do you trade stock online?

[bbl]

These are good advices. Diversifying is widely accepted as a good idea. One the other hand, C is the only individual stock I hold right now (I also have a large stake in a global growth fund) and I only bought it after keeping an eye on it for over two years and spending many hours going through their quarterly financials. Considering my income I put a relatively large amount into it. Like the Buffett says, "I prefer to keep all my eggs in one basket and watch that basket closely." Lots of people are still afraid of this one but I think it is rather safe for reasons that are pretty logical. I only see it going up in the next 5-10 years. I think $20 is a reasonable long-term target price. YMMV. I ain't no broker or CPA.

 

 

Sounds like you've done your due diligence before pulling the trigger. Anything less is gambling, imo.

[bbl]

Haha, yep! I only buy stocks when I can offset a TX fee with a 1-3% gain

Yep.

However, I hope I wasn't too harsh on you, Jonathan. It's only $10, can be fun, and I can think of worse ways to spend $10.

[jonathan_matos5]

Yep. However, I hope I wasn't too harsh on you, Jonathan. It's only $10, can be fun, and I can think of worse ways to spend $10.

yes there are. i am more of in a trial stage for the online trading/ buying thing. i purchased one share because that was the amount of money i was willing to start with. i have been watching the various technology companies for a while and i have always wanted to buy stock. i used to have a 401k but i had to take my money and run when i left that job.

[bbl]

yes there are. i am more of in a trial stage for the online trading/ buying thing. i purchased one share because that was the amount of money i was willing to start with. i have been watching the various technology companies for a while and i have always wanted to buy stock. i used to have a 401k but i had to take my money and run when i left that job.

A teachable moment FTW!

[Johnny_Crab]

Read here: http://www.tickerforum.org/cgi-ticker/akcs-www

If you're serious and/or concerned, consider the paid membership.
That forum saved my 401k by showing me why the July 2008 and forward crash was coming. My 401k stuff went out of equities due to what I learned there.

[SteinbergerHack]

I have accounts with both Ameritrade and Fidelity. If you have enough to invest, Fidelity seems to have faster execution and better research tools. Ameritrade is cheaper for small amounts.

I would echo the thoughts of the indexers and buy-and-holders above, except to say this:

If you aren't going to be doing tons of research and trading on a regular basis, the most reliable indicator of your long-term return will be the fees you pay. The more fees you pay, the smaller your net return. You probably won't be lucky enough to select the "killer" stock or sector fund, so statistically you are most likely to do well by choosing the lowest cost index fund you can find. Second will be your tax status - every time your fund makes a trade that results in a profit, you generally incur taxable capital gains. This means that you can get hit with a tax bill even if you didn't take any money out.

Now, if you have any significant amount of money to invest, you should seriousle check out ETFs (Exchange-Traded Funds). These trade like stocks, but act more like mutual funds. Generally speaking, they have the lowest management fees of any sort of fund. They also generally do not actively trade stocks withint the fund, so you won't get hit with capital gains liability until you sell. The downside is that you have to pay the transaction fees every time you buy, so it's not a good option for regular small deposits. it is however, a GREAT strategy once you have enough in a lump sum that the $7.99 trading fee is less than the difference in management fees.

I'm not a professional adviser, and you need to do your own research, but I would stringly suggest looking into Index ETFs before making your final decision.

[HackedByChinese!]

Don't invest any more money than you're willing to lose.

[Kindness]

Read here: http://www.tickerforum.org/cgi-ticker/akcs-www If you're serious and/or concerned, consider the paid membership. That forum saved my 401k by showing me why the July 2008 and forward crash was coming. My 401k stuff went out of equities due to what I learned there.

 

 

Is it also the source of your infamous bottom prediction?

[bbl]

Read here: http://www.tickerforum.org/cgi-ticker/akcs-www If you're serious and/or concerned, consider the paid membership. That forum saved my 401k by showing me why the July 2008 and forward crash was coming. My 401k stuff went out of equities due to what I learned there.

Tip: In the future, stocks will go up, stocks will go down.

When did you get into back into equities?

[catphish]

Definitely start with a mutual fund. I'd pick an index fund from Vanguard.

 

 

+1 Vangard 500 is where I stick most of my non-401k investment cash.

 

I do own a few individual stocks, and they were bought because I believe in the companies and wanted to invest in it as much as wanting a big return.

