Getting Started
Watching the stock markets rise and fall, you can imagine why a total beginner might be frozen with fear.
A thousand points in six months! Two hundred point drops! Booms and busts! Which are the best investments, our novice rightly asks.
On a way if are benefited, it can be a million player game for you. But if you lost, you might not come up again to invest again for a second chance.
If You Are a Risk Taker...
You may be eager to get started so that you, too, can make those fabulous returns you hear so much about, but slow down and take a moment to contemplate some simple questions.
What kind of person are you? Are you a risk taker, willing to throw money at a chance to make a lot of money or would you prefer a more "sure" thing? What would be your likely response to a 10% drop in a single stock in one day or a 35% drop over the course of a few weeks? Would you sell it all in a panic?
Interest In Investment and Benefits...
Individual stock investing is the most time consuming as it requires you to make judgments about management, earnings and future prospects. As an investor, you are attempting to distinguish between a money-making stock and financial disaster. You need to know what they do, how they make their money, the risks, the future prospects and much more.
How much can you Invest Initially?
If you have a good amount to invest and you ready to take risk in your first go, it is best that you not be exposed to only one type of asset.
It is better to be diversified across several different sectors such as real estate (a real estate investment trust is one possibility), consumer goods, commodities, insurance, etc., rather than focusing on one or two or three, as above. Consider diversifying across asset classes, as well, by keeping some money in bonds and cash, rather than being 100% invested in stocks.
Time to Invest...
Give time and properly analyze the market, get the catch of ups and downs in the prices of the shares you have invested in and then make a decision.
Once you've determined the shape of your portfolio, it is time to invest. Find a broker you are comfortable with, either an online broker or one with a local office or both. Call and talk with this person, if necessary. Then, fill out the paperwork, deposit some money and open an account.
Watching the stock markets rise and fall, you can imagine why a total beginner might be frozen with fear.
A thousand points in six months! Two hundred point drops! Booms and busts! Which are the best investments, our novice rightly asks.
On a way if are benefited, it can be a million player game for you. But if you lost, you might not come up again to invest again for a second chance.
If You Are a Risk Taker...
You may be eager to get started so that you, too, can make those fabulous returns you hear so much about, but slow down and take a moment to contemplate some simple questions.
What kind of person are you? Are you a risk taker, willing to throw money at a chance to make a lot of money or would you prefer a more "sure" thing? What would be your likely response to a 10% drop in a single stock in one day or a 35% drop over the course of a few weeks? Would you sell it all in a panic?
Interest In Investment and Benefits...
Individual stock investing is the most time consuming as it requires you to make judgments about management, earnings and future prospects. As an investor, you are attempting to distinguish between a money-making stock and financial disaster. You need to know what they do, how they make their money, the risks, the future prospects and much more.
How much can you Invest Initially?
If you have a good amount to invest and you ready to take risk in your first go, it is best that you not be exposed to only one type of asset.
It is better to be diversified across several different sectors such as real estate (a real estate investment trust is one possibility), consumer goods, commodities, insurance, etc., rather than focusing on one or two or three, as above. Consider diversifying across asset classes, as well, by keeping some money in bonds and cash, rather than being 100% invested in stocks.
Time to Invest...
Give time and properly analyze the market, get the catch of ups and downs in the prices of the shares you have invested in and then make a decision.
Once you've determined the shape of your portfolio, it is time to invest. Find a broker you are comfortable with, either an online broker or one with a local office or both. Call and talk with this person, if necessary. Then, fill out the paperwork, deposit some money and open an account.
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