I'd say before you start investing in the stock market you should do 3 things.
1. Understand the fundamentals of the stock market
--> Types of investments: Stock, Bond, Money Market, Options(Put and Call), Index, Mutual Fund
--> Types of positions: Long, Short
--> How the exchanges work (NYSE, NYMEX, AMEX, NASDAQ)
--> How to read a ticker: High, Low, Volume, Open, Close, Ask and Bid
2. Understand how to evaluate a company's "value" and determine whether the market is giving them a fair valuation
*This is the hard part, but if you skimp on this, then you will likely end up losing your money to those people who do this*
--->Ratios: P/E, EPS, Forward P/E, PEG, Return on Assets, Return on Equity
--->Other: Market Cap., Dividends, Beta, Profit Margin
--->Understand how to read a chart as well, and reading business financial statements (Cash Flows, Balance Sheet, Income Statement, Retained Earnings, etc) is a definitive plus
3. Lay out a diversified investment strategy - You don't want to put all of your eggs in one basket , but if you spread yourself too thin, then you'll probably never beat the index so identify the markets that you are most knowledgeable of and decide how you will invest your money. Also might try starting with a "stock market game" to see how you might fare...you can check one out at http://www.virtualstockexchange.com/Game/Homepage.aspx
(This particular one is run by marketwatch.com, a reputable investment website).
After having done the above you will be more-or-less ready to start investing using real money by my definition. Not doing so is like gambling without knowing the odds of winning...you can still hit it big, but your chances probably aren't very good.
Your final decisions revolve around what kind of brokerage service you are most comfortable with. Do you want a full service brokerage like Meryll Lynch or Credit Suisse? Or do you want to go it alone, and online like with eTrade or Scottrade?
Other than that, I can't think of anything off of the top of my head... Good luck and Best of luck on your investments.
By the way (legalese to keep my rear out of jail).... My statements are not to be taken as legal or investment advice. I am not a Certified Public Accountant, Certified Financial Planner, Chartered Financial Analyst or a professional investment adviser of any sort. I'm just an average Joe with considerable investing experience trying to give a helping hand to someone new to the market based on my personal experiences.
I know it's a lot, but this is your hard-earned money we're talking about, it's worth spending the time up front to mitigate the risk you take in your investments.
2007-03-21 12:51:23
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answer #1
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answered by chssmaniac 2
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Now Shygirl, this is rather hard to answer because I don't know your time horizon or your tolerance for risk. Some people start by researching stocks, and then buying those that they think are good investment choices. That's the way I did it. Others prefer mutual funds, which spread out the risk. There are thousands of mutual funds in the US for you to consider.
If you want more detail, send me an e-mail with your particulars. But if I were just starting out, I'd put my money into stocks of companies that have DRIPs, which are dividend re-invesment plans. To start, look at GE (ticker symbol GE), Procter and Gamble (PG), and Wachovia Bank (WB). They let you buy stock for very little cost, and you can re-invest the dividends. They do all the paperwork for you.
If you prefer a mutual fund, look at a well diversified fund that's been around for a while. Fidelity, Franklin, Scudder, Dodge & Cox, Vanguard, and others are very reputable. Get a copy of Money magazine and read it. Do your research!
Good luck to you. And be sure to fully fund your Roth IRA each year. That will mean tax FREE(!) withdrawals when you get old enough. And the advantage you have now is time, so use it!
2007-03-21 12:06:09
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answer #2
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answered by Carlos R 5
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This is how I started:
1. I gathered some good books on investments and trading stocks. I studied the books.
2. I also gathered a lots of information on what is stock market, how to invest, and trade stocks. There are a lots of information available on line. Just don't fall a prey on some websites that lures you to buy penny stocks or hyped stocks. The good educational sites could be finance.yahoo.com and marketwatch.com
3. I watched CNBC tv everyday as much as possible and tried to understand what was happening.
4. At the time I started trading stocks, yahoo had offered portfolio challenge with fake money. I practiced a lot on their website. Now CNBC has offered a Million Dollar Portfolio Challenge. This allows you not just to have a practice but also a chance for your to win cold hard cash in the amount of ONE MILLION DOLLARS, if you became the winner. There is no cost to enter. For more information visit the link(s) below and million dollars could be yours. You spend nothing and make $1,000,000 (yes one million dollars) on your fingertips.
You must be 18 years and older, and a US resident (to win the prize money).
