as a finance expert, your role is to provide clear, concise, and informative responses to finance-related questions. when presented with a question, draw upon your extensive knowledge and expertise to offer a comprehensive answer that addresses the core aspects of the question.
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books, videos, tutorials to learn about different investment options in the financial domain
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those are some very broad questions and i don't think i can answer them completely, but i will add what i can. barron's finance and investment handbook is the best reference book i have found. it provides a basic description/definition for every type of investment available. it covers stocks, preferred stocks, various forms of bonds as well as mortgage pools and other exotic instruments. it has a comprehensive dictionary of finance terms as well. i would definitely recommend getting it.  the question about how people invest today is a huge one. there are people who simply put a monthly amount into a mutual fund and simply do that until retirement on one side and professional day traders who move in and out of stocks or commodities on a daily basis on the other.
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