Need advice.

[Newguy]

Hello everyone,
I am new at this, really don't have knowledge about the stock mrket. But want to start investing into the stock market. I have heard from slot of people this is the best time to invest, if you have the funds. Well, wanted to know some info on investing online. Which site is most beneficial. And how does the process works. Which stocks to invest. How much minimum should I be working with.

Thank you

[Jamesyo]

I'm in the same position, I got started using real cash to trade about three weeks ago. I use Schwab.com because I'm not a day trader(so lower trading fee's don't appeal so much) but I dig their site's useful information and tools. Of course once you have the info they supply it's too late to capitalize on it...

I started with $4000 I've been saving(I'm only 21) and thus far I've lost about $150-250 of it depending on the day! I'm not connected with the money really so I see it as an expense for the education I'm receiving. I got Apple at $80 and it's up to 89 today, woot.

I don't know if I'm doing it right or wrong, so I'll be interested in seeing other peoples responses.

[smartinvestor30]

Hello everyone,
I am new at this, really don't have knowledge about the stock mrket. But want to start investing into the stock market. I have heard from slot of people this is the best time to invest, if you have the funds. Well, wanted to know some info on investing online. Which site is most beneficial. And how does the process works. Which stocks to invest. How much minimum should I be working with.

Thank you

Look don't listen to what others are saying, a lot of "experts" said buy when the Dow Jones was at 11,000, those same idiots saw it drop more to 9000, and said it down about 33% this is a great buying opportunity then they saw it drop to 7500 and they said this is the bottom get in now.

This is not the time to invest if you are new. You can get killed in this market I promise you, even experienced investors are getting margin calls and getting killed in the market.

Basically a few months ago we were wondering if the banks were insolvent. Now we know they are because they keep needing capital injections and there is talk about nationalizing them.

There's a saying, "buy when there's blood in the streets", if you feel like taking the risk then go for it.

Personally what I would recommend is to buy some gold and silver to preserve the power of your capital, don't worry about making money, that comes as a consequence.

*Disclaimer

Making decisions yourself carries a high level of risk and may not be suitable for all investors. Before deciding to invest you should carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk tolerance.

As always consult a financial adviser before making any changes to your contributions to a retirement account as it may have tax implications. If you wish to lose more of value of your 401k ask a financial adviser for details on how much longer to hold on before selling. Also ask your financial adviser to recommend a new fund, keeping in mind the best funds are always theirs.
:sheep:

[freakscene]

im not comfortable giving advice, but if you are dead set, this might not be a bad way to start.

calling the bottom is the problem. i dont think we're there yet. average in over time.

http://www.onlinetradersforum.com/showthread.php?t=81355

take smartinvestors advice. or maybe consider a high yield savings account instead.

try a simulator and play with fake money to test your abilities and learn. the losses dont hurt so badly ;)

[Galt]

Be clear about your time frame. If you want to "trade", you need to watch it every day and that is one type of education that you need. If you want to buy and hold for 3-5 years, and are willing to hold the right stock thru some great pain, that is investing, and a different type of education.

Even with investing, you should plan on spending an hour a week for each stock that you own, to read reports, press releases, competitor info, etc. (Its the one piece of good advice I ever heard form Jim Cramer). Ideally you want to own 5-7 stocks in different industries to get enough diversification. I think $3,000 per stock is a workable minimum, to avoid excess commissions. For many stocks, this lets you buy 100 or 200 shares. But even one share of BRK at $3000 is fine, number of shares does not matter.

For trading or investing, you should spend some time with some good books first. There is NO one book or website that os perfect, you have to take some stuff from many sources, and have enough knowledge to recognize the BS and ignore it.

[Horace Kent]

Be clear about your time frame. If you want to "trade", you need to watch it every day and that is one type of education that you need. If you want to buy and hold for 3-5 years, and are willing to hold the right stock thru some great pain, that is investing, and a different type of education.

Even with investing, you should plan on spending an hour a week for each stock that you own, to read reports, press releases, competitor info, etc. (Its the one piece of good advice I ever heard form Jim Cramer). Ideally you want to own 5-7 stocks in different industries to get enough diversification. I think $3,000 per stock is a workable minimum, to avoid excess commissions. For many stocks, this lets you buy 100 or 200 shares. But even one share of BRK at $3000 is fine, number of shares does not matter.

For trading or investing, you should spend some time with some good books first. There is NO one book or website that os perfect, you have to take some stuff from many sources, and have enough knowledge to recognize the BS and ignore it.


I agree with Galt. The most important factor in trading/investing is understanding clearly, your time horizon.

This will turn out to be the buying opportunity of a lifetime, but its going to take time getting the economy back on its feet.

Go to www.updown.com - its kinda like a facebook for investing. You can create your own portfolio with 1 mil of fake money. It'll be good practice.

If you're a long term investor, and want to hold stocks for a long time and are considering some purchases down here I highly recommend splitting up your purchases in 5ths. Assume you have the stocks or other investments already picked out. Take 20% of your capital and buy the investments you want in your portfolio. After some time, stocks may be up or down. Buy 20% more....etc.....etc. I would reserve the last 2 purchases of 20% until you have at least a 10% gain on the average of your 3 purchases.

Nobody knows where this is all going. No matter what, you'll need dry powder if stocks fall demonstrably further. If so, you'll have to be even more cautious, but still courageous enough to take advantage of the drop in prices.

You can split up your purchases however you like. I think 20% should be the max.

Nobody can tell you how to "trade." All anyone can do is teach you how THEY trade. You need to learn who are the different fish in the pond, where they eat, and how they hunt. Then, find your school.

But first, you need to read. Read Ben Graham - the intelligent investor. That should get you started. You'll need to read every day what is going on. You'll need to follow the markets daily - all markets, not just stocks. Start reading Barron's weekly - after a while, you won't need it. But, its great to start off with. Read the blogs. accrued interest, alea, alpha trends ( a fantastic tech analysis blog) ritholtz, traderfeed - that should get you started.

go to finviz.com - great place to dissect the market. the maps are awesome.