View in: Desktop
Copyright @2024 TigerDroppings.com. All rights reserved.
- My Forums
- Tiger Rant
- LSU Recruiting
- SEC Rant
- Saints Talk
- Pelicans Talk
- More Sports Board
- Fantasy Sports
- Golf Board
- Soccer Board
- O-T Lounge
- Tech Board
- Home/Garden Board
- Outdoor Board
- Health/Fitness Board
- Movie/TV Board
- Book Board
- Music Board
- Political Talk
- Money Talk
- Fark Board
- Gaming Board
- Travel Board
- Food/Drink Board
- Ticket Exchange
- TD Help Board
Customize My Forums- View All Forums
- Show Left Links
- Topic Sort Options
- Trending Topics
- Recent Topics
- Active Topics
Posted by
Message
Somebody help me understand stocks
Posted by King of New Orleans on 12/5/17 at 7:25 am13
I've never invested in anything. How old were you when you started and how much money do you put in? What are the pros and cons? I don't even understand things like this morning when they say Dow hit 24,000. I'd like to start getting into it but I'm absolutely clueless. Any help and reading suggestions are greatly appreciated.
This post was edited on 12/5 at 7:26 am
re: Somebody help me understand stocksPosted by ODP on 12/5/17 at 7:34 am to King of New Orleans
Started when I was in college with a IRA account, maxed it out every year(back then it was 2K/yr). Learned a lot in my first finance class. I suggest you start googling around.
Vanguard
Vanguard
re: Somebody help me understand stocksPosted by UpToPar on 12/5/17 at 8:51 am to King of New Orleans
Start here.
re: Somebody help me understand stocksPosted by OceanMan on 12/5/17 at 9:05 am to King of New Orleans
I started writing a high level outline but realized it would be pages long.
Stocks are pieces of companies, if you own a stock, you are an owner. Indices like the Dow compile the performance of many companies; the Dow is unique because it takes the very largest companies, which have the most power to steer the overall market. Other indexes, like the S&P, aim to show the performance of the market of the whole.
I always suggest investing in indexes, rather than individual stocks. You can buy pretty much anything from certain sectors, to broad market wide indexes. Mutual funds are a very common vehicle to investing in indexes. ETFs are very similar.
My advice is to buy shares of a certain index or 2, with a small amount of money at first. $10k or less. As you watch it go up and down, you will begin to learn about the forces driving the changes. As you get more comfortable, buy more.
Just remember, these things are assets. Just like anything else in life (home, second home, vehicles, watches, etc), the goal is just to accumulate them throughout life. You don't need to buy them all at once.
To understand more about stocks vs indexes, try and learn more about risk vs reward.
You will learn more as you go, but it is a constant education that can only come from experience. I started investing in college 10 years ago. I will never be an expert but know more every year than the one before.
Good luck.
Stocks are pieces of companies, if you own a stock, you are an owner. Indices like the Dow compile the performance of many companies; the Dow is unique because it takes the very largest companies, which have the most power to steer the overall market. Other indexes, like the S&P, aim to show the performance of the market of the whole.
I always suggest investing in indexes, rather than individual stocks. You can buy pretty much anything from certain sectors, to broad market wide indexes. Mutual funds are a very common vehicle to investing in indexes. ETFs are very similar.
My advice is to buy shares of a certain index or 2, with a small amount of money at first. $10k or less. As you watch it go up and down, you will begin to learn about the forces driving the changes. As you get more comfortable, buy more.
Just remember, these things are assets. Just like anything else in life (home, second home, vehicles, watches, etc), the goal is just to accumulate them throughout life. You don't need to buy them all at once.
To understand more about stocks vs indexes, try and learn more about risk vs reward.
You will learn more as you go, but it is a constant education that can only come from experience. I started investing in college 10 years ago. I will never be an expert but know more every year than the one before.
Good luck.
What OceanMan said.
I'll add that one big reason for sticking with indexes is that most people can't pick stocks well to save their own life. Even professional investors generally have a hard time doing better than an index fund over time.
The key is "over time". Any given day a pro might be able to zig when the market zagged. But it goes the other way around too, hardly anyone is really able to do it consistently over a period of decades.
