Can someone offer me stock advice

[S Freud]

Just wonering if anyone on here could help a guy out with some stock stuff, I am totaly new to stock trading and I was looking at buying into some mutual bonds and what not, I'm a college kid and I know that mutuals are a little more secure than stocks, I am just looking for someone that could help point me in the right direction and offer advice.

thanks

 

[sniperruff]

sell! sell!

 

[everman]

Fool
Morningstar
Book

Oh and on mutual funds specifically, learn about the differences between A, B, and C share, and fee structures.

 

[Looney]

Get Google. I was just reading how an Alumni at my university (University of Waterloo) invested in $200,000 in Google back in 1998... and is now worth over $1 billion in Google stocks (he's already cashed out once in the IPO... and just donated $25 million to UofW).

 

[S Freud]

I searched google and found a couple of sites, just looking for someone that explain it to an average joe like myself, not to markey savy if you know what I mean, someone with experiemce

 

[S Freud]

well I am pretty sure there was a thread on here a little while back about how google is over $400 a share isn't it? I don't think that I could afford that right now.

 

[DaveSimmons]

If you intend to invest for the long-ish term (at least a few years) I recommend vanguard.com's VFINX mutual fund, based on the S&P 500 index of 500 different large stocks. If this is for retirement you could set up a Roth IRA there instead of a regular brokerage account.

An S&P 500 fund is the investment that most other mutual funds compare themselves to, some do better but usually with much higher risk.

If you don't want to deal with vanguard.com, people are happy with scottrade.com and they sell many mutual funds (including other funds based on the S&P 500 index) as well as individual stocks.

If you only have a few hundred to invest, some people use sharebuilder.com.

If you are only investing for a short time (under 2 years) you might be better off just using a high-interest savings account from INGDirect.com or Emigrant.

(Advanced Search > invest stocks) for more opinions.

(edit) But ignore Looney's he was just being silly. If you could go back in time and invest 200K in Microsoft in year 1 you'd be a billionaire that way too.

 

[S Freud]

Thanks a lot Dave I need to check out that high interest account from ING

thanks

 

[Looney]

Originally posted by: nthedrk
well I am pretty sure there was a thread on here a little while back about how google is over $400 a share isn't it? I don't think that I could afford that right now.

That's what i said when it was $270 a share a few months ago.

The stock is going to split... and when it does, it'll go right back up since the stock will be cheaper.

 

[S Freud]

I have heard of the accounts with high interest where you can still keep your principal and gain interest without the worry of highs and lows along with huge investments and long term stadings over 3-4 years

that sounds like something just for me, I was interested in mutual funds like DOW but quickly realized that I couldn't afford that share price, the high interest account seems like the answer for me, I am looking at putting some money away in time to mature for grad school, do you think this is a good way? As I don't have much money to drop or worry about losing in a heartbeat.

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

hahahaha, I jsut bumped antoher investing thread. You don't want to do options! So stay away from it.

Learn about value investing. If you start with individual stocks, start with high quality, high yielding stocks. (You won't mind as much if a 5-6% yielding stock drops from $50 to $40).

You want index funds, not mutual funds

investopedia should be bookmarked.

 

[DaveSimmons]

Originally posted by: nthedrk
that sounds like something just for me, I was interested in mutual funds like DOW but quickly realized that I couldn't afford that share price, the high interest account seems like the answer for me, I am looking at putting some money away in time to mature for grad school, do you think this is a good way? As I don't have much money to drop or worry about losing in a heartbeat.

It's the only 100% safe way to save. Insured by the US Government and with a guaranteed return that you know in advance.

They also offer Certificates of Deposity (CDs) that are FDIC-insured and risk-free, that pay a bit more than the savings rate. The difference is you can only take money out of them once a year (on the maturity date) without losing most/all of the interest you earned to "early withdrawal" penalty.

A stock index mutual fund like VFINX will earn 2-3 times as much over time but with dips in the value so you have to be able to hold the fund for years.

 

[Legend]

Start an IRA with Vanguard for long term.

 

[S Freud]

That is what I am after, I have been reading every book I can get my hands on in hopes of some advice, I want to get something where I can gain more interest than just my normal bank savings account, without the worry that I will lose everything, but I would like my money to mature at a good enough rate that it will prove worthy in the end.

Do you think an IRA would be for me?

 

[Sultan]

Originally posted by: Looney
Get Google. I was just reading how an Alumni at my university (University of Waterloo) invested in $200,000 in Google back in 1998... and is now worth over $1 billion in Google stocks (he's already cashed out once in the IPO... and just donated $25 million to UofW).

Goggle didnt have an IPO in 1998. Google shares have climbed 4 folds which means $200,000 would be under a million, not a billion. Fool

 

[Taggart]

Originally posted by: Looney

Originally posted by: nthedrk
well I am pretty sure there was a thread on here a little while back about how google is over $400 a share isn't it? I don't think that I could afford that right now.

That's what i said when it was $270 a share a few months ago.

The stock is going to split... and when it does, it'll go right back up since the stock will be cheaper.

That's a pretty simplistic and unrealistic prediction. The stock isn't 'cheaper' just because it splits. The total market capitalization remains the same. Only the number of shares outstanding increases.

Google's market cap is at $120 billion. Do you really think it will double from there? That will make it one of the biggest companies in the world w/ an insane PE.

 

[S Freud]

I really like the look of the ING orange account, providing me with 3.50% interest, my bank only offers 0.40% interest on my account right now.

 

[S Freud]

Does anyone else have anyt other advice to offer? Everyone has been very helpful, just looking to see if anyone has anything else to offer.

 

[Xylitol]

Google FTW

 

[S Freud]

Already did that, looking for first hand advice...thanks for the suggestion though.

 

[Slew Foot]

It basically depends on how much money you have and how much risk you are willing to take. If youre happy wiht a 3.5% rate then you're probably not willing to accept too much risk. If you have a few thousand, I would go with investing in a large cap value stock that has a good dividend yield (JP Morgan comes to mind). If you have less than this then just go with the savings accoutn as the fees associted with trading will eat up your profits.

 

[drnickriviera]

Have you considered Emigrant Direct at 4%?

Here are some mutuals i'm considering. The chart is a comparison against the S&P 500

Excelsior Value & Restructuring
Bruce

 

[sniperruff]

Originally posted by: nthedrk
I really like the look of the ING orange account, providing me with 3.50% interest, my bank only offers 0.40% interest on my account right now.

check out HSBC and emigrantdirect. 4% APY. it's not as much as stocks/mutual funds but it's a start.

 

[batchusa]

Originally posted by: Sultan

Originally posted by: Looney
Get Google. I was just reading how an Alumni at my university (University of Waterloo) invested in $200,000 in Google back in 1998... and is now worth over $1 billion in Google stocks (he's already cashed out once in the IPO... and just donated $25 million to UofW).

Goggle didnt have an IPO in 1998. Google shares have climbed 4 folds which means $200,000 would be under a million, not a billion. Fool

Don't be so quick to insult others. Its called Angel Investing, and its quite common for startups. Do a little research next time.

 

[cavemanmoron]

"buy Low.sell High"