Welcome to Fool.de!

Congratulations on finding your way to Fool.de! But what now?

Fool.de is your source for coverage of stocks, the stock market, and investing in general. This may sound similar to other websites, but we’re different. Why? Because we’re investors, just like you. And our primary goal is to help you invest better.

The professional analysts at the big banks, and the traders on the floor of the Frankfurt Exchange focus on short time periods. For them, a year is an eternity. Their approach to investing is not the type of investing that creates long-term success.

Meanwhile, journalists are great at soberly delivering news and facts, but they’re not investors, so they don’t focus on what today’s news means for your investments.

And that’s where we come into play.

On Fool.de, you can expect to find the following:

• Investors like you that are looking for the best investment opportunities.
• Writers who are not just concerned with what happened, but also with the question of why it’s important.
• A long-term approach to investing, similar to successful investors like Warren Buffett.
• Educational material that’s aimed at making you a better investor. After all, the core focus of The Motley Fool is to help the world invest better.
• An amusing, engaging approach to investing. (Don’t get us wrong, we fully recognize the importance of wise investing and good financial habits. But that doesn’t mean that we can’t have some fun while we’re at it!)

On the other hand, here’s what you won’t find on Fool.de:

• The notion that only “specialists” or certified geniuses should invest. We believe strongly that everyone can invest well. As Warren Buffett has said: “You don’t need to be a rocket scientist. Investing is not a game where the guy with the 160 IQ beats the guy with 130 IQ.”
• A love of high prices for low-return investments. Money that you need soon — that is, in the next few years — needs a safe, secure home. But when you’re saving for a retirement that’s still 10, 20, or 30 years away, 1% or 2% returns is too low, especially when you have to pay high fees.
• A “know it all” clique that makes you feel left out. The finance experts on the high floors in Frankfurt want you to think that they know everything and you know nothing. This approach makes it easier for them to sell you high-priced investment products.

So what’s next? First you should read our 13 Steps. That’s our quick-start guide to help you put your financial- and investing-life in order. After that, you can check out our other informative content under the “What Is” and “Who Is” headings. And of course, you can bookmark the Fool.de site, so that you can easily come back to read our daily market updates and investment analysis.

Once again, welcome to Fool.de — the more Fools there are in this world, the better!