What are good stocks to invest in at this time? Or good up and coming stocks? I use sharebuilder which seems to be okay is scotttrader any better?




What are good stocks to invest in at this time? Or good up and coming stocks? I use sharebuilder which seems to be okay is scotttrader any better?
I may have many faults, but being wrong ain't one of them.
Whole Foods
Hi there!
Good for you for investing in the market. I used to work on Wall Street at an investment bank in equity research before I got sick of it and became a stripper.
Here are the things to remember when you are investing:
1. DIVIRSIFY. Do not, I repeat, do not, put all of your eggs in one basket. A good portfolio will have some equities (stocks), some fixed income (bonds), some money market accounts (cash) and some real estate.
2. If you are new to investing, get an account at a big, reputable brokerage house where you can get advice. I have my account at Fidelity. TD Waterhouse is good also, as is Charles Schwab. All of these can be found on the internet.
3. Determine what your investment objectives/financial goals are; talk with a financial planner at one of the aforementioned institutions. They are very, very helpful, especially at Fidelity.
4. If you want to invest on your own, that's fine, but I suggest a little help in the begining. There are two books I would recommend: Worry Free Family Finances and Smart Women Retire Rich. My mother and stepfather are both CPAs and they think these are great books also.
5. Get a subscription to Money magazine, Kiplingers or The Wall Street Journal. This will give you up to date info on the market. Be advised that to really make substantial gains in the market you will need to be prepared to wait out the next few years. Bush isn't done screwing over the economy yet. Most people are moving their money to real estate because of the lack of faith in the market. As a result, stocks are at a low. This means that it is a good time to buy and hold.
Good luck with everything!
What Bambi says makes a damn lot of sense.
One approach to finding new businesses is to look at the things you find that are hot, then finding out if you are ahead of the curve. If you spot a trend before others do you win, invest in it after it is already reflected in the price of the company and you lose. It is not knowing the up and comers as much as WHEN you know them.
Above all start slow and learn the process.





Muyaha, the word "investing" can have an entire rainbow's worth of different colors. Some people interpret the term "investing" as being analogous to 'saving money via stocks and bonds versus bank accounts/CD's' to achieve a slightly higher rate of return at a slightly higher risk of losses. Other people interpret the term 'investing' to 'financial gambling', seeking huge potential rates of return via speculative stocks and stock trading techniques with a proportionally high risk of losses. I personally interpret the term 'investing' to fall somewhere between the two extremes, seeking to achieve rates of return which are 2-3 times those available through bank CD's with moderate risk of losses.
Whatever your interpretation of the word 'investing', my own formula for success has been identifying basic financial trends and then making investments which are likely to benefit the most from those trends. For example, right now the US$'s foreign exchange value is falling, with most indicators showing that it will continue to fall. This aides the profit margin of US companies who have a major portion of their business in exporting US made products to foreign countries. A typical company which falls in this category is Proctor & Gamble.
Also right now the prices of all basic manufacturing commodities are extraordinarily high, due to increasing demand from China's growing factories pushing worldwide prices higher. This allows commodity producing companies to increase their profit margins. A typical company which falls in this category is Aluminum Corp. of America.
Also right now the prices of precious metals are rising in US$ terms as the dollar gets weaker. This allows US based precious metal mining companies to achieve large gains in profit margins. A typical company which falls in this category is Newmont.
Lastly, while crude oil prices have backed off of their record levels by some 20% in the last couple of months, prices for refined products i.e. gasoline are still at very high levels. This helps oil companies who have a sizeable stake in refining and retailing of gasoline i.e. Exxon Mobil.
However, trends do change over time, and with that change owning stock in the companies I mentioned can turn into an instant loser. Therefore if you're going to invest in 'sectors' you MUST pay attention to both world and financial news to know when the time has arrived to sell your stocks, take your profits, and go looking for a different 'sector' for future stock purchases.
An example of a future 'sector' which might be extremely profitable is related to GWB's attempts to establish Social Security 401k clones for younger employees. If this comes to pass, it will vastly increase the number of stock fund transactions and the profits of those financial service companies which execute them. Thus it might pay to own some shares of Janus, for example.
The first 5 days of the trading year, usually determine whether the market will have a + or - year. January Effect ()
That being sad, we may be looking at a down year. However, look at dividend paying stocks. Even in down years, these stocks still pay out.
Couple of stocks to be in the look out for:
ADSX : - applied digital solutions
RFID Chip implants
MVL: - marvel enterprises
X-Men, Spider Man 3, Fantastic Four, Elektra, etc.
EBAY, TTWO, ERTS, GEMP, TFCT.OB, PTT, PRVT
Have a great 2005





you can also make a stock play related to the US$ exchange rate by buying the ADR's of foreign company stocks or 'foreign stock' mutual funds. Right now the US$ vs Euro exchange rate is about $1.31, with many experts calling for this rate to move to $1.40 by year end. Thus if you buy a European stock tomorrow at $1.31/E and the stock's share price doesn't change a bit in Euros all year long, at the end of the year you will still have gained $0.09 per share in US dollar terms !
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