Anyone here in stocks? Options

[GotToyota]

Is anyone here in the stock market or own stocks? I'm going to be turning 18 soon, and I've realized that I should start investing a small part of my money into the stock market. With that being said, and don't say it's just because I own a Toyota, but I personally think it would be smart to invest in Toyota stocks, and Toyota recently became the #1 automaker in the world, and it seems their stock prices keep going up and up. I'd like some advice and informative comments/concerns about this.

-Matt

[Hanyo]

what is your goal?

how long do you plan on investing before you get turn out?


my advice is to diversify your stocks. That way, if something goes wrong your not at a total loss.

[GotToyota]

Goal is to go with something more in long term, maybe 5-10 years.

And as far as a turnout, somewhere in the mentioned time above would be fine.

And can you explain diversifying? I'm new to all of this.

-Matt

[jason]

diversify - dont put all your eggs in one basket, like invest in dow chemicals, kimberly clark, as well as toyota and any other nice ones you may want to go with

[97lestyousay]

Keep in mind a broker is a salesman, he will try to get you
to do higher risk than you may want, its kind of like giving
your money to a poker player and splitting profit, he has everything
to gain and nothing to lose. I would suggest do some serious research
and do it yourself. Bonds or CDs are less risky.

Edit: If you must do stocks.
The best way to get the highest quickest rewards is to find IPOs (initial public offering)
research the background of the company then decide if you want to buy.
Much more risk but much greater rewards. I personally don't gamble.


This post has been edited by 97lestyousay: May 2, 2007 - 12:02 AM

[6gsillyca]

I'm not the most knowledgeable when it comes to the stock market, but I haven't heard of any "long term" (5-10 year) stocks...If you become REALLY involved with the market, you would be checking/buying/selling stocks at least once a day. Over the course of a week, or even a month a company can either plummet or grow. Maybe the company grew 10x but then crashed a day later. If you are looking for something more "set it and forget it" and you want it in stocks, then look into blue chip stocks. They are generally more expensive, but are more stable, and many of them will pay out dividends.

Honestly for ZERO risk long term investment, look for something along the lines of a GIC. You can (or at least in canada) use investments of this sort towards your RRSP contribution.

My .02

[3WayStunna]

diversify - dont put all your eggs in one basket, like invest in dow chemicals, kimberly clark, as well as toyota and any other nice ones you may want to go with

mutual funds, and IRA's is what you would want if its diversity you seek.....just find a good investor and let him do all the work for you, or you can check moringstar.com and do alittle research on what is good for you. With the mutual funds, you invest alittle or alot, in alot of diffrent companies, so that way, if you invested in say 5 stocks with your mutual fund, and one of them is doing bad, then oh wells, you have 4 more to make up for that one, instead of investing in just one fund, and when it goes bad, you lose money and thats it..its carries alot of security for the novice investor in my opinion.. moving on with an ira, its a mutual fund, but you can put money in it and let that money grow with compounded interest, and over time it continue to compound and compound...so you can put 100 dollars in one year, with an interest rate of 6 percent and have 106.00 by the end of the yearbut next year, if left alone, then that whole 106.00 dollars is compounded still, and that is how it grows..keep adding money and you can see how that works out...its like a big kid version of the savings account, but those are best for retirements and long term goals though...anywho, thats all i know with stocks, and even such, i only scratched the surface but good luck with em bro

[6gc_driven]

..to start off, the first thing you should do is RESEARCH. If you are asking if anyone is into "stocks" without mentioning other investment possibilites in the market..then you are not ready to invest. if you do not do your research, the market will eat you up alive.

Theres other possiblities besides stock..ETF's, mutual funds, Options (buyin and sellin calls and puts), you can short sell stocks, REITs..etc. theres all sorts of things you can do with your money. The first thing you have to take into consideration is knowing your risk profile. If you are not the risky type of investor, then you are better off sticking with a CD or something of that degree that will earn you little money.
Wanna keep your money safe?, then invest in AAA bonds or a mutual fund that invests in bonds. Keep in mind, the higher the risk, the greater the return..vice versa.

IRA's are good retirement option (considering that by the time we turn 65, we probably wont be receiving Social Security) if you just plan to let your money sit..but please take into consideration the return you are getting on your money and the time value of money.

but if you are 18..i suggest you do your research or sign up for a personal investments course at a college or something before investing..believe me, it will help you out alot.

[Crzybakerdog]

lol sorry to bring this thread back up, but just want to hear some opinions on what most people think some young investors such as myself should be looking to get into, also if anyone can recommend some books for beginning investors to get a quick overview before i start putting some serious change in the market. I think now is definetly the time to pump some money in the market and watch the funds grow in a few years, when things start running back to status quo

[97lestyousay]

Invest in the US automakers, maybe if you lose your a$$ the government will bail you out too.

I still don't gamble.