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[soundwave05]

I'm just curious are there any software programs or anything like that one can use if they're an absolute beginner to investing?

I'd like to know more but really don't have time to take a class.

I noticed some people here talk about stocks they have (in video game companies or whatever) so I thought I'd ask.

 

[Fresh Prince]

+1 Who's interested.

 

[cubanb]

buy a book to become more familiar with all the terms and statistics used in the stock market. buy another purely about stock selection theory



peter lynch's one up on wall street was a good book on simple selection without a lot of technical jargon and was the first book I read
here



for good free online info visit the the motley fool's investing page. particularly focus on getting started investing concepts, stocks, analyzing stocks.
Understand the terms they use: for terms like P/e ratio, there is a link you can click on that will define the term they use

study up!

 

[McLesterolBeast]

You really can't go wrong with the whole 'pick a stock out of a hat' method.

edit: half the time you're guarenteed to beat the market average!

 

[cubanb]

You really can't go wrong with the whole 'pick a stock out of a hat' method.

edit: half the time you're guarenteed to beat the market average!

not if you pick shitty stocks to put in the hat :lol :lol :lol

 

[goodcow]

We all know you should invest in AMZN.

 

[Fatghost]

Find a professional financial advisor. You'll do a lot better in the long run with professional advice than without.


A professional advisor will help you build and maintain a diverse and balanced portfolio, keep abreast of trends and changes in regulations, tax implications, estate planning issues, and asset protection.

 

[cubanb]

Find a professional financial advisor. You'll do a lot better in the long run with professional advice than without.


A professional advisor will help you build and maintain a diverse and balanced portfolio, keep abreast of trends and changes in regulations, tax implications, estate planning issues, and asset protection.

to me it sounds like he really isn't getting into investing so much that he needs a financial advisor. It sounds like he has a little to invest and would like to know more about the market and how to evaluate a stock and then apply that to his current knowledge of video games and more.
It really depends on how much you are talking about investing initially. an advisor is needed if you want to invest A LOT each year. sometimes though, these guys don't know much more than you. The stock market is a funny thing, all the information on these companies are public, so you can know as much about the company as your advisor if you know how to read it. Learning good ways to diversify are key, but that can be learned rather than handing it all over to an advisor who will likely take a good chunk out of your return.
Luckily I took a course about all this two years ago. really imformative

 

[Fatghost]

to me it sounds like he really isn't getting into investing so much that he needs a financial advisor. It sounds like he has a little to invest and would like to know more about the market and how to evaluate a stock and then apply that to his current knowledge of video games and more.
It really depends on how much you are talking about investing initially. an advisor is needed if you want to invest A LOT each year. sometimes though, these guys don't know much more than you. Learning good ways to diversify are key, but that can be learned rather than handing it all over to an advisor who will likely take a good chunk out of your return.

An advisor would help even if you're just investing 25 bucks a month. There are advisors who deal with small time investors too.

And most advisors get paid a commission from the fund companies or brokerages, so in many cases the advice doesn't cost the investor.

 

[cubanb]

well, it can't help to learn about it yourself. i would highly recommend reading all through that motley fool link.there are some important lessons to learn before investing. One such lesson is, dont invest if you have any a decent amount of credit card debt. Get rid of that before you invest a penny. unless you have a credit card with a really low rate, it will be hard to get a better return than you would be eliminating your debt. Say your CC charges 13% interest. Paying that off is a guarenteed 13% return. Whereas out in the stock market, over its life span stocks have averaged 11% return with huge variance. Its hard to beat that 13%, even more so if you pay 20% on your cc's.

but yea, checking out the motley fool is a good idea in general, it stresses investing at an early age and the time value of money. These are lessons most don't learn until its too late to let time work for you.

 

[fennec fox]

If you don't feel like reading fool.com all day, do what I did and just get their book:

It's superb and also fun to read.

 

[Soybean]

I love the Motley Fool, and I second the recommendation for their books and website. I'd subscribe to the website too, to get access to the forums (there's a forum for almost every stock, not to mention countless forums on other financial subjects). Very smart people in those forums who will analyze balance sheets and do technical analysis and all that good stuff. Very helpful if you don't know how to do that stuff yourself (or if you're too lazy).