonathan M. Borwein, Marcos López de Prado, Qiji Jim Zhu (2015)
- Outcome bias in decision evaluation — Jonathan Baron, John C. Hershey (1988)
- Determining Withdrawal Rates Using Historical Data — 2004 reprint of the 1994 article — William P. Bengen (1994)
- Global FX markets when hedging takes centre stage — Wenqian Huang, Ingomar Krohn, Vladyslav Sushko
- Making stablecoins stable(r): can regulation help? — Isha Agarwal, Tirupam Goel, Ulf Lewrick (2026)
- Stablecoin-related yields: some regulatory approaches — Denise Garcia Ocampo (2025)
- Inflation calculator — Bank of England
- The All Weather Story — Paul Podolsky, Ryan Johnson, Owen Jennings (2012)
- Collective Investment Schemes and Registered ICAV Search — Central Bank of Ireland
- Investment Funds Established in Ireland — Central Bank of Ireland
- The Behavioral Biases of Individuals — CFA Institute
- Factor Investing: More than Simply Investing in Factors — in Portfolio Structuring and the Value of Forecasting — Andrew Ang
- Hiring and Firing Portfolio Managers: Process and Outcomes — Robert G. Hagstrom (2019)
- Performance Reporting: Winning the Scoreless Game — David Allison
- Yield-Based Bond Duration Measures and Properties — CFA Institute
- Assess your spending — Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
- An essential guide to building an emergency fund — Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
- Customer Advisory: 10 Things to Ask Before Buying Physical Gold, Silver, or Other Metals — Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority
- Basics of Futures Trading — Commodity Futures Trading Commission
- Futures Glossary — Commodity Futures Trading Commission
- Gold Is No Safe Investment — Commodity Futures Trading Commission
- Cash Equitization with E-mini Equity Index Futures — CME Group
- What is Contango and Backwardation — CME Group
- Money Calculations for Futures and Options — CME Group
- The Benefits of Futures Margins — CME Group
- Calculating Fair Value — CME Group
- Multi-Currency Trading for ETFs & ETPs — Deutsche Börse
- Cross-asset correlations in a more inflationary environment and challenges for diversification strategies — European Central Bank
- What is the role of exchange rates? — European Central Bank
- The Golden Dilemma — Claude B. Erb, Campbell R. Harvey (2013)
- Stablecoins explained: What are they for? — reference values and backing mechanisms — ethereum.org contributors
- Ethereum staking — validation rewards, penalties and provider risks — ethereum.org contributors
- Key information documents for packaged retail and insurance-based investment products (PRIIPs) — European Commission
- How to check a firm or individual is authorised — Financial Conduct Authority
- Hype — spot the signs and manage your FOMO — Financial Conduct Authority
- Risk and returns — Financial Conduct Authority
- Deposit Insurance FAQs — Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
- Compare Income Products — Fidelity homepage. Article reference; this link opens the homepage. STOCKS HELP is not affiliated with Fidelity. — Fidelity Investments
- Duration—What an Interest Rate Hike Could Do to Your Bond Portfolio — Financial Industry Regulatory Authority
- Bonds — buying, pricing and risks — Financial Industry Regulatory Authority
- Understanding Bond Yield and Return — Financial Industry Regulatory Authority
- If a Brokerage Firm Closes Its Doors — Financial Industry Regulatory Authority
- Regulatory Notice 10-51 — Commodity Futures-Linked Securities — Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (2010)
- Concentrate on Concentration Risk — Financial Industry Regulatory Authority
- The Benefits and Limitations of Dollar-Cost Averaging — Financial Industry Regulatory Authority
- Questions Employees Should Ask About Stock Awards — Financial Industry Regulatory Authority
- Evaluating Performance — Financial Industry Regulatory Authority
- Financial Performance Metrics Every Investor Should Know — Financial Industry Regulatory Authority
- Key Concepts: Return and Rate of Return — Financial Industry Regulatory Authority
- Know Your Risk Tolerance — Financial Industry Regulatory Authority
- Stocks — Financial Industry Regulatory Authority
- Investor Tips For Turbulent Markets — Financial Industry Regulatory Authority
- Hindsight ≠ Foresight: The Effect of Outcome Knowledge on Judgment Under Uncertainty — Baruch Fischhoff (1975)
- Hindsight ≠ foresight: the effect of outcome knowledge on judgment under uncertainty (1975 paper, 2003 reprint) — Baruch Fischhoff (2003)
- Description of Fama/French 5 Factors (2x3) — Kenneth R. French
- PS12/2: Client assets sourcebook — Custody liens (January 2012) — Financial Services Authority
- Tail Risk Constraints and Maximum Entropy — author-hosted manuscript — Donald Geman, Hélyette Geman, Nassim Nicholas Taleb (2015)
- GIPS Standards Handbook for Firms — CFA Institute