Good Luck!
Check out the websites below:
2007-03-21 15:41:19
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answer #3
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answered by purplemollies 3
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Binary options let users trade in currency pairs and stocks for various predetermined time-periods, minimal of which is 30 seconds. Executing trades is straightforward. The system uses user-friendly interfaces, which even an 8 years old kid, can operate without having to read any instructions. But winning trades is Not easy.
Binary trading is advertised as the only genuine system that lets users earn preposterous amounts of money in ridiculously short period of time. Advertisers try to implicate as if you can make $350 every 60 seconds; if it was true then binary trading would truly be an astonishing business.
However, does it make any sense? Can every trader make tons of money in binary trading? Who is actually paying all the money or the profit to traders?
The first challenge is finding a trustworthy binary broker; secondly, you need to find a binary trading strategy, which you can use to make profits consistently. Without an effective trading strategy, there is no way you can make money in this business.
Learning a profitable trading strategy is possible, You should watch this presentation video https://tr.im/d0306
It's probably the best way to learn how to win with binary option
2015-01-25 08:07:43
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answer #4
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answered by Anonymous
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Well, first you have to pick a broker. Depending on your goals, you should look at Sharebuiler, Scottrade, E*trade and the other online brokers. You should also have a good idea of what your goals are, how much money you have to invest, what your risk tolerance is, how soon you need the money out of the market, etc. The market is a great way to grow your money, but you have to have something to invest in the first place.
2007-03-21 11:56:14
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answer #5
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answered by park_brit 2
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I started in stock market 2 weeks ago.
i opened a free "complete investment account" by mail at etrade and deposited some money. then i started to read all the tutorials at: http://www.investopedia.com.
I also studied the charts at: http://bigcharts.marketwatch.com/
using the chart is very easy, it shows the price and stats for the stock by its symbol.
Find the symbol of a companies stock at:
http://www.investopedia.com/offsite.asp?URL=http://finance.yahoo.com/l
For example,put : company name..."general electric"....and it will show you: "ge".
Thats the stock symbol. Now put "ge" into the bigchart!
and it will show you the stock price for the day!
Watch the graphic...it always goes down,that means you loose.lol. when it goes up,you are winning teorically.
Now you need to find out how much you win or loose when the stock moves up or down and depending on the amount you are buying. And this is the big trick...because when you buy only a few stocks,500U$ to 2000 U$ or less,you always loose because of the trading fees, unless there is a dramatic increase in stockprice,for ex. 34,78 to 45. thats almost imposible,unless you wait years,and have good luck.
so basically what i think smart stocktraders do,is buy lots of stock and gamble on it to rise. if i buy for ex. 5 stocks at nike for 108 U$ each,for total of 580 U$...i win nothing if the price goes up to 110 U$. in order to win something i would have to buy 5000 stocks (i win almost 4000U$ ) if i buy 5000 shares and the price moves a digit!
but to buy 5000 stocks at nike, i need 500.000 U$. lol.
So basically if your a amatuer like me,you never win.lol
unless your very smart and find tricks to beat the market. im on that. hope it works.
2007-03-21 13:21:35
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answer #6
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answered by Anonymous
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If you are looking at the markets to make a living by trading, I suggest you find something else to do, the stock, bond, and other investment markets are fantastic, but are best suited for long term goals, meaning years.
2007-03-21 12:32:36
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answer #7
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answered by Charles V 4
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the best trading software http://tradingsolution.info
i have attended a lot of seminars, read counless books on forex trading and it all cost me thousands of dollars. the worst thing was i blew up my first account. after that i opened another account and the same thing happened again. i started to wonder why i couldn,t make any money in forex trading. at first i thought i knew everything about trading. finally i found that the main problem i have was i did not have the right mental in trading. as we know that psychology has great impact on our trading result. apart from psychology issue, there is another problem that we have to address. they are money management, market analysis, and entry/exit rules. to me money management is important in trading. i opened another account and start to trade profitably after i learnt from my past mistake. i don't trade emotionally anymore.
if you are serious about trading you need to address your weakness and try to fix it. no forex guru can make you Professional trader unless you want to learn from your mistake.
2014-12-19 00:36:40
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answer #8
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answered by Anonymous
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Open a brokerage account at Zecco and invest in the ETF DIA.
2007-03-21 19:19:27
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answer #9
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answered by Anonymous
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