The markets before investing a single euro

It explains a mechanism: what financial instruments are, what fees apply to them, how they are taxed in France, and how the sector that sells training on them functions economically. The goal is for you to know what questions to ask and what to check before entrusting money to anyone.

Part I — What You Are Actually Buying

Stock, bond, fund, ETF, derivative, CFD, digital asset: what each truly is, and what you own — or don't own. The distinction between investing, speculating, and gambling, and why time works for you in the first case and against you in the third. The principle that rules out almost all fraudulent offers, and the question to ask when faced with any offer: where does the money come from?

Part II — The Fees, or Why the House Always Wins

Visible fees and their superposition on accounts. Invisible fees: bid-ask spread, overnight financing, slippage, exchange, inactivity — these are what determine the short-term outcome. Leverage explained mechanically, with forced liquidation and the asymmetry of reconstitution. What the European regulator has imposed, and the mandatory figure that every broker must publish — read it first. Then, the calculation of your annual break-even point, in three spreadsheet lines.

Part III — French Taxation

The flat-rate withholding tax and the option for the progressive income tax scale, which is global. Accounts — securities account, PEA, life insurance — and the general rule: tax advantages come with constraints. Digital assets: triggering event, calculation, and why the complete history of your operations is irrecoverable if a platform closes. Accounts abroad: the obligation of annual declaration, without threshold, with a fine per account and per year — the point in the book that costs the most to ignore.

Part IV — The Training Landscape

Where trainers' money actually comes from, and the three questions that settle the discussion. The model of trader funding companies, described mechanically. Signals, automated copying, robots: why a simulated history has no predictive value. Checking an intermediary in five minutes, register by register. The six-step scam pattern, and the fund recovery scam that follows.

Part V — If You Go Ahead Anyway

Six rules that don't guarantee profit but reduce the risk of serious damage. The most expensive bias: the confusion between luck and skill, explained arithmetically. And the three elements without which you cannot know if you are good.

What You Get

• An eleven-point checklist before opening an account
• The table of official registers: where to check what
• The calculation of your personal break-even point
• The three questions to ask a trainer
• The scam pattern, step by step
• A glossary of thirteen terms

Who It's For

Those considering opening an account and wanting to understand what they are buying. Those who are solicited. Those who are hesitant about a four-figure training course. And those who have already lost money and want to understand the mechanism.

Who It's Not For

Those looking for a method, strategy, or recommendation. There are none here, and the book explains why those who sell them get paid whether you win or not.

What the Book Does Not Cover

Any investment recommendation, product, or intermediary. Technical and fundamental analysis. The construction of a portfolio adapted to your situation, which falls under the purview of a registered advisor. The details of your taxation, which falls under the purview of an accountant.

Format

PDF, 23 pages, approximately 4,300 words divided into 5 parts, 19 chapters, and 3 appendices. Immediate access after purchase.

This book is not investment advice. It does not recommend any product, support, strategy, or intermediary, and contains no forecasts or quantified returns. For a decision that commits you, consult a registered financial investment advisor and verify their registration yourself. Tax rules evolve: check impots.gouv.fr.