- False (and Missed) Discoveries in Financial Economics — Campbell R. Harvey, Yan Liu (2020)
- IFM03120 — Investors in authorised investment funds: accumulation units — HM Revenue & Customs
- Understanding Interest Rate Risk in Bond Funds — Investment Company Institute
- ILPA Principles 3.0 — definitions of commitments and capital calls — Institutional Limited Partners Association (2019)
- U.S. citizens and resident aliens abroad — Internal Revenue Service
- Build Better Bond Ladders with iBonds — BlackRock
- Prospect Theory: An Analysis of Decision under Risk — Daniel Kahneman, Amos Tversky (1979)
- The Prize in Economic Sciences 2013 — Trendspotting in asset markets — Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences (2013)
- Does Academic Research Destroy Stock Return Predictability? — R. David McLean, Jeffrey Pontiff (2016)
- Take your pension as a guaranteed income: annuities explained — MoneyHelper
- Fixed-rate savings bonds — MoneyHelper
- Take money from your pension when you need it: pension drawdown explained — MoneyHelper
- How to invest pensions in retirement — MoneyHelper
- Types of pension in the UK and how they work — MoneyHelper
- Do I need a buy-to-let mortgage? — Amalia Illgner (2026)
- How to find a pension or retirement adviser — MoneyHelper
- How much money do I need for my retirement? — MoneyHelper
- What's the difference between saving and investing my money? — MoneyHelper
- How to set a savings goal — MoneyHelper
- MSCI Factor Advanced Series Indexes Methodology — February 2025 — MSCI
- Foundations of Factor Investing — Jennifer Bender, Remy Briand, Dimitris Melas, Raman Aylur Subramanian
- MSCI Index Calculation Methodology — price, total return and withholding definitions — MSCI (2026)
- How is an index constructed? — MSCI
- Foreign exchange forward contracts — FAQ — National Bank of Georgia
- Tax residency — Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
- The Permanent Portfolio: Harry Browne’s Long-Term Investment Strategy — Chapter 1 excerpt — Craig Rowland, J. M. Lawson (2012)
- Return Stacked ETFs — Frequently Asked Questions — Return Stacked ETFs
- Stocks, Bonds, Bills, and Inflation – 2020 Summary Edition — Roger G. Ibbotson, James P. Harrington
- Accrued Interest — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
- Beginners' Guide to Asset Allocation, Diversification, and Rebalancing — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
- Asset Allocation and Diversification — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
- What You Can Do to Avoid Investment Fraud — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
- Balanced Fund — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
- Exchange-Traded Products (ETPs) Providing Exposure to Bitcoin and Ether — Investor Bulletin — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (2024)
- Bond Funds and Income Funds — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
- Investor Bulletin: Fixed Income Investments — When Interest Rates Go Up, Prices of Fixed-Rate Bonds Fall — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
- Bonds - FAQs — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
- Investor Bulletin: Brokers' Miscellaneous Fees — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
- Cash Sweep Programs for Uninvested Cash in Your Investment Accounts – Investor Bulletin — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
- Compound Interest Calculator — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
- Compound Interest — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
- What Are Corporate Bonds? — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
- Updated Investor Bulletin: The ABCs of Credit Ratings — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
- Crypto Asset Custody Basics for Retail Investors — Investor Bulletin — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (2025)
- Investor Bulletin: Crypto Asset Interest-bearing Accounts — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (2022)
- Define Your Goals — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
- Dollar Cost Averaging — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
- Updated Investor Bulletin: Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
- Exchange-Traded Products (ETPs) — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
- Investor Bulletin: Exchange Traded Notes (ETNs) — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (2015)
- How Fees and Expenses Affect Your Investment Portfolio – Investor Bulletin — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
- Figure Out Your Finances — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
- Say NO GO to FOMO (archived Director's Take) — Lori Schock
- Characteristics of Mutual Funds and Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) – Investor Bulletin — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
