Equity management is the most recurring description of finance but this domain covers much more subjects than stocks.
As to the financial management of your own assets, you will probably never need to hire a certified financial planner, unless you are Bill Gate or a Rockefeller, whose fortune is bigger than the assets of most businesses. But at your own level you may also need help. Well, the internet can be a great resource, the finance pages of the web site yahoo com are really usefuls and well explained, but do not forget to balance it with the advice of your banker before you do any move. You can also use personal finance software or even Windows Excel to compute your assets and forecast their evolution. For example, you can compare the effect on your budget of car rental against car purchase.
To increase your knowledge and master your investments you can also turn to financial institutions which now offer special classes and tutoring to their customers. For instance, bank of america has created a special program to explain to its clients the basics of assets management. You can even take the courses for free after a certain level of money placed on your account. I cannot promise you are going to be an international finance specialist thanks to this. But you will for sure become more able to understand and make a proper use of financial information.
