[skim7x]

Hey guys... I'm starting to accumulate some money through a side job I have and I want to start getting into investing. Do any of you have any experience/advice you could give me about investing in the stock market?

1) What are some safer stocks to go with? Index 500?
2) Who do you trade through? or do you do it yourself through some site?
3) Where do you get your 'information' (I'd suspect you need to be on top of a company's policies and recent decisions in order to determine if they are worth investing in...)
4) Where can I learn more about trading? There isn't a http://www.stockmarketpost.com is there? (ok i just checked, there IS... but if you have a site that is somewhat more helpful than stockmarketpost.com, I'd appreciate it)

[e90fanatic]

1. what's index 500? i've been investing a while...never heard of index 500 lol...only heard of S&P 500...etc..but that's not a stock either...it's a fund. Stocks are different..the "index 500" means 500 companies...1 stock is for 1 company
2. I trade with Charles Schwab (previously used: Etrade and TDAmeritrade)
3. You do your research with a lot of different tools....some listen to others but I do my own homework. PM me about this..
4. School, friends, and common sense.

Lemme know if you have questions...

oh...try to read about the stock market and see different terms that you don't understand then do a search and learn about it..i learned a lot this way....

as a beginner, i'd recommend my friends to Zecco.com...they are new and they are awesome. $0 trade commissions and have a forums similar to this that have different members to have discussion about the market and stocks. I personally don't use this because I trade more than 200 times annually and it makes more sense to be an active trader at Schwab where I get more benefits and features.

[txusa03]

I wish i had more apple stocks

[e90fanatic]

Originally Posted by txusa03

I wish i had more apple stocks

lol...i bought shares at 52 when it was going down a few months ago....just sold it!!

im afraid the phone will have issues (production, or sw/hw) and the fact that cingular/at&t sucks as$, the market expectation might not be met.

[canucklion]

here's my advice: buy low, sell high

[e90fanatic]

Originally Posted by canucklion

here's my advice: buy low, sell high

[007e92]

Originally Posted by e90fanatic

lol...i bought shares at 52 when it was going down a few months ago....just sold it!!

im afraid the phone will have issues (production, or sw/hw) and the fact that cingular/at&t sucks as$, the market expectation might not be met.

RSI had a good sell signal on this on 6/10 good sell.

[scottwww]

Unless you have a lot of time to invest as well as money, I would leave most of the decisions up to a professional. That could be a mutual fund manager, hedge fund manager, financial advisor... The trouble is picking a good advisor. You will be paying them substantially for their expertise.

The money you put into individual stocks should just be speculation money that you are not counting on being available if you need it some day. When individual stocks are used as a primary investment, you should have diversity in them. Probably at the very least 20 differnet well-chosen stocks. And don't buy domestic investments only.

You need to know how much risk you are ready to accept, what your time-frame is for cashing in the chips, and what are your reasonable expectations for rate of return.

The experts disagree to a high degree about how to invest your money. As an individual investor it is hard to know any better than them.

Don't put it all in one place. Don't let it sit idle. If you can't baby sit it, then get the help of someone who will do it. The stock market is a great place to invest, but it certainly is not the only place.

[e90fanatic]

Originally Posted by scottwww

Unless you have a lot of time to invest as well as money, I would leave most of the decisions up to a professional. That could be a mutual fund manager, hedge fund manager, financial advisor... The trouble is picking a good advisor. You will be paying them substantially for their expertise.

The money you put into individual stocks should just be speculation money that you are not counting on being available if you need it some day. When individual stocks are used as a primary investment, you should have diversity in them. Probably at the very least 20 differnet well-chosen stocks. And don't buy domestic investments only.

You need to know how much risk you are ready to accept, what your time-frame is for cashing in the chips, and what are your reasonable expectations for rate of return.

The experts disagree to a high degree about how to invest your money. As an individual investor it is hard to know any better than them.