- Fund Distributions – Investor Bulletin — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
- Mutual Fund and ETF Fees and Expenses — Investor Bulletin — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
- Information Available to Investment Company Shareholders — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
- Updated Investor Bulletin: How to Read a Mutual Fund or ETF Shareholder Report — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (2024)
- Fund of Funds — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
- Pay Off Credit Cards or Other High Interest Debt — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
- What Are High-yield Corporate Bonds? — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
- Investor Bulletin: Holding Your Securities — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority
- Index Funds — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
- International Investing — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
- Investor Bulletin: Interval Funds — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (2020)
- Investment Advisers — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
- What is Risk? — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
- Leveraged Investing Strategies – Know the Risks Before Using These Advanced Investment Tools — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
- Liquidity (or Marketability) — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
- Investor Bulletin: Understanding Margin Accounts — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
- Money Market Funds: Investor Bulletin — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
- Investor Bulletin: Non-traded REITs — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (2015)
- Protecting Your Online Investment Accounts from Fraud — Investor Bulletin — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
- Online Investing — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
- Understanding Order Types — Investor Bulletin — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
- Investor Bulletin: Performance Claims — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
- Private Equity Funds — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
- Private Placements under Regulation D — Updated Investor Bulletin — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (2026)
- Investor Bulletin: Publicly Traded REITs — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (2016)
- How to Read a Mutual Fund Prospectus (Part 1 of 3: Investment Objective, Strategies, and Risks) — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
- New T+1 Settlement Cycle — What Investors Need To Know: Investor Bulletin — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (2024)
- Investor Bulletin: SIPC Protection (Part 1: SIPC Basics) — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Securities Investor Protection Corporation
- Stocks - FAQs — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
- Target Date Funds — Investor Bulletin — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
- Ticker — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
- Trusted Contacts — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
- The Arithmetic of Active Management — William F. Sharpe (1991)
- What SIPC Protects — Securities Investor Protection Corporation
- Longevity Illustrators — longevity risk and life expectancy — Society of Actuaries
- About SPIVA — comparison and persistence methodology — S&P Dow Jones Indices
- SPIVA Scorecards: An Overview — S&P Dow Jones Indices (2021)
- ALFRED Help — vintage data and release dates — Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
- Treasury Bills — U.S. Department of the Treasury
- Information on Negative Rates and TIPS — U.S. Department of the Treasury
- Understanding Pricing and Interest Rates — U.S. Department of the Treasury
- TIPS — U.S. Department of the Treasury
- Can I see what dividends I get if I invest in the accumulation share class of a fund? — Vanguard
- Cost averaging: Invest now or temporarily hold your cash? — Megan Finlay, Josef Zorn (2023)
- Hedged vs unhedged shares: what to consider — James Norton, Kelly Gemmell
- Vanguard Funds plc — Prospectus (currency and hedging sections) — Vanguard Funds plc
- Early retirement and the 4% rule: How FIRE investors can succeed — Vanguard (2025)
- What affects index tracking? — Vanguard
- Vanguard's Principles for Investing Success — Vanguard
- AI exuberance: Economic upside, stock market downside — VCMM methodology appendix — Vanguard
- Share classes of Vanguard mutual funds — Vanguard
- Rebalancing your portfolio: How to rebalance — Vanguard
- Vanguard's Principles for Retirement Income — Vanguard
- WisdomTree U.S. Efficient Core Fund — investment structure and risks — WisdomTree