How to invest in stocks?

amother

Tue, Jul 15 2014, 10:24 am

For anyone who knows a thing or two about stocks: In a nutshell- How do you buy stocks?

Don't worry, I'm not trying to kosher gamble or anything. I really would just like to invest a little.

I have been following some stocks daily for a while already, I get a daily email and I notice that one stock has been going up consistently for about a year. I was thinking that it might be a good idea to buy it.

I would buy only a few and see how it goes.

Few questions. 1. is it possible to buy only a few stocks
2. Is it a complicated process? can it be done myself or I need to pay someone?
3. Any extra money I have to put in? Or just as much as the stock cost?
4. does it even make sense to buy a few?

Any info would be great! Thanks!

Sanguine

Tue, Jul 15 2014, 10:49 am

amother wrote:

I buy through a stockbroker. I had one who did nothing but I had to pay $8.5 per buy and sell but they had great tools for choosing stocks. I basically bought and sold whatever seemed right. I made money for a while but then I started losing so I switched to a different broker who chooses stocks unless I want to but there's a minimum amount of money to have in the account and there's no charge for buying or selling but she gets a % every 3 months but overall I make a nice amount with her. That's the difference in going with a professional stock broker (the other one was too but I was on my own).

You can buy any amount but you won't make too much if you invest very little but if you're just "playing" don't invest too much. Don't invest more money that you'd be OK losing the whole thing if the market crashes. And make sure you have a limit to what you're willing to invest and stick with that. It's too easy to get addicted and keep gambling a little more when you lose.

There are a lot of online free tools and also stock companies that you can do just one small buy but any company will charge you something. It's not like you deal directly with the company you're buying stocks from. The stock broker does.

You can do it. Everything is on line. Lots of free advice too an then you'll find one that will do the buys (I guess, I always use a big brokerage company (not cause I have so much money)

doctorima

Tue, Jul 15 2014, 10:55 am

You can open an online brokerage account at Fidelity or Schwab in about 10 minutes, and then once you've put money in it, you can use it to make your own stock trades. There are no minimums, but some firms will charge you an annual fee if your balances are too low, so check that out. They will charge you a flat fee for each buy and sell, but it's pretty low - I think less than $10. No surcharges. Only put in money you can afford to lose. Is it worth it? That's up to you to decide.

Iymnok

Tue, Jul 15 2014, 11:13 am

We use Trade24. I think there's a minimum of $1000. they walk you through the system and call with advice for the first month or so. We have very good returns. They use MetaTrader 4. We just got a robot to work for us, basically programmed to read trends and take and close positions as the market indicates. Also good returns. It's fun to open your account and see you made $150 today. The more money you have in it the more you can make. They encourage withdrawal at $200,000.

PM me if you're interested, we can get referral benefits

5mom

Tue, Jul 15 2014, 1:17 pm

Can I recommend an index fund rather than individual stocks? Most people, including the pros, can't beat the market. An index fund reflects the stock market as a whole and is a good way for individuals to invest. Vanguard offers low-cost index funds. (As do others, but that's the one I know best.)

You won't have the adrenaline rush that comes from making trades, but you won't have the expense either. Many individual investors will tell you how much they made without taking into account what they spent on trading and management fees. Not worth it.

amother

Tue, Jul 15 2014, 2:47 pm

Sanguine wrote:

You can do it. Everything is on line. Lots of free advice too an then you'll find one that will do the buys (I guess, I always use a big brokerage company (not cause I have so much money)

You will hear about a lot of stocks, but it pays to research them.

Type in "XYZ stock" in google search engine or Yahoo search. You will then see a chart for the stock.

Sometimes a magazine article will speak highly of a stock, but then when you research it, it is not performing as well as it should. Stay away from those stocks.

A good example is Teva Pharmaceuticals. Type "TEVA" into google search engine. This company is the top maker of generic drugs all over the world. But right now, [a specific stock] is doing better, so it pays to invest more into [that kind of] stock.

[Specific stock removed. Please take specific investment advice from someone who's not anonymous. -merelyme, as mod]

self-actualization

Tue, Jul 15 2014, 3:44 pm

When I was 22 in my first job, someone gave me a "stock tip" for a micro-cap stock ("penny stock"). I invested $5000 and lost every penny (I think I got $300 back when the company was de-listed).

I learned from there to do my main investing in index funds (such as an S&P index fund for my 401(k)) and other mutual funds to get broad exposure to different financial sectors. It's worked much better for me, B"H. Slow and steady really does win the race.

I personally don't invest in individual stocks, but if I wanted to do that, I would do it as a hobby, with money that I really didn't need at all and could afford to lose completely (I.e. once my retirement savings are maxed out, and each of my kids has a wedding fund IY"H, then I might consider buying an individual stock, which I consider to be a bet, like gambling. I probably wouldn't even do it at that point, because I was so badly burned early on and I am risk averse by nature).

Sanguine

Tue, Jul 15 2014, 3:57 pm

I made good money on Teva and I even sold but it goes up and down so much that you really have to keep an eye on it. Oh - it's 54 now. that's good. It's been around 40 so long that I just got rid of it. I also had it at 60 and sold. Then I bought at 40 but it wasn't going anywhere so I got rid of it. I tried some penny stocks. I bought 50,000 of ICOA - cost me total $25. I figured it would go up to just $1 a stock and I would be rich. So far I lost $20 of it but that was at the beginning (4 years ago) I'm still waiting for it to make a comeback
See - it's fun

amother

Tue, Jul 15 2014, 4:11 pm

I'm not the op. I have a question for Sanguine and Tencent amother above. I've always wanted to buy a few individual stocks, like you are doing, but I don't want to get so immersed in the market that it should completely take over my life. Where do you get reliable tips to know which stocks to choose? Many ppl who do this are reading dozens of blogs/sites, etc. Can you find just a couple of good sources for info? How do you know what to buy? Any recommendations (for whose tips to follow and which sites to use)? And at the end of the day, did you come out ahead? Significantly so? Thank you!