Don't put it all in one place. Don't let it sit idle. If you can't baby sit it, then get the help of someone who will do it. The stock market is a great place to invest, but it certainly is not the only place.

lol..that's exactly what i do...some money in speculative self-directed investing, mutual funds, and private banking (your own fund)...

[HEY32G]

Look at: www.powershares.com, look at their "Dynamic Funds", they're ETFs.

Buy them thru a deep discount broker.

Learn to do your own stockpicking. Financial Advisors, for the most part, wouldn't know the difference between a good stock and their own butt. They're salesmen!

Read one of William O'Neill's books, and read Investors Business Daily everyday. Learning it yourself is the best way to go. But if you find you aren't good at it, admit that, and find someone that is.

[darkcloud]

My buddy is a financial advisor for Raymond James so I use him. I grew up with him and went to college together so I trust him. I also told him if he losses my money I know where he lives and I'll cut his balls off. So far he's been up 15% most of the time, so no chopping yet.

[Ascension]

Originally Posted by scottwww

Unless you have a lot of time to invest as well as money, I would leave most of the decisions up to a professional. That could be a mutual fund manager, hedge fund manager, financial advisor... The trouble is picking a good advisor. You will be paying them substantially for their expertise.

The money you put into individual stocks should just be speculation money that you are not counting on being available if you need it some day. When individual stocks are used as a primary investment, you should have diversity in them. Probably at the very least 20 differnet well-chosen stocks. And don't buy domestic investments only.

You need to know how much risk you are ready to accept, what your time-frame is for cashing in the chips, and what are your reasonable expectations for rate of return.

The experts disagree to a high degree about how to invest your money. As an individual investor it is hard to know any better than them.

Don't put it all in one place. Don't let it sit idle. If you can't baby sit it, then get the help of someone who will do it. The stock market is a great place to invest, but it certainly is not the only place.

+1 I've invested in mutual funds for the last 10 years and have done very well. The (4) that I'm currently investing in are Longleaf Partners Fund (ticker symbol-llpfx)closed to new investors), Excelsior Value & Restructuring Fund (umbix), Soundshore Fund (sshfx), & Oakmark Select Fund(oaklx). By participating in the automatic investment plan, it allows me to do dollar cost averaging. This is the technique of buying a fixed dollar amount of a particular investment on a regular schedule, regardless of the share price.

[Ascension]

Oh, here's a book every value investor should read: "Benjamin Graham On Value Investing"

[japac1]

I recommend "fee-only" advisors. I switched to one from American Express Financial (where he made money if he pushed a certain fund, insurance, etc) to a fee-only group that only gets more money if I make more money. Even then, the more I make, the less cut he takes. Search online for groups near you.

[Ascension]

JIM CRAMER
http://www.nbcuniversalstore.com/ind...v=nbucnbnowmad

[Couch]

Blue Chip stocks if you want to be a long term.

Look at CDs and mutual funds for the short term. I suggest doing this until you learn more about investing in general. The best to do right now is talk to a broker. Preferably one recommended by a friend/family member.

My dad finally found a broker he's extremely happy with. She even helped me out with my 401K for free. She also drive a 5-Series.

As far as Apple goes, I'd be careful. Its extremely over-hyped.

I have Exxon, GE and Dynegy.

I purchased Dynegy after the Enron scandal for $1.79. I've made a nice return, but I'm sitting on it long term.

I was all ready to drop $2500 on Google for a short term gain. Listened to my dad and didn't do it. Learned a lesson to go with my gut.

[Poderes1]

Originally Posted by skim7x

Hey guys... I'm starting to accumulate some money through a side job I have and I want to start getting into investing. Do any of you have any experience/advice you could give me about investing in the stock market?