It might be different if you are an insider and really do know something nobody else does. For example, for a long time insider trading was perfectly legal if you were in Congress. They'd listen to testimony and run out and buy or sell as appropriate. Eventually someone found out they were making outsize returns and it was outlawed but it might have come back by now, not really sure.
But for you and me, sticking with an index is usually the way to go. Look for a "target retirement" fund - these are funds that will automatically pick a mix of stocks and bonds that is aggressive when you're young but gets more conservative as you get closer to retirement.
Lastly, read a bunch. Learn the difference between different kinds of accounts (IRA, 401, etc.). It isn't rocket science but you have to understand it in order to make choices that at least aren't terrible.
I'll add that one big reason for sticking with indexes is that most people can't pick stocks well to save their own life. Even professional investors generally have a hard time doing better than an index fund over time.
The key is "over time". Any given day a pro might be able to zig when the market zagged. But it goes the other way around too, hardly anyone is really able to do it consistently over a period of decades.
It might be different if you are an insider and really do know something nobody else does. For example, for a long time insider trading was perfectly legal if you were in Congress. They'd listen to testimony and run out and buy or sell as appropriate. Eventually someone found out they were making outsize returns and it was outlawed but it might have come back by now, not really sure.
But for you and me, sticking with an index is usually the way to go. Look for a "target retirement" fund - these are funds that will automatically pick a mix of stocks and bonds that is aggressive when you're young but gets more conservative as you get closer to retirement.
Lastly, read a bunch. Learn the difference between different kinds of accounts (IRA, 401, etc.). It isn't rocket science but you have to understand it in order to make choices that at least aren't terrible.
re: Somebody help me understand stocksPosted by Roberteaux on 12/5/17 at 12:23 pm to King of New Orleans
I don't know nearly enough to invest myself, which is why I have a broker. I'm 30 and have had my discretionary portfolio for about 2 years. Started with $25k into it (which was the minimum they accepted)in early 2016. It's done pretty well, so has the market over the last 2 years. I also have my Roth IRA with the same broker, and I've maxed it out for the past 3 years. Don't feel bad for not knowing much about stocks...it's incredibly technical and tedious. My broker spins circles around my head all the time when he calls to talk about when they're getting into/out of something
TD SponsorTD Fan
USA
Member since 2001
USA
Member since 2001
Thank you for supporting our sponsors Posted by Site Sponsor to Everyone
Advertisement
re: Somebody help me understand stocksPosted by Fat Bastard on 12/5/17 at 1:04 pm to King of New Orleans
READ STICKY!!!!!!!!
re: Somebody help me understand stocksPosted by bayoubengals88 on 12/5/17 at 4:30 pm to King of New Orleans
Dow at 24,000 is nothing but a number that gauges 30 large American companies (and these companies change from year to year)
It's a composite or an average of those companies that tracks the daily movement of them.
If the Dow opens at 24,000 in the morning and closes up 1% then it'll finish at 24,240, which is a pretty good day.
The S&P 500 is also an American index that tracks roughly the largest 500 companies in the country. From tech to telecommunications to utilities (many sectors).
The Nasdaq is yet another American index that tracks only technology companies.
You can buy the entire Dow index through many different avenues. Dozens of financial companies offer bundles of stocks call index funds that track the movement of the indexes that they represent.
For example, QQQ is an ETF (Exchange Traded Fund- A fund that you can buy and sell daily...as opposed to a mutual fund which can't be bought and sold as frequently)
QQQ represents the Nasdaq composite. You can buy it for around $150. It was around $120 this time last year. A financial company called Invesco created this fund.
Vanguard, another financial company, sells an ETF that does a similar thing under a different name, VGT.
Vanguard also sells VOO, which tracks the S&P500.
Spidershares DIA tracks the Dow30, and so on...
Buying one of these funds mentioned above on a consistent basis is called indexing.
You'll need to sign up at a brokerage account to start doing this. Investing 200 to $500 per month in index funds for 30 years has historically allowed people to be fairly comfortable in retirement. That's the goal.
If you contribute/invest $100,000 of YOUR money during a 30 year stretch then hopefully you'll have much more based on an average of 7% annual return.
