Many young professionals who are interested in investing their own money are troubled by the idea of where to start. With thousands of stocks and various other investment products to choose from, we can understand why investing may be daunting.

The S&P 500, or just S&P measures the stock performance for 500 of the largest publicly traded US companies across various industries. It is widely recognized as the standard benchmark and gives a strong indication on the health of the U.S. stock market.

One of the largest debates within the investment community remains the merit of active management relative to the passive management option. Let’s start by defining these terms.

Diversification is a word that is talked about frequently in investment circles and among those just getting started. This a word that shouldn’t scare anyone but can take on many different meanings and levels when constructing your portfolio.