Lux Investing
Wat are the basic fundamentals for investing in the stock market ?
I am a small time investor and want to make small amount of money but do not know anything about stocks and i am only having my self earned money which is very dear to me.
Public Comments
- for someone new to investing....I would start out with what is called a balance mutual fund. this is a conservative investment that will take your money and invest it into hundreds of different investments for you. You can call Vanguard on their 800 number and someone there will help you, or you can go to your local bank and ask to speak to their investment person. You can start an investment account with as little as $50.00 a month. when you start an account, you can set it up to let your investment company take that money right out of your checking account each month, and it goes right into your investment account. You don't have to know anything about investing to do this, the investment company will do everything for you. all you have to do is put the money into your account. investing is one of the very best things you can ever do for yourself, it can take years and years to learn about it. but the most important thing I can tell you is to start investing right away, and continue to invest your whole life and try to save as much as you can, if you can be a good saver you can be a great investor. you also will want to open a roth ira account, and also save where you work in a 401k if they have such a plan. send me an email if you like and I will help you more.
- First thing to do is go to your library or book store and obtain a copy of "Investing for Dummies" It will give you much of the background information that you lack. As your first responded mentioned a mutual fund is a good way to begin. You do need to be aware that mutual funds are subject to losses, even balanced funds. If you want to invest you must be willing to assume risks. On the plus side of the equation, historically investments in equities--stocks--have returned an average of about 10% annually even after taking into account the years when their investments lost 30% of their value. You have to be willing to be in it for the long term. You also have to maintain a diversified investment mix to reduce your risk. Mutual funds are a good way to obtain diversification.
- Read as much as you can before investing! However, as I am somewhat an experienced investor myslef, I have personal suggestions. You must consider your plans, your priorities and your possibilites. Becasue, for example, some stock may do well in the future but you may need the money you invested in that stock before it reaches the expected value. You must have a plan that suits you, a plan which has timing too. You must know for how long you can invest and how much. My suggestion is also that you must ignore the market and think by your own brain! Very important!
- I think a good place to start is "The Little Book the Beats the Market" - this will give you a good understanding of the basics of value investing. Then you can look at a stock and have some idea if it might be a good investment. To find investment ideas, I would suggest seeing what the best investors are buying and selling and why. You can find this information at http://www.top10traders.com - this is a free site that lets you create a portfolio of stocks with $100,000 in "play" money. Each day the site ranks the best performing portfolios, so you can see how your picks perform compared to other investors. You can also read posts on investing from the best traders, as well as share your own investing ideas. There is also a charting feature , so you can see how your portfolio performs compared to the S&P 500. Here are this month's best traders: http://www.top10traders.com/Top10Standings.aspx Good luck.
