Investing Money?

Question

Im 16 and i wanted to start investing my money in mutual funds or stocks but i dont know what to investy in and i wanted to know are there any companys or websites that allow you to invest a certain amount of money every month and then they invest it up in things they think wiull do well?

Answer 1

Sharebuilder.com is the best place for you to start if you want to do stocks. Many mutual funds can accept monthly investment plans, and some will allow you to start with as little as $50.

If you pick a basic mutual fund, you're probably as safe there as anywhere. It won't be a world-beater, but it will be a great place to start until you build up your dollars.

By the way, you're incredibly intelligent to start investing young. It will truly pay off for you in the long run.

Answer 2

yes. They call them mutual funds, but you need to do a little homework to pick the right one. Besides, at your age taking an active role in selecting your investments will be fun.

T. Rowe Price is a great company to start with. They offer no-load funds (no sales fees or commissions) and they offer very low minimums. http://www.troweprice.com/prospectHome/0,,pgid=prospHome,00.html?src=corporate&id=Prospect%20Investors

They offer a lot of educational information on their website that can help you pick a fund. (another option is to buy a good book, like Investing for Dummies).

http://www.younginvestor.com/teens/
This website is great for investing information and they offer a mutual fund designed for young investors.

Once you gain a little knowledge, you can look up the history of any fund on http://www.morningstar.com. That way you can compare several funds to pick the best.

One warning about picking the best. There's a common warning you'll see all over mutual fund materials "past performance is no guarantee of future performance." This is important to understand.

Any investment is, to a certain degree, a risk. Of course you want to make an educated risk and a good past history is one way to help narrow your choices, but very few funds have been on the absolute top of their category every year. A fund that has been hot for the past few years may have run its course because the stock market runs in cycles, and no sector is always on top. Since mutual funds stick to stated investment objectives, it makes sense that a fund is going to be on top, when the sector it tracks is on top.

So....buying a diversified fund that tracks many sectors is going to give you more even performance over many years, than a fund that was last year's top performer. In fact, chasing the hot funds is an almost guaranteed recipe for failure. So look for broad diversification and moderate risk and volatility. Believe it or not, less risk can result in a lot better long term rate of return.

Good luck and have fun learning. Starting young is the VERY best way to insure that you will be rich down the road.

Answer 3

This site will teach you everything you need to know about investing money:
http://www.fool.com/investing.htm

The most useful bits you'll find there are
INVESTING BASICS:
http://www.fool.com/school/basics/basics.htm
&
13 Steps to invest like a Fool (as in "Motley Fool"*... the name of their website.... not fool, as in idiot):
http://www.fool.com/school/13steps/13steps.htm

Make sure you read these before you do anything else.

*The Motley Fool name comes directly from the beginning of Act II, scene vii of Shakespeare's As You Like It. In the days when Shakespeare was writing about kings, Fools were the happy fellows who were paid to entertain the king and queen with self-effacing humor that instructed as it amused. Fools were, in fact, the only members of their societies who could tell the truth to the king or queen without having their heads rather unpleasantly removed from their shoulders.

Answer 4

VISIT A "LEGG/MASON" office , in person , and request info on ANNUITIES . This will be there when you retire