Investors can suffer from information overload. What key sources should they use for learning?

UM, here! (Right answer, Mr Editor?) But you need more than we can fit here each week.

We’re talking two commodities here. One is information. Two is time.

There is, literally, truckloads of information. And, as luck would have it, Gen Xers have oodles of time on their hands. Careers, kids, after school and weekend sports and trying to pretend we have a social life leaves us loads of time to waste … thpppppt!

If you don’t have time, get a professional. Financial advisers can deliver you what you need to know in short bursts a few times a year.

However, if you’re more DIY, then you need a giant filter. But there’s no magic version.

If you’re new to a topic, read books. Several of them. The 10 or so hours spent reading each will immerse you deeply in a topic.

For shares, the ASX website is a must. If you’re actively trading, then your trading platform (such as CommSec or Etrade) will be essential also.

For cash investments … if you’ve got a mortgage, then the only thing you need to know are the words “offset” and “redraw”. That’s where your spare cash should be. Outside of that, sites such as infochoice.com.au and canstar.com.au will give you good ideas for cash returns.

When it comes to property, pretty much all information is, sadly, appallingly out of date by the time it’s published. But you’ve got to go with what’s available, then research deeply the area you’re interested in.

But to be up to date with investment trends broadly, you simply can’t go past newspapers (physical and online).

Bruce Brammall is the author of Debt Man Walking (www.debtman.com.au) and principal adviser with Castellan Financial Consulting.