Questions about stocks/shares?

Question

Where would I be able to invest in stocks/shares? And I'm new at this so anything I should know? Yes, I know I should read some books, but what would be a good beginner/safe industry to invest in?

Thanks a lot!

Answer 1

You need to go through a brokerage to purchase shares. My advice would be to stick with the discount online brokerages, as they are the cheapest. You can take your pick, as their commission rates are all very close to each other: Scottrade, Schwab, Fidelity. Just read the fine print on the commission levels so you are not in for a surprise when you start trading.
Now, this is very important! Each online brokerage has their own trading platform, which requires a little getting used to. Call and ask one of the customer service representatives to WALK you through the process. DO NOT let them execute it for you! This is very, very important. I learned the hardway on this and if you take anything away from my advice let it be this. The reason being isn't just that you need to learn to do this on your own, but that the commission for having them do it skyrockets, from anywhere between $50-80. Yikes! Especially when doing it myself would have only been 10.95.
Also, never use market orders....always keep it to limit orders!
Its good that your are reading books. Nothing bothers me more than seeing people post on here questions about what to pick, or how to pick, and none of them have read a book. Cramer just came out with a new book, and I would strongly suggest that. Once you have finished that there is another one I would refer you too, as it offers a far more detailed formula for analysis: Sectors & Styles, by Catalano.

With regards to the previous post, WHEN you get to $100K, flip off the Financial Professionals/Advisors. I use to be one and they suck!! I left because I was bucking heads with my managers since I was teaching clients how to do everything on their own...FAs, CFPs, etc., are parasites. The live to survive off of your money. WHEN you make it to 100K, you will know more than them (hell, after these two books you will) and the discipline and knowledge you picked up on the way means you are more than capable of taking your 100K into 10 Million.
good luck out there and never stop kicking everyone's @$$

Answer 2

Yes, read some books. There are good investment opportunities available all the time, and in every industry. You have to decide on your risk preference, investment goals, and other issues. When you have studied the subject you will be able to answer your own questions. A lot depends on the amount of capital you have. If you have a large stake, e.g. over $100,000, you may consider consulting with a professional financial adviser.

Answer 3

First, there needs to be a brokerage to sell you stocks. If you are peeling off a little every month (week, quarter, etc.) for just one or two companies, then sharebuilder will likely be efficient for you. I use Scottrade and am happy with them. Scottrade has a minimum of $500 to start an account, and most stock transactions are only $7 a trade when done online. Most large banks will serve as a broker, consider Bank of America (my link is for Missouri but you plug in your state), which offers 30 free trades each month. For the BoA deal, however, you will need something like $25k on account.

Check out Forbes' Investopedia piece on Dividend ReInvestment Plans (DRIPs). Their page also has lots of other good information to chew on for a bit. The Horizon Publishing page link below will give you a list of some really good companies to consider. Some of it will be a little complicated to ferret out what you need, for instance this page from Johnson and Johnson took a couple of steps but I knew what to look for, even then, though, you will have to go to still another company for the DRIP: http://www.jnj.com/contact_us/investor/q02.htm

Speaking of Forbes, they and places like BusinessWeek, Wall Street Journal, Investors Business Daily, etc. will give you lots of good information on some seriously solid or potentially good companies. Check out some stories, then scrutinize information on the companies and see if something floats your boat.

What I am referring to is as you said, "invest in stocks". Trading is an entirely different animal, one with teeth or wings and you will have to watch it closely. Investing is, or can be, as simple as the metaphor of planting a tree to watch it grow (which is what DRIPs are superlative at). Good luck.