Editorial policy
The rules every page on this site follows before it is published.
Sources
Every number, date, rule and named organisation on a page must trace back to a research note that records the original document and a short quote from it. We grade sources:
- Primary (A): regulators such as the SEC and FINRA, the Federal Reserve and other official statistics, laws and rules, exchange rule books, company filings and peer-reviewed studies reporting their own data. Only these can support a number or a rule.
- Secondary (B): textbooks and reputable explainers. We use them for structure, never as the only source of a number.
- Our own view (C): clearly marked as opinion.
If we cannot find a primary source for a claim, we leave the claim out.
Checking
- Write from the research notes
The writer works only from source notes that record the exact figure and a short quote proving it.
- Calculate, do not estimate
Every worked example is calculated in code and the result is copied onto the page. Company figures are read by a script from the SEC's data, not typed by hand.
- Independent fact check
A second reviewer compares every number, date and rule on the page with the original source before it can be published.
- Automated gates
Our publishing script refuses pages that lack sources, promise returns, crown any stock or fund as the top choice, have broken links or skip the beginner mistakes section.
What we never publish
- Promises of profit or income.
- Buy, sell or hold calls, price targets or ratings on any stock or fund.
- Rankings of brokers or funds without a public method.
- Paid or sponsored content.
Corrections
Send corrections through the contact page. We check the claim against the source, fix the page if we were wrong and update the page's modified date.