Anyone invest in Stocks?

[Chelle]

Anyone else play the stock market??

Chelle

[Missouri Mule]

Yes, I know everything there is to know about the stock market. What do you want to know?
=============
First thing to know is that none of these people on television have a clue about what they are talking about. You would do just as well to throw darts at a dartboard.

Second thing to know is to have a working knowledge about the company in question; a very good working knowledge. I.E., do you like the operation; do you see it operating as you would operate a company. Don't believe the hype otherwise you will be sold a bill of goods by a shady stock broker who is padding his wallet at your expense.

Third thing to know is that unless you know individual stocks, best just to get a good S&P mutual fund like the Vanguard S&P 500. It has a .18% administrative fee unlike some of the other rip-off outfits. Believe me I have learned the hard way.

That's a good start. Any other questions.

[Chelle]

I meant I currently invest in stocks and was just curious to see if anyone else did as well.

Have you tried any of the on-line securities traders? I've been playing with the idea.. but I'm a little apprehensive.


Chelle

[Missouri Mule]

Scottrade. No problems whatsoever. Easy as rolling out of bed in the morning. Easy as pie. $7 a trade. Go for it. I could not be happier with their service. I used to invest $1000 a month until the market tanked. But if my wife allows me I might get back into the market. Right now I am just reinvesting the dividends. They also have real time streaming info and you can, if you get good save a buck or two. Probably the best time to invest is early in the morning. Later on the market seems to come back unless there is real bad news coming down the pike.

I would never use a conventional stock broker. They don't know diddly squat and are grossly overpriced. In fact their service is worth less than nothing. They ought to pay you for their incompetence. Of course I'm prejudiced but as I say, I learned my lessons the hard way --- with my hard earned money. They'll sell you such junk as variable annuities and class b mutual funds. All of these are rip-offs with hidden fees and they do this with a straight face. Avoid them like the plague.

[Chelle]

I've checked into E*Trade.. but quite frankly, I'm not impressed with what I've seen.

Thanks for the advice.

Chelle

[Missouri Mule]

I'm sure there is a local office there in K.C. I used to go to the local office, write out a check and be on my way. The next day I would check my account and place the order on-line. They have on-line portfolios up to the minute and some other neat features. I can't think of a single negative. Wish I had done it a long time ago.

[Chelle]

I currently use a local brokerage firm, but I'm paying through the nose. :eek: I was looking for something a little less expensive.

Thanks again! :)

Chelle

[Chelle]

I would never use a conventional stock broker. They don't know diddly squat and are grossly overpriced. In fact their service is worth less than nothing. They ought to pay you for their incompetence. Of course I'm prejudiced but as I say, I learned my lessons the hard way --- with my hard earned money. They'll sell you such junk as variable annuities and class b mutual funds. All of these are rip-offs with hidden fees and they do this with a straight face. Avoid them like the plague.



OOps. Sorry, I just saw this. I've figured that out... :lol: Thanks for the warning though. ;)

Chelle

[Missouri Mule]

I'll shut up after this but a final thought. Don't let them intimidate you that you require their "professional" advice. You don't. You can do your own research. If you are uncertain then you won't do yourself wrong by doing the S&P 500 route. You might do as I do and set up a hypothetical portfolio and plug in the numbers and see how you stack up. "Smartmoney" and other's offer a good way to do this. Free and I use this to track my own portfolio regularly throughout the day. There are others as well. And that doesn't cost you a dime. What's dragging on the market right now is the Iraqi mess. The economic news is actually quite good and would be much better if we could get that mess calmed down. Good luck.

One parting thought is the stock fund based on the S&P 500. SPDR on AMEX. Then you are spreading your risk as though you had a mutual fund like the S&P 500. Currently about $113 a share. Or if you are a highroller then of course you would want the Berkshire-Hathaway fund at about $75,000 per share, "A" stock. It has had one of the best results. Warran Buffett is the mover and shaker there and knows his business. They also have a "B" stock at about $2,800 or so.

Enough already, off to bed.

[Chelle]

Thank you, MM. :) I appreciate the advice of someone who has been there, done that. I've invested in the stock market for about five years now... but have come to realize that (as you stated) they are raking me over the coals with fees. I'm of the mindset that since I make mortgage loans for a living, I should be able to do this myself and save the exorbitant expense of paying someone else to do it for me. ;)

Thanks for the time you've taken to help me out and ease my mind a bit. I appreciate it.

Chelle

[Chelle]

Just an update MM.... I went earlier today to http://www.scottrade.com and was happy to discover that they have a branch office right around where I work. :)

Thanks for the information again.. I really appreciate it!

Chelle

[Missouri Mule]

I think you will be very happy with them. You can even leave the money in your account and invest only when you are ready. Meanwhile it should be drawing money market rates if I recall correctly although that would be very low right now.

