I want to start playing with some stocks, advice?

^ Very nicely stated...



Brandon: If the Roth IRA peaks your interest and you want more information before speaking to a broker, let me know and I can send you all the paper work I received from my broker outlining everything about a Roth and where your money can be dispersed.
 
OutlawTitan said:
If you think you can beat the market or time the market you are starting out behind the proverbial 8-ball. Open a Roth IRA account and make annual contributions to a diversified mutual fund with low expenses. The key to accumulating wealth is diversication and time. Chase hot stocks or mutual funds and you will only end up buying high and selling low.....the sooner you figure this out the quicker you will begin to accumulate wealth. Or you could get lucky......your choice.
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Being in the financial planning/investing business, I have to agree with this statement.



There have been some great points here so far. My $.02...if it's play money, Scottrade, etc. is fine (as long as your willing to lose it all). If it's not play money, pay a professional to help you.
 
I'm also in the same boat. I've been wanting to pull the trigger for a couple years, just been so busy with kids and aprehensive until I fully understand what I'm doing. I hope to get to it in the spring after we move to a different house, and I'll drop a grand into an account to start.



Sorry to piggyback on this thread, but on that note does anyone here use the CANSLIM approach? I'm into my second go around reading William O'Neils book "How to make money in stocks" and I really like his theories. I agree that having a good exit strategy is going to be key in making sure you actually make money. I'm going to get a trial subscription to IBD to see if it's worth the $$, or if I'll stick to free sites like Yahoo which seems to be a good one.



I really see no reason why an individual can't beat the market when it comes to stocks. It's like saying that I have no business detailing my car because I'm not an educated professional, or I should take my car to a mechanic because he's a trained professional.
 
Grimm said:
I really see no reason why an individual can't beat the market when it comes to stocks. It's like saying that I have no business detailing my car because I'm not an educated professional, or I should take my car to a mechanic because he's a trained professional.
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Nah, IMO you can't make that type of comparison. Detailing/etc. is a matter of a person working *physically* on something that's really awfully simple, and doing so in conjunction with factors under his control/ability to evaluate. That's not true of the stockmarket, even in today's information age.



The market is in many ways an absolute black box to most people, subject to influences that one can't always see coming and/or fully evaluate. Even brokerage houses with people watching stuff 24/7 miss the ball quite often.



If it were that easy to beat the market, every investor with an internet hookup, a genius-level IQ, and an MBA could do it, and that is not the case. [Heck], most hedge fund managers are lucky to outperform (or even *match*) the market over their entire career, and those are the bright guys who specialize in this, and who have teams of people crunching data for them.
 
Sorry Accumulator, but I'll just have to disagree. I'm not going to discourage anyone from doing anything, because if some other person can do it, then why can't I? I've been way to pessimistic myself in my life thanks to my upbringing from my parents, and I want to change that mindset for my kids. I want them to know they can do most anything if they are willing to work for it. Heck, if it wasn't for helpful people like yourself on this site that I stumbled across over a year ago, I would still be driving cars with subpar paint figuring I would need to pay a professional for that sort of work.
 
Grimm- OK, we can agree to disagree on this one :cool: Could just be that our situations are so different that it's goofy for me to apply one rationale across the board.



Guess I see investing as being like dentistry rather than automotive work- there are things that others can do for me better than I can do them for myself; this is one area where my success has come from employing specialists with resources far beyond my own, and perhaps I've allowed my experience to weigh a bit heavily on my opinion.



Heh heh, my greatest investment success *was* a stock pick I handled 100% on my own, but I chalk that one up to good luck and hey, it was just one investment.



FWIW, I sure don't consider myself a pessimist (but rather subscribe to the Benevolent Universe premise), so I hope I didn't come across that way. I too have achieved things that I was told were utterly impossible and had I listened to the naysaying of others my life would probably suck. I absolutely agree that children should be taught to reach for the stars and that optimistic encouragement makes it a lot easier for people to realize their potential.
 
Sorry, I edited my post as you must have posted. I didn't mean to sound that harsh. I was just thinking of my own situation and how I've really gotten sick of being so pessimistic over the years. I actually took Dale Carnegie a couple years ago, and that has really helped me change my outlook on things lately. I just hate to see anyone discouraged from trying something, even if they do fail.



I see where you are coming from about how difficult the stock market is, I just feel like if someone else can do it, why can't I? Sure, you go to a dentist because he/she has the education, training and tools, but that doesn't mean you couldn't become a dentist.



Maybe I'll throw in my thousand dollars someday and realize it is too much for me to handle, and maybe the OP will find out the same, but we should keep an open mind and be willing to take chances once in a while.
 
Ha, well some good advice on here.



I am still thinking of doing it, I have the account, just aint put any money in it yet.



What woudl be some good things to buy?
 
