Investing is a great way to increase your wealth, but it can also be intimidating, especially if you're a beginner.
The key is to find information that simplifies the investing process and empowers you. You want to be able to make informed decisions and feel confident in how you manage your money.
While there’s no shortage of investment sites on the internet, it’s also hard to know which ones to trust.
To make your job easier, we've done the research for you. We evaluated some of the most trusted financial news sites on the web, and selected a few that we think are great choices for first-time investors.
To make it to our lists of the best financial news sites for beginners, each site has to offer accessible and digestible information on topics like investing, personal finance, and economic news.
We also looked for unique features, such as stock market simulators and educational sections. All of these sites in our list are accessible for free, but in case you’re interested in paid subscriptions, there’s plenty of that as well.
Here are our favorite investment news sites for newbies:
1. CNBC
CNBC.com is the website behind CNBC, one of the best channels for stock market news in the US. The site has everything from market updates to in-depth analysis of economic trends and even some lifestyle stories that are relevant to investors.
The site's “Investing: Personal Finance” section is particularly useful for beginners—it covers everything from basic financial terms to an overview of different types of investments, including stocks, bonds and mutual funds.
CNBC has several notable awards under its belt, including an Emmy Award for Outstanding Business News Series and an Edward R. Murrow Award for Technical Innovation.
It's free to browse the website, but CNBC also has a Pro subscription that offers exclusive access to investing trends, analysis, and more.
2. Investing.com
Investing.com is an outstanding financial news site for all kinds of investors, but it's particularly friendly for beginners thanks to its “Education” section.
The site offers an exhaustive dictionary with in-depth explanations of more than 4,000 financial terms and concepts from “absolute return” to “yield curve.”
It also offers a comprehensive guide to investing that covers everything from the basics of buying stocks to the mechanics of options trading.
The site has won several awards including a four-star rating from Kiplinger and being named one of the best websites by Time.
Investing.com is totally free, but if you’re ready for the next level, you can also subscribe to its InvestingPro paid membership. Here, you get access to watchlists, screeners, charts, and the latest updates on assets all over the world.
3. TheStreet
TheStreet gives first-time investors an expert look at what's going on in the market without having to understand all the complicated lingo or metrics.
The site’s Investing section is a mix of the latest financial news from around the world and educational articles about basic investment topics, such as market analysis of stocks and other financial instruments.
The Personal Finance section is also particularly helpful if you want to learn about related topics, like debt management, taxes, and retirement.
TheStreet has many free resources, along with several premium subscriptions for exclusive investing content.
4. The Motley Fool
The Motley Fool offers tons of free educational resources to help investors learn the basics.
For example, beginner investors can learn how to analyze financial statements, research and pick stocks, set up an investment portfolio, make their first trade, and much more.
You can also browse through stocks to watch, search for the next big IPO or find the best bargains for the day along with ways to improve your finances.
The Motley Fool writers have won numerous awards, including the Gerald Loeb Award, the highest honor in business journalism. They also have several bestselling books under their belts.
The site is free to browse and read. It offers premium services, such as Stock Advisor, Rule Breakers, and Market Pass. These subscriptions offer access to powerful analysis tools, portfolio tracking software, and insider tips and investment recommendations.
5. Bloomberg
Bloomberg is not just one of the best investing newspapers, but also an exceptional financial news site for beginners who might be intimidated by the Wall Street Journal or The New York Times.
That’s because Bloomberg’s stories are short, sweet, and to the point. You won’t have to spend hours reading through long-winded articles to get the information you need.
Aside from their educational investment articles, Bloomberg is one of the most comprehensive sources of breaking investment news. They don’t just cover traditional investment options like stocks, but also crypto, NFTs, and other non-conventional choices.
Finally, Bloomberg is a multi-awarded organization that has been recognized by The Press Awards, Overseas Press Club, Society of Publishers in Asia, and The Mirror Awards, among others.
6. Financial Times
Financial Times (FT) offers a wide variety of stories about business and finance for anyone who’s just getting started in the space.
This includes the basics of investing in stocks and bonds, basic guides to retirement planning, consumer finance advice, and more.
In addition, FT provides a variety of investment tools to help readers understand how different types of investments work, including stocks, bonds, mutual funds, ETFs (exchange-traded funds), real estate, gold, and other commodities.
Financial Times is recognized as one of the world's most authoritative voices on business news and trends. It won several dozen journalism awards in 2017 alone — including five George Polk Awards.
A lot of the site's content is free, but some of it is behind a paywall. FT offers several levels of paid access: Digital, Standard Digital, and Premium Digital, with varying features and prices.
7. Fox Business
Fox Business is another finance website that's a terrific resource for newbies.
It offers the latest news and in-depth coverage of all things related to money, stock news, bonds, mutual funds, investing strategies and personal finance.
The website also includes an interactive stock screener that lets you filter stocks by industry or sector for research purposes. There are calculators for retirement savings, auto loans, mortgages, home affordability and more.
In addition, Fox Business offers real-time financing data quotes from over 20 different stock exchanges around the world.
Finally, Fox Business has been recognized as one of the top online financial sources by Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine, as well as Forbes Magazine.
The site is free to use, and also has one of the best financial news apps that are free for Apple and Android devices.
8. Benzinga
Investing doesn't have to be boring, and Benzinga does an awesome job of keeping readers engaged with its curated content delivered in various media formats.
If you'd rather watch a video, Benzinga has you covered with its YouTube channel.
