Margin

To be successful, an investor needs to do more than just buy some stocks or other assets and then ignore them. Instead, experts suggest, individuals should either take an active role by monitoring their investments or let a professional do it for them.

Price-to-earnings, debt-to-equity: Investors doing their research about companies come across these ratios all the time. Peter Hand, an investment analyst on the North American Equity Team at Aberdeen Asset Management in Philadelphia, discusses financial ratios and how they help to inform investment decisions.