Investing and the stock markets

[Holy Knight]

As winter break is quickly approaching for me, I've been thinking that I could start having a look at how the markets work. I thought I'd start off slowly to test the waters and see how things work, then gradually start buying more and selling more.

However, I want to be as information-loaded on this as I can possibly be and books alone aren't enough to help me do that, so I was wondering if anyone here knows any useful internet links or even works the market itself.

Also, this could be a thread for simply discussing the next thing you wish to invest in, if it's a good move, etc. I thought it'd be a good idea to bring together what we know, as the market is all about data and information. Withought knowledge, you can't invest smartly into the market.

Lastly, I have one question to start off the discussion: what is an option? I hear it's a way to buy a share at a certain price and then sell once it's higher. It's also the highest-risk investment you can do. Anyone know anything about it?

[Evil_Koala]

First post.

Holy **** it's Holy Knight.

And God Speed.

Will this help? http://www.stockmarketguide.org/

[Animematt55]

invest in what ever the president invests in...or Haliburton

[HSaabedra]

Options are good if you want to make a quick profit, but are not as risky as people (usually brokers with no sense and a need to protect themselves) make them out to be. They can be cheaper than a comparable share of stock but it's easier to lose money on them. I would suggest looking at market simulators like StocksQuest or watching more Bloomberg/CNBC and doing research on companies you know.

[master terrence]

mathematically, starting early (even with no extensive research) will gain you a significantly larger amount of money then waiting a year or so. That doesn't mean blindly invest your money, but make haste. I say you should start with a mutual fund.




EDIT:Vangaurd has a really indepth guide on this stuff.

they had to educate prospective customers on investments, it was a penalty given by the court for some scandal :lol:

[Holy Knight]

Will this help? http://www.stockmarketguide.org/

Anything helps. I'll be reading them all as they come. ^_^

I would suggest looking at market simulators like StocksQuest or watching more Bloomberg/CNBC and doing research on companies you know.

Very informative. Thanks for the link.

EDIT:Vangaurd has a really indepth guide on this stuff.

Who or what would Vanguard be, exactly?

[master terrence]

a mutual fund.
see: https://flagship.vanguard.com/VGApp/hnw/HomepageOverview

They discuss options also:
https://flagship.vanguard.com/VGApp/hnw/content/AccountServ/Brokerage/ATSInvChoiceContent.jsp


Do you have an IRA at work? that's a good way to invest also.

BTW, something you'll notice about investing is that you need to have goals in mind, so think about them.

[Bernard_Monsha]

I would invest in mutual funds if I were you. 60% fast 30% medium and 10% slow groth. If something happens you can take the hit and recoup before you retire.

[master terrence]

do you invest in mutual funds? which ones?

I want to start saving up now, too. I hate SocSec and I have some expensive goals besides retirement such as buying an apartment.

[Samurai Drifter]

Lastly, I have one question to start off the discussion: what is an option? I hear it's a way to buy a share at a certain price and then sell once it's higher. It's also the highest-risk investment you can do. Anyone know anything about it?
Of course you want to buy low and sell high. That's the cornerstone philosophy of all profit-making, which also applies to the stock market.

[CrossboneGundam]

Should have bought Google stock when they went public. $125 a share might be steep, but it's over $500 a share now...

[Holy Knight]

Yes, I'll be investing in mutual funds, but that's when I'll have the cash for it. I plan on investing in a mutual fund for retirement, but I'm still undecided as to whether or not I'll go with one for the next 45 years. For now, I'll play around with the stock market manually to get a quick profit and then I'll switch over to playing it safe once I have accumulated a decent amount of money. That is, unless the mutual fund does a better job at this than I could ever do?

As for the mutual funds, I'm still checking them out. I've been thinking of simply following the Standard & Poor's index as it has shown a 14% average growth rate over the last 50 years. As it's an index, it balances out the risk to about the same as a mutual fund.

But if a mutual fund is better to go with, I'll find something that has a medium return rate and stay with it for 5 years, then switch to high return for another 5 years, then I'll want something with at least 7% interest until I retire.

This is all speculative at the moment, as I want to experiment first with how the market works.