One other thing I would pass along would be to avoid "bottom fishing." I really got burnt that way on one formerly high flying stock. I figured it would have to go back up in price based on its past performance that was in fact the highest single stock during the 1990's. How wrong I was. Down 75% and I'm just stuck. One other thing to not do is to "churn" your stocks. That will eat up a lot of commission fees and studies have shown most people who do this lose money.

[Chelle]

I figured it would have to go back up in price based on its past performance that was in fact the highest single stock during the 1990's. How wrong I was. Down 75% and I'm just stuck.

:EEK: Down 75%!? **low whistle** Sorry to hear that.

I'll remember that if I need any advice, who to ask. ;)

Chelle

[Platypus]

I think you will be very happy with them. You can even leave the money in your account and invest only when you are ready. Meanwhile it should be drawing money market rates if I recall correctly although that would be very low right now.

One other thing I would pass along would be to avoid "bottom fishing." I really got burnt that way on one formerly high flying stock. I figured it would have to go back up in price based on its past performance that was in fact the highest single stock during the 1990's. How wrong I was. Down 75% and I'm just stuck. One other thing to not do is to "churn" your stocks. That will eat up a lot of commission fees and studies have shown most people who do this lose money.

I find that two things really help here. One is to invest based on fundamentals. First and most important, does the company have a product that you know and think is better than the competition? Second, does the company have good financials - P/E ratio, return on equity, that kind of thing? The absolute last thing you should focus on IMO is the "technical" data like alphas and betas and whether the stock has crossed its 50-day moving average. One of my guys is really into that stuff, so I have to remind him every once in a while that the stocks I've picked based on fundamentals have consistently outperformed the ones he has picked based on technical considerations.

The other thing I try to do is dump the losers quickly and hold on to the winners. You'd be positively amazed how many people do the exact opposite. If a stock goes up a tick or two they want to "lock in their profits" so they sell; if it goes down they hold on waiting for a recovery. The net effect is that they get half the gains they should on the winners and twice the losses they should as they ride the losers all the way down. There's no need to be twitchy, but your typical hold time - whatever it is, based on risk tolerance - should be longer for winners than for losers. If a stock goes down that's new information, and you should use that to reevaluate your reasons for getting into it. If a stock is up from where you bought it likewise, but you should also remember that a decline from an all-time high isn't exactly the same as taking a loss; there's no reason to panic just because you've made less money on it today than yesterday.

[Missouri Mule]

"The other thing I try to do is dump the losers quickly and hold on to the winners."

My crystal ball isn't quite that accurate. My HDI stock has gone up and down and up. My mistake is that I relied too heavily on past performance. I have attempted to rely on purchasing market leaders or something unique.

My suggestions had more to do with what NOT to do and that primarily involved the financial advice of so-called "experts." While someone may occasionally hit a home run calling a market just right, then they more often than not make most subsequent calls wrong. Even a broken clock is right twice a day.

[Platypus]

My crystal ball isn't quite that accurate. My HDI stock has gone up and down and up.

As I said, there's no benefit in being jumpy and your overall average hold time is largely a function of your risk tolerance. My main point was about the relative hold times for stocks that have risen vs. stocks that have fallen.

[Chelle]

I've ridden the wave of the ups and down as far as some of my stocks are concerned. I don't tend to get too 'goosey' about selling if I see a slip... but you are correct as far as don't go down with the ship. I did lose quite a chunk of change when one of my utilities stock took a nose dive and I didn't pull out quick enough. :(


Chelle

[USA-1]

Buy oil company stocks.

[Platypus]

I've ridden the wave of the ups and down as far as some of my stocks are concerned. I don't tend to get too 'goosey' about selling if I see a slip... but you are correct as far as don't go down with the ship. I did lose quite a chunk of change when one of my utilities stock took a nose dive and I didn't pull out quick enough. :(

Everyone has; ask me about Global Crossing some time. :( Most people have also done the opposite of selling too early on a stock that continued to rise. There are good investing strategies and bad investing strategies, and no end of people disagreeing about which is which, but I can say unequivocally that just about the worst strategy is no strategy at all. People should think about what their strategy should be in terms of criteria (e.g. fundamental vs. technical), diversification, risk tolerance, and so on. Then they should constantly evaluate both whether their actions are consistent with that strategy and whether the strategy is the right one for them considering its effectiveness plus their own goals and time horizons.

My guys (at Wachovia BTW) are constantly calling me with new stock ideas. Nine times out of ten I tell them that what they're suggesting might be a fine idea but it's not consistent with how I invest. I tell them to pass up stocks they think I should buy, or sit on stocks they think I should sell, and they get it. Their job is to make suggestions; mine is to decide which ones I'll act on. As long as all concerned understand that and show mutual respect things tend to go pretty smