Need Investment Advice

none | self

[Huck]

Sell short :-P

[DWPittelli]

If you need us to tell you who to use for a brokerage, you shouldn't be picking your own stocks. Get an index fund like Fidelity Total Stock Market or Vanguard Index 500.

[meenie]

Put your money in a six month CD. Pick the best stock you can find to follow in that period of time. By then, you will be willing to leave your money in the CD.

[kcordell]

Any suggestions on where to go to begin and some do's and don'ts.

My only advice to you is to do your own research. That begins with choosing a broker. Here's a good place to start http://www.fool.com/index.htm. Click on the link that says "choose a broker" and go from there.

[Cicero]

Charles Schwab is probably the biggest and most reputable on-line broker, and the prices are good.

But even experienced traders usually wind up losing their shirts. I'd suggest that you park most of your money in something safe (in today's market at least half in good, solid bonds) and if you must play, set aside a limited amount to play with.

Then make a firm pledge to stop playing after you've lost all the money you said aside. Don't send good money after bad.

[Alberta's Child]

I agree with Post #3. Most people who trade their own stocks end up losing their shirts, due to a combination of ignorance, brokerage fees, and income taxes. Most novice traders, for example, don't realize that if they hold a stock for less than 12 months their "gains" are treated as income (tax rate as high as 36% or more), as opposed to capital gains that have a maximum tax rate of 20%.

[moneyrunner]

Some acquaintances decided that they did not need professional advice and went to a no-frills online broker. They paid very little in commissions. You can find them in the Yellow Pages. They’re all pretty much the same.

P.S. they lost $200,000. But they did it very cheaply.

[Havisham]

I think Suzy Orman is a good source of information and advice for people in your situation. Her books and tapes are in libraries and bookstores. But please, please don't go around telling folks you have money to invest. You could be just the kind of mark con artists zero in on and --poof!--it's bye-bye nest egg.

[sourcery]

Scottrade: they have local offices all over the country, have the highest rating for customer service/satisfaction, and have earned a B+ rating from Weiss research for financial stability (an important consideration in these times.) Oh, and their rates and fees are very competitive.

Your safest investment right now: short-term Treasuries. Put at least half of your investment there, or whatever amount you are not prepared to put at risk. If you buy a three year treasury note, be prepared to keep it until it matures and can be redeemed for its face value. Why? Because interest rates are very low right now, which means that they are far more likely to rise than fall in the medium to long term. When interest rates rise, the market value of bonds falls. However, a bond can always be redeemed for its face value when it matures. Therefore, any funds you may need to access at a moment's notice should instead be put in a money market account.

The best performing asset class recently: gold mining shares, or mutual funds that invest in gold-mining companies (this is a high-risk investment, however). With the exception of gold and energy-related investements, I strongly recommend against investing in stocks at this time.

Do not sell short or buy options unless and until you fully understand such investments, the associated high risks, and know how much capital you can afford to lose if the markets go against you.

[bankwalker]

Rather than stocks, I went for a part time business. After exhaustive research, I found such an excellent opportunity that I dare anyone to show me a better place to put their risk capital right now. If you're interested, send me an e-mail or a private reply.

[joesbucks]

I like your example and have been concerned about that.

[hoosierboy]

Buy REIT stocks I have getting around a 11% or 12% annual return.

[xp38]

Mr. McGuire: I just want to say one word to you... just one word.
Benjamin Braddock: Yes, sir.
Mr. McGuire: Are you listening?
Benjamin Braddock: Yes, sir I am.
Mr. McGuire: "Plastics."

[inflorida]

The stocks you pick depend on a number of things. How old are you? When will you retire? Will you be using cash that you may need soon (less than 5 years)?
If you are young and don't plan on using the cash put into stocks for a long time then you should invest in higher risk stocks. If you are near retirement or may need the cash sooner, say for kid's college tuition, possible lay-off, etc, then you want to stay in low risk stocks. But no matter what you invest in, the most important thing to remember is diversify, diversify, diversify.

[1Old Pro]

. I am looking for a low cost brokerage or online service to do some stock dabbling.

My advice: Don't do it. Dabbling = gambling. If you want to invest your money, pick a few good mututal funds, invest and forget.

[joesbucks]

While I have no desire to pay taxes and especially 36% vs 20%, there are some stocks that seem to trade within a certain range. If I can get a 10% return over a few days or a week, I'd be more than happy to give a third of it up, and do that several times, rather than wait a whole year for a 10% return and only pay 20%. I'm still $$ ahead.

[moneyrunner]

My advice is to ask friends WHO HAVE MONEY to recommend a good financial advisor. Find out how long they have been in business. Find out if they have other credentials like a CFP. Ask them to prepare a proposal for you and ask how much the cost and/or expenses are of the plan they are recommending.

You can determine a great deal by the questions they ask you. If they ask you how much you have to invest and then start recommending various stocks, leave.

The first rule of making money is not to lose it. From your comments you appear to have a gambling mentality. You need someone to dissuade you from that approach.

[moneyrunner]

Stocks trade in a range ... until they stop. If it were that simple to make money there would be a lot more day traders. Most of them were wiped out in the last few years.

The secret to making money in the stock market is to buy low and sell high, and, as someone once said, that is an unnatural act.