Investment options for 16 year old?

Question

Im a junior in high school, I make $120 a week, i have about $800 in the bank right now, what would be a good investment to put my money into?

Answer 1

First thing you want to do is educate yourself, before you invest. The first books I read were;
How To Buy Stocks by Engel (http://www.amazon.com/How-Buy-Stocks-Louis-Engel/dp/0316353809/ref=sr_1_1/102-4664512-6220959?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1194288466&sr=1-1)
One Up on Wall Street by Lynch (http://www.amazon.com/One-Wall-Street-Already-Miniature/dp/0762409819/ref=sr_1_1/102-4664512-6220959?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1194288589&sr=1-1)
The Intelligent Investor by Graham (http://www.amazon.com/Intelligent-Investor-Book-Practical-Counsel/dp/B0002X1JKU/ref=sr_1_1/102-4664512-6220959?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1194288678&sr=1-1)

I would go to the library and read, Forbes, Fortune and BusinessWeek. Now you can also read Smart Money and others.

I first used a broker like Merrill Lynch and Paine Webber because I didn't know any better. What I got though was access to research reports and I could ask my broker questions. When I educated myself I switched my account to Schwab for lower commissions.

Have fun with this and learn as you go. Keep reading. How To Make Money On Wall Street by O'Neil is a real good book too.

Don't get upset with losses. It happens.
Be sure to check on the company web sites for the annual reports, the 10-K (a big annual that has more info and less pics), 10-Q (quarter report), the Proxy (how much the executives get paid), etc.

If you are looking at small companies, as you learn about them, you can call and speak to fairly highly ranked people to ask questions. I used to get the CFOs of small companies and pelt them with questions after reading the company reports and I did it using their 800 numbers so I didn't get charged for the call.

Answer 2

Yep bank is your best bet now, cause you need to educate yourself about investing. Go to your library and get some book. Personal Finance for Dummies is good. I also like Dave Ramsey and Suze Orman.

Something you might give some thought to is opening up a Roth IRA. I know retirement sounds soooooooo far away, but its not a bad idea cause that money really grows over time. Personally I wouldn't want to put all my money into an IRA if I were 16 cause you'll still want to have some to invest for other things, but still think about it - don't automatically think its not for you cause it says retirement.

Good luck, I'm impressed with your savings abilities, its better than I was doing at your age.

Answer 3

Buy and ETF that tracks an index such as the SP 500 or the SP 400. You can buy it for as little as $4. Then it takes time to see any noticable growth.
$796 at 9% yearly growth for 5 years is $1224.74
$796 at 9% yearly growth for 40 years is about $25,000
$796 at 9% yearly growth for 60 years is over $140,000

Answer 4

If you want to get started in the stock market, consider buying exchange traded funds that track the S&P 500, a listing of the 500 largest US stocks. You'll own a very small amount of stock in 500 companies, which is a safe way to get started. Try IVV or SPY.

Answer 5

$800 is not going to go far.
Put the money in E*Trade saving or something similar to get a higher interest return.
www.bankrate.com
You can open a mutual fund account with a no-load fund company directly like T-Rowe Price, Vanguard, or Janus.
www.morningstar.com

Answer 6

You should do a little reading first, have some basic concepts about the stock market and macroeconomics before you get started. You can then take a look at no load mutual funds, index funds and ETFs.

Answer 7

UNTIL u know what you are doing, leave the money in bank.

during the main time, study economics, investment alternatives, and business

Answer 8

I would check out www.ncinvesting.org since you are limited by your age on what you can do, I think T&D Investment Group would be able to really help you.