[ec437]

yes there are. i am more of in a trial stage for the online trading/ buying thing. i purchased one share because that was the amount of money i was willing to start with. i have been watching the various technology companies for a while and i have always wanted to buy stock. i used to have a 401k but i had to take my money and run when i left that job.

 

 

Now, I could be confused 'cause I didn't pay that much attention in tax class, but why didn't you roll it over to a new employer? You had to pay a 10% penalty, no?

[Kindness]

Tip: In the future, stocks will go up, stocks will go down. When did you get into back into equities?

He's waiting for the bottom in the 2s or 3s. He's short across the board.

[jasper383]

i used to have a 401k but i had to take my money and run when i left that job.

You probably could have rolled that into a traditional IRA, and not had to cash it out.

[jonathan_matos5]

On a side note, I wish I had been paying more attention to BRK-B. I wasn't even aware it split until a few weeks after when I was talking to one of my profs about it. If I'd known I would have bought 1 share just before. It split from $3000ish to $50ish and immediately climbed to $70 because of the increase in liquidity. Meh. IMO it still is gambling. Educated gambling and certainly one of the wiser varieties, but gambling nonetheless. I like the rich dad poor dad thinking that it isn't investing unless its your business. Now, I could be confused 'cause I didn't pay that much attention in tax class, but why didn't you roll it over to a new employer? You had to pay a 10% penalty, no?

because i didn't have an employer i was working in a {censored}hole call center and i refused to work in another. it took me 6 months to find another job, and i needed to live off the money.

[Kindness]

because i didn't have an employer i was working in a {censored}hole call center and i refused to work in another. it took me 6 months to find another job, and i needed to live off the money.

That works. That's not investment money, that's food money.

[Johnny_Crab]

This will have a negative affect on STOCKS and it ain't waiting until 2014.
http://market-ticker.org/archives/2129-Consequences-Of-Health-Care-Valuations.html

[ec437]

This will have a negative affect on STOCKS and it ain't waiting until 2014. http://market-ticker.org/archives/2129-Consequences-Of-Health-Care-Valuations.html

 

 

Meh. Everybody with domestic employees is on equal footing as far as that is concerned.

[bbl]

Meh. IMO it still is gambling. Educated gambling and certainly one of the wiser varieties, but gambling nonetheless. I like the rich dad poor dad thinking that it isn't investing unless its your business.

I cannot disagree. I read Ben Graham's (Warren's mentor, he named his first kid after him) book twice, and decided (1) for long term growth, nothing has historically beat equities, and (2) investing vs. speculating.

If you don't have control over the company you're buying, you're speculating.

And I know, as much as I need to, that if you're buying a company controlled by another, you have to rely on their numbers. I was a financial auditor for 4 years - auditors do so little to ensure "accuracy." They've lost all ability to say "no" to the companies they audit. They're not truly independent; those companies pay them.

(Fantasy football's more fun, and the information has more integrity.)

And yet, I still want to buy companies! I've always wanted to buy F, mostly because they have less union issues and retirement obligations (and I love my F-150).

[bbl]

This will have a negative affect on STOCKS and it ain't waiting until 2014. http://market-ticker.org/archives/2129-Consequences-Of-Health-Care-Valuations.html

It's not health care exactly, imo. It's this wave of production leaving our workforce (retiring), and a lot less workers to support them (in the US). Our boomer wave was followed by a trough.

Which spells demand-side inflation. More consumers (our retirees need health care, food, services, etc.) and less production.

This is where the rest of the world comes in. They (Europe excluded) have a wave of producers to fill the gap.

Which also means that this country will piece-by-piece be "acquired" by outsiders (new Americans).

But that's the American way, imo. Don't fear the global economy. If we want to retain the best standard of living the world has EVER seen, there's no alternative, really.

[bbl]

This will have a negative affect on STOCKS and it ain't waiting until 2014. http://market-ticker.org/archives/2129-Consequences-Of-Health-Care-Valuations.html

 

 

Are you a long-term investor? What are you investing in?

[Kindness]

Which also means that this country will piece-by-piece be "acquired" by outsiders (new Americans). But that's the American way, imo. Don't fear the global economy. If we want to retain the best standard of living the world has EVER seen, there's no alternative, really.

Thank you.