1) What are some safer stocks to go with? Index 500?
2) Who do you trade through? or do you do it yourself through some site?
3) Where do you get your 'information' (I'd suspect you need to be on top of a company's policies and recent decisions in order to determine if they are worth investing in...)
4) Where can I learn more about trading? There isn't a http://www.stockmarketpost.com is there? (ok i just checked, there IS... but if you have a site that is somewhat more helpful than stockmarketpost.com, I'd appreciate it)

Hey skim!!! I assume that you are self-employed on the side. Correct?? You should start by opening a SEP IRA. Since you are self-employed on the side, government allows you to legally save up to a 100% or $42,000 a year whichever is less. It is tax deductible so you have a tax advantage right there. I would start with some investing in some good Mutual Funds since you are a beginner. You can't invest on your own unless you become more familiar with the market. So put some money aside on Mutual funds and also you might want to look for a very reputable investment advisor in which you can get a separate cash account to put some money on stocks as well as ETF's. Thats what i do. I have an IRA which is invested in Mutual funds and also I have 3 separate cash accounts in which one is invested in Mutual Funds, the other in Stocks and ETF's. I only use one of them to trade stock for my own portfolio. Another account I have an Investment Advisor manage it. The others, I just watch it periodically for growth prospects in the long-term.
I have accounts with TD Ameritrade, Primerica Shareholder Dervices, and the one I trade on my own is Optionsxpress. I use stocks charts and screener software to help me determine trades because I understand how to read the charts and analyze the technicals of the stocks that help get signals when to buy and when to sell. Well hope the helps. Lots of luck.

[Gripster]

I tried the day trading thing and made no real money, so I decided it was no better than gambling and gave up... Hot tips never turn out to be true and the stock that did well for your buddy will tank after you buy it.

I now invest through a professional. I pay an annual fee to Ameriprise and everything gets taken care of. The fee is offset several times by the growth I see, so it's well worth it to me.

[ward]

if you're going to pick individual stocks, you have to do a bunch of research

what goal do you have? how much time do you plan on leaving your money invested

I use a website www.fool.com the motley fool, and I pay them to do the research for me, and it's worked out well for me. I use the "hidden gems" newsletter to find young small cap stocks with growth potential over the long term.

[Couch]

Originally Posted by ward

if you're going to pick individual stocks, you have to do a bunch of research

what goal do you have? how much time do you plan on leaving your money invested

I use a website www.fool.com the motley fool, and I pay them to do the research for me, and it's worked out well for me. I use the "hidden gems" newsletter to find young small cap stocks with growth potential over the long term.

I like Motley Fool. Haven't used them personally, but I enjoy reading articles written by them.

[ska///235i]

Originally Posted by canucklion

here's my advice: buy low, sell high

we learn something new everyday

[pglogan]

Here's the most important/useful advice you can receive: Go out and buy a couple of books, watch CNBC nonstop (and Bloomberg if you can get it), read, read, read, and read, and open a virtual account and start practicing. You def. dont want to begin investing on real money, trust me.

Also, I what you hear on CNBC and read in the WSJ is already old news by the time you read it, therefore, don't trade on that news. The majority of times "smart money" knowns about the news and has already begun distributing stock, resulting in a quick top and no upside with high risk on the downside.

If I were you, I would determine what you're risk profile is. If you are young and making good money (aside from your investing allocation), then maybe you have the tolerance to take more risk and invest in smaller-cap, more volatile stocks. For example, I am 20 years old and can stand to lose money. I trade only on technicals and hold a position for at MOST a month. If you're older and can't afford to lose an exoberant amount of money, then, invest in large to mega-cap stocks and just sit (which I don't recommend).

Don't go with a mutual fund. It really is a subpar instrument. Why invest in a fund that holds some winners and some losers? Learn what you can, and being investing so that you can avoid the losing issues that are included in the fund.

I would also recommend dabbling with options. Once you learn a good deal about stocks and feel comfortable, begin reading/learning about options. They are an INCREDIBLE tool that are MUCH more versatile than equities. You will be able to purchase ALOT mroe stock (potentially) and limit risk by more than half. But, along with these benefits come the complexity of options.

I personally trade options, not equities. If you know what you're doing, there would be no reason to hold equities (unless, of course, you are interested in holding onto a position for more than the option's expiration, and, in that case, you can trade LEAPS instead of equities). using technicals, I ONLY trade options.