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Thread: sharebuilder.com

  1. #1
    tampafldancer
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    Default sharebuilder.com

    i have an account there that i just started investing..
    Just wondering if anyone had any good experiences with the site..

    And if there are any brokers there, im so confused in trying to figure out which company i should go with?

    I WANT to invest pharmacutical... but unsure.. merck, phyzers,genelink..?????


    I looked at the charts to see whether or not it would be good to buy in soon, but this is my first time buying in.


  2. #2
    God/dess montythegeek's Avatar
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    Default Re:sharebuilder.com

    Looked at the website and it seems reasonable.
    Be aware of 2 things.
    1 Think about the fees as what they represent as a percent of the money you would invest. DO NOT think of $/month but $/year for the higher services. Go to the web sites of competitors and consider what it would cost if you made 6 purchases a year + annual fee.
    2. Think about the diversification issue--do not put all your eggs in one basket. Consider holding half your money in Spiders (an S&P 500 index traded as if it were one stock). Drug stocks have not fared well the past few years. eg Merck (which I own some of). Go to Yahoo finance and do a comparison chart vs the S&P500 and you will see this. Drug stocks would not do well if Kerry got elected because he would try to cut prices.

    I think the third one you mentioned is Genzyme (GENE). Merck is MRK.

    Investing a little each month is a fairly safe long-term strategy called dollar-cost averaging. It is not for everyone, and in and of itself will not make you rich, but is fairly safe.

  3. #3
    Veteran Member NVJosh's Avatar
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    Default Re:sharebuilder.com

    I have an account with Sharebuilder, and the $4/trade is great...if you're willing to put up with the restrictions (basically, you can only invest on Tuesdays...I'm not sure about selling, I haven't sold anything through them yet!). I think they also have $20/month unlimited trades under the same restrictions. Now, if you're investing $1,000 each time, $4 is great, a 0.4% commission. However, if you're investing $100 each trade, $4 is a 4% commission, not nearly as good a deal. OTOH, for long-term holding, you shouldn't worry about the "only on Tuesdays" issue and the free dividend reinvestment is nice.

    If you want a great place to start, try N.A.I.C., which is great for small investors, especially in setting up DRIPs (Dividend Reinvestment Plans), although you have a relatively small universe of stocks from which to choose. However, the information is great for the price, IMO.

  4. #4
    Senior Member commando's Avatar
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    Default Re:sharebuilder.com

    If you're interested in low cost trading, go to www.lowtrades.com, they have $5 trades, and there are no restrictions; buy whatever you like. Also, their customer service is superb. I would recommend them highly. As for your other question, there are a lot of different pharmaceutical and biotech companies out there, but unfortunately, being a broker myself, I can't really make any kind of recommendations without knowing that they would be suitable to your situation.

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