Investing is stock

[mossyoak20]

Going to take a stab at stock investing and wanting to know what others are doing and how it’s working for you. I’ve never invested other than 401k and just recently purchased into my employer stocks with fidelity. Now I’m interested in broadening the horizon a little.


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[txhunter90]

I have been going back and forth with going to a financial advisor to help me with this as well.

[dustoffer]

My advice is find a financial advisor----sure, they get paid, but it is worth it. Worth it at least until you have some experience. I won't take the time away from my hunting and fishing pasttimes to study up and get smart on markets, so I rely on mine. Has not let me down in 36 years.

[batmaninja]

If you have an employer account with Fidelity it is pretty easy to set up a personal account. That is what I did, and they have great customer service. No means an expert, but I am looking at a top down approach looking at industries, and dividends. Been pretty happy so far.

[mossyoak20]

If you have an employer account with Fidelity it is pretty easy to set up a personal account. That is what I did, and they have great customer service. No means an expert, but I am looking at a top down approach looking at industries, and dividends. Been pretty happy so far.

I do have a account. Just not sure where to put some money. Found some penny stocks I might throw $20 at and see what happens


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[batmaninja]

They helped me set it up the first time, now I can send money from my bank to fidelity and back with a few clicks.

I hit "accounts and trade" on the top left, then "transfer", then you get....

Click on "deposit money" and then select accounts

[Kdog]

I have a TD Ameritrade account. When I first got it I put some money in and started buying and selling. Mostly I just invested in blue chip type stocks. Right now I have 13 stocks. I cannot remember the last time I did anything with it though. It seemed like when I "sold" to "take a profit" then the stock kept going up. Plus you pay a short term capital gains tax on any money you make. So I decided to just leave it alone. I think it is up like 45%. Most all stocks are up in that same time frame, so mostly I think it is just catching a rising tide.

Good luck, it's kind of fun to mess around with. If you have some extra cash lying around then by all means go for it. I personally wouldn't play the market as my main form of investment. You would probably be better off putting it in some kind of index fund or finding a trusted financial advisor. Although, those guys are in it to make money too and will push products that you might benefit from, but they definitely will.

[alwaysinshorts]

I worked in the investment world for 18 years before make a career change. My belief is if you do not get a financial advisor you were doing yourself and in justice. Keep in mind that you have a full-time job and only dabbled in stocks and investments on a part-time basis. This person does this for a living. Even if they can only provide you a 2% difference that 2% well exceeds what 98% of most people will do.

[Brian77429]

be fore I give an answer give me some more information.

1. How much time do you see your self spending on this ever week or month?
2. Do you know what you would like to invest in? How will you find new things to invest in?
3. What goal do you have for this?

[matagordian]

I worked in the investment world for 18 years before make a career change. My belief is if you do not get a financial advisor you were doing yourself and in justice. Keep in mind that you have a full-time job and only dabbled in stocks and investments on a part-time basis. This person does this for a living. Even if they can only provide you a 2% difference that 2% well exceeds what 98% of most people will do.

great advice. financial advisor will probably tell you to max out your employers 401k if they match, then traditional ira,then roth ira. the more i look into investing, the more i realize i dont know squat. especially tax advantages.

fidelity has some good mutual funds.
you can also get a fidelity visa that has rewards. or charles schwab amex. return 1-1.5% into a trading account.

[tdwinklr]

If you have an employer account with Fidelity it is pretty easy to set up a personal account. That is what I did, and they have great customer service. No means an expert, but I am looking at a top down approach looking at industries, and dividends. Been pretty happy so far.

Agree 2X here with Fidelity. And used the Financial Engines app through their site and it really helped me understand what to adjust and how my assets were doing to meet my goals.

[cj_sandman]

be fore I give an answer give me some more information.

1. How much time do you see your self spending on this ever week or month?
2. Do you know what you would like to invest in? How will you find new things to invest in?
3. What goal do you have for this?

I'm with Brian on this..

Take some time to thoroughly define your goals. What are your specific goals that you want to achieve? Set some rules around how you will know when to enter/exit a position. For instance, what kind of return are you looking for? Within what kind of time frame? Are you looking for fixed income like dividends? Capital appreciation? .. What is your tolerance for risk? Put some thought around these things and it will make it possible for you to measure whether you are achieving against your goals or not.

[rockyraider]

1. If you aren't maxing out your 401k do it before you worry about supplemental investing.

2. If you are doing #1, open a ROTH IRA with vanguard and buy their S&P 500 index.

3. Most pros CAN'T beat the market so why waste time trying. Spend your time making money, invest as much as possible for as long as possible and spend your time enjoying life.

[Maddox]

Read the book Bogleheads Guide to Investing

Purchase a Total Market Index Fund and be done with it.

Fidelity just started one with ZERO fees.

[Ryanm]

Fidelity has a bunch of options for ETFs with no transaction fees. Unless you have a solid knowledge of the market, this is the best bet. It allows you to pick sectors if you wish.

Unless you're buying/selling $2-3k+ at a time, the transaction fees can hurt your return and make it a waste of time.