You'll never be rich that way, but it is the recommended method for attaining financial security.
There are dozens of topics to discuss. From dividends, dividend reinvestment, individual stocks, bonds, allocation, diversification, options, 3x leveraged ETFs, short, long, day trades, swing trades, etc.
Everything I just mentioned I've learned here on Tigerdroppings. If you love learning and education in general get after it! If not, hire a financial advisor.
It's a composite or an average of those companies that tracks the daily movement of them.
If the Dow opens at 24,000 in the morning and closes up 1% then it'll finish at 24,240, which is a pretty good day.
The S&P 500 is also an American index that tracks roughly the largest 500 companies in the country. From tech to telecommunications to utilities (many sectors).
The Nasdaq is yet another American index that tracks only technology companies.
You can buy the entire Dow index through many different avenues. Dozens of financial companies offer bundles of stocks call index funds that track the movement of the indexes that they represent.
For example, QQQ is an ETF (Exchange Traded Fund- A fund that you can buy and sell daily...as opposed to a mutual fund which can't be bought and sold as frequently)
QQQ represents the Nasdaq composite. You can buy it for around $150. It was around $120 this time last year. A financial company called Invesco created this fund.
Vanguard, another financial company, sells an ETF that does a similar thing under a different name, VGT.
Vanguard also sells VOO, which tracks the S&P500.
Spidershares DIA tracks the Dow30, and so on...
Buying one of these funds mentioned above on a consistent basis is called indexing.
You'll need to sign up at a brokerage account to start doing this. Investing 200 to $500 per month in index funds for 30 years has historically allowed people to be fairly comfortable in retirement. That's the goal.
If you contribute/invest $100,000 of YOUR money during a 30 year stretch then hopefully you'll have much more based on an average of 7% annual return.
You'll never be rich that way, but it is the recommended method for attaining financial security.
There are dozens of topics to discuss. From dividends, dividend reinvestment, individual stocks, bonds, allocation, diversification, options, 3x leveraged ETFs, short, long, day trades, swing trades, etc.
Everything I just mentioned I've learned here on Tigerdroppings. If you love learning and education in general get after it! If not, hire a financial advisor.
re: Somebody help me understand stocksPosted by bayoubengals88 on 12/5/17 at 4:45 pm to bayoubengals88
If you're overwhelmed start by studying this: Vanguard Global Equity Fund
The website is Morningstar. It's a ratings company, which lists and rates any mutual fund or ETF you can imagine.
The fund listed is Vanguard's Global Equity fund.
Any questions, just ask, and I'll add THIS to the sticky.
The website is Morningstar. It's a ratings company, which lists and rates any mutual fund or ETF you can imagine.
The fund listed is Vanguard's Global Equity fund.
Any questions, just ask, and I'll add THIS to the sticky.
re: Somebody help me understand stocksPosted by Paul Allen on 12/5/17 at 4:48 pm to bayoubengals88
I’ve known several people who began contributing to a 401k around age 35 and retired comfortably at 63 or so.
re: Somebody help me understand stocksPosted by TigrrrDad on 12/5/17 at 7:06 pm to King of New Orleans
Ditto on “A Random Walk Down Wall Street.”
Excellent book that gives a great general overview of your options and a sound, safe investment strategy. Also read up on the Bogleheads message board about a 3-fund portfolio. Good place to start - or simply a Vanguard target date fund. A simple 3-fund portfolio outperforms 85% of actively managed funds if I recall correctly.
Excellent book that gives a great general overview of your options and a sound, safe investment strategy. Also read up on the Bogleheads message board about a 3-fund portfolio. Good place to start - or simply a Vanguard target date fund. A simple 3-fund portfolio outperforms 85% of actively managed funds if I recall correctly.
This post was edited on 12/5 at 7:07 pm
re: Somebody help me understand stocksPosted by LSUTigersVCURams on 12/6/17 at 6:42 am to King of New Orleans
My baw, listen to me. Put your money into Vanguard and leave the madness of trading stocks alone. Unless you have a degree in finance and the nerves of a river boat gambler, it's a fool's game.
Back to top
Follow TigerDroppings for LSU Football News