Stocks; the how-to's

[DonNiggera]

Ok, I'm thinking of playing the stocks...

First, I'm 16... how do I go about getting started? How much $$ is required to start off?

Anyone know any "get amazingly rich" stocks right now? I'd like to know

 

[wyvrn]

This is a high risk game. I suggest you spend time at the library before you put a cent down. At least learn the different types of investments so you can have a background. Then talk to a qualified financial planner and discuss your goals. Trust me, preparation is key. If you go into the stock market blindly, you WILL lose your shirt and learn your lessons the hard way.

 

[khtm]

As far as I know, you're not old enough to invest by yourself (I could be wrong though). You may need to use your parents..

-khtm-

 

[Sir Fredrick]

Playing the stock market is like gambling. It really is.
The stock market is manipulated by powerful investors and companies. If you're lucky, you'll invest in the right company at the right time and you'll be set. If you're not lucky, you lose money.

If you really want a guaranteed way to make money on the stock market, you should create a neural network (a trained brain so to speak), take hourly data from the past couple months and feed it into this neural net, along with the appropriate results (buy/sell/hold), which you will be able to determine because if you graph the stocks you'll be able to see where it peaked.
Once the "brain" has been trained, feed it CURRENT stock indicators, and it will tell you whether you should buy, sell, or hold.
Problem is the program will only work for a little while...the stock market follows a pattern, but the pattern is constantly changing. So after a month or so you'll have to retrain the "brain".

 

[bacillus]

<< Ok, I'm thinking of playing the stocks >>


just make sure you are prepared to loose all your money as a worst case scanario!

 

[StageLeft]

Not only is it high risk but for 99% of people it is also silly.

As I've said millions of times in the past, and will continue to say until everybody on Anandtech knows it: Most people who play the stock market do WORSE than stock indexes. What this means is that with all their reading and "hunches" and whatever else their returns are not even as good as somebody who simply throws money into an index fund (which buys stocks in all the companies in an index like the DOW) and goes away forgetting about it.

If you want to be rich off the stock market you can be - but you don't need to play it, and in most cases playing it will inhibit your gains.

 

[stockjock]

First of all, they are correct about your age and investing. You will need to have your parents or guardian open the account for you as you need to be over 18 to have an account.
I'm a financial advisor and this is my advice to you:
One: I would not invest in any one single stock...putting "all your eggs in one basket" is not the smartest move and luck would have to be on your side.
Two: Look into investing in some good solid growth mutual funds....head over to MORNINGSTAR and they have a wonderful mutual fund overview area to help you pick and choose funds.

Just my .02