For those who like podcasts, there are tons of daily shows that focus on specific categories like behavioral finance, cryptocurrency updates and dividend stocks updates.
Benzinga's website also offers guides on a range of topics from how to invest in gold to how to invest in marijuana stocks. There's even access to special reports on topics like Bitcoin investing for beginners and ETFs for beginners.
The Benzinga news site is an excellent resource for new investors and those on a tight budget because it's free to use.
It does offer Benzinga Pro for more serious investors looking for information like expert stock picks, but you don't need to subscribe to take advantage of the site's information and tools.
9. NerdWallet
As its name suggests, NerdWallet is designed for people who want to be smart about their money, and that includes anyone who wants to start investing.
Specifically, the “Investing” section of NerdWallet’s website covers topics like how to invest, how to pick a financial adviser or online broker, stock trading, bonds, ETFs and mutual funds, retirement, IRAs, and 401(k)s.
It also covers topics like how to choose a brokerage, what fees you should expect when investing, and which stocks are worth buying right now.
NerdWallet provides all of this information for free, and it doesn't require readers to register or subscribe in order to access the articles they need.
You may need to submit your email address if you want a personalized investment analysis or if you want access to one of the company's tools. But otherwise, there is no charge for using this site.
NerdWallet was founded in 2009 and has been recognized as a leading personal finance site by The Wall Street Journal, CNBC, Kiplinger, and others.
10. Zacks Investment Research
Zacks Investment Research may be a little intimidating at first glance — the site is full of charts and graphs — but it’s actually one of the best finance websites for stocks, trading, futures, and other essential investment information.
For one, the site has an entire Education section geared toward introducing beginners to stocks, market analysis, investing strategies, and portfolio management.
It also provides information about technical indicators like moving averages, volume, and momentum indicators.
They also have an easy-to-use app and newsletter that provides additional resources to help you follow your investments on the go. You can also subscribe to their various paid Investment Services which offer additional features including screeners and real-time research reports.
11. MarketWatch
The Wall Street Journal's investment publication, MarketWatch, has a dedicated How to Invest section designed to guide newbies into the industry.
It covers many investing topics, such as mutual funds, ETFs, and bonds, with section links at the top of the page. It also offers columns from financial advisors on how to invest wisely and plan for retirement.
Furthermore, you can read stories that cover individual stocks or sectors like biotech or real estate. There are even video interviews with CEOs about what's happening in their industry.
If you're short on time and want to stay up to date on the latest investing news, MarketWatch publishes a daily newsletter called “Need to Know.” It provides details about the best-performing stocks of the day, along with other market stats.
One super unique feature of MarketWatch is their Virtual Stock Exchange. It’s an investment simulation game where you can react to markets and build your portfolio in real-time.
There’s no real money involved (just virtual cash), so you can practice and take risks without worrying about losing your money.
12. Investopedia
Investopedia is an amazing online resource for beginners who don’t know the first thing about how to invest or what all the jargon even means.
Just like the best financial news sites on our list, Investopedia also has a special “Education” section that starts with a comprehensive investment dictionary.
You can learn the meaning of essential terminologies like dividend, compounding, earnings per share, annuity, and more.
Do you want a more formal study of the investment space? You can sign up for one of the paid courses on Investopedia Academy, including trading courses, investing courses, and personal finance courses.
There's even an Investing Simulator designed to help get new investors started in the stock market.
The simulator allows you to practice trading stocks using virtual money before committing real funds to your account. It's a fun way to learn how to trade stocks without fear of losing your savings.
13. Seeking Alpha
Seeking Alpha is another excellent first stop for investors who want to do their own research, at their own pace.
The Education part of their website has a section devoted to Investing Explained. There’s a wealth of beginner-friendly information here, from how to open a brokerage account, definitions of various investment terms, and content on ETFs, derivatives, bonds, stocks, and more.
If you’re looking for an easy-to-read analysis of what’s moving the markets on any particular day, Seeking Alpha offers daily wrap-ups from various contributors.
You can also read interviews with top investors and learn how to use the tools they use to make money in the markets.
The site also has a robust community of users who comment on articles and interact with each other; this community can be a great resource for beginners who are looking for answers to their questions.
While the site is free to use without a subscription, Seeking Alpha also offers premium memberships with exclusive content and features. A free trial period is offered before committing so you can test out all features before deciding if it's right for you.
14. Yahoo Finance
Yahoo Finance is a good starting point for beginner investors looking for a one-stop shop for everything financial. With news about personal finance, real estate, banking, retirement and college savings, the site covers all major investment topics.
The site also boasts a variety of investment tools for newbies such as stock and mutual fund screeners, calculators, market data, watchlists, portfolio tracking, and more.
Yahoo Finance is completely free for anyone to access online.The site does not require any sort of subscription or membership in order to read most of its content.
However, it also offers Yahoo Finance Plus, which delivers real-time stock quotes, linked brokers for tracking your portfolio, interactive charts, custom alerts, webinars, and other premium investment content and features.
Summary
No matter which one you choose, you can’t go wrong with any of the financial news sites above. All of them have a strong reputation for delivering accurate, trustworthy, and fact-checked investment information that’s useful for both beginners and seasoned investors alike.
We hope you find this list useful, and we wish you the very best on your investment journey!
Aidan has been writing about personal finance for over 6 years. Prior to this, he worked as a Corporate Finance Analyst where he specialized in Due Diligence, Company Valuations and more. He is a CFA charterholder.