The guy below has a national radio show and gives wise and careful advice. I know of 2 people who spend ALOT of time and are very successful with stocks. (Have they told me how? No they haven't!) But the case of investing yourself vs letting pros do it (index/mutual funds) is the pros are detached and not personally invested with their own money. A person himself *is* personally invested with his own money on the line, and that can affect making correct decisions. Question 2 is how to invest to keep the Tax Man away as much as possible to keep the profits. Good info below.



Clark Howard's Investing Guide
 
Grimm said:
Sorry to piggyback on this thread, but on that note does anyone here use the CANSLIM approach? I'm into my second go around reading William O'Neils book "How to make money in stocks" and I really like his theories. I agree that having a good exit strategy is going to be key in making sure you actually make money. I'm going to get a trial subscription to IBD to see if it's worth the $$, or if I'll stick to free sites like Yahoo which seems to be a good one.
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Brandon1 said:
What woudl be some good things to buy?
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I think I can kill 2 birds with 1 stone here. I have followed Bill O'Neil's CANSLIM approach and have subscribed to investors.com, canslim.net, and gorillatrades.com (a modified version of CANSLIM). I can come to the conclusion that if you do follow Bill O'Neil's strategy, you can make money. Buy high (invest in a strong company) and sell higher.



And, if you read the book and follow his strategy, it also states that you MUST be willing to invest 2 hrs of research into EACH stock per week!!! Although canslim.net and gorillatrades will give you recommended stocks to buy, you still need to do your homework.



In the stocks that I did invest the time, rewards were good. I've also gotten lazy, just went with the recommendations, no research, and lost money. So, Brandon, although people may give you recommendations, the best practice would be to do the research and only buy stocks that you feel are right. There are many factors, price, goals (short term/long term), sector, etc. But I know everyone needs to start somewhere. So, here are some that I like, RIMM, AAPL, BCSI, and MPEL.



Good Luck!
 
Thanks for the input. Now as far as the research time, that's mainly just the initial research of what to buy correct? How much time do you spend when it comes to following your purchases in being prepared to sell?
 
Brandon,



It can be fun and a good learning experience to trade stocks, but I wouldn't even think about it unless you are maxing out your Roth. If your account is a Roth then cool. Your max this year is 4k, and will be 5k next year and adjusted for inflation from then on.
 
Grimm said:
Sorry, I edited my post as you must have posted. I didn't mean to sound that harsh. ...[generally]..I just feel like if someone else can do it, why can't I? Sure, you go to a dentist because he/she has the education, training and tools, but that doesn't mean you couldn't become a dentist..
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Heh heh, we're cool :D I didn't find your post harsh, but rather heart-felt.



Guess we just see that second part of the above differently- without the education/experience/resources that a pro brings to the table, I'd see potential ability as being just that only *potential*. Yeah, I coulda been a good dentist, or a good investment banker, but neither is something want to take up now that I'm retired :D A younger person could be a whole 'nother matter!



Plus, I have to be a lot more conservative than many people, very different from somebody with years of employment ahead of them.



tod071 brings up a very good point about this taking time- I spend enough time just monitoring what people are doing for me, I sure don't want my investments to be a part-time job (but hey, that's just me and I gotta admit that I don't find this stuff very interesting in-and-of itself).



Seems like I get a lot of phone calls about some news (that I never heard) that might somehow affect some investment. I'd sure hate to have only myself keeping an eye on things :eek:
 
Grimm said:
Thanks for the input. Now as far as the research time, that's mainly just the initial research of what to buy correct? How much time do you spend when it comes to following your purchases in being prepared to sell?
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You should just be aware of the stock and news about it. No one can tell you when to sell or buy. Well, canslim.net does actually tell you when to buy & sell, but only after you do your homework. Keep up with current events, especially the markets, sector, and just watch your stocks. If sudden news breaks (SEC/IRS investigations, FDA approval/non-approval, etc) and you're not watching your stock, you could lose everything that you invested in that stock (I know, bcuz I have). On the flip side, if you're not paying attention and the company reports double the estimated earnings (like RIMM last week) or a drug gets FDA approval, you could miss some major profits!
 
Makes sense. Just from my reading, I think it sounds like the biggest factor working against people is just what you said, not paying attention enough to the stock as well as having an exit strategy. I think O'neil hit the nail on the head in his book talking about how people are too emotional and hold on to a stock hoping it rebounds and ending up losing more.
 
i'd recomend mutal fund and be diversified. i opened a scottrade account a few years ago, and played around with penny stocks. it wasn't investing, it was more like gambling. did good for a short period of time and bet the farm on one stock and lost it all. invest in good companies through high dividend mutual funds and invest with a long term state of mind, try not to worry about the quick ups and downs. do just like i'm sure you do here, do your homework and read and learn as much as you can from all the sources you can find.



:up
 
Hey Brandon. I've been following this list almost to the 'T' for the past 4 1/2 years and am up over 150%. Good stuff. Not too radical but not overly conservative for us young guys willing to take some more risk.



Jubak's Journal -- Jubak's Picks - MSN Money



I like it because he explains each pick so after a while you start to understand his logic and can start spotting the picks before he even puts them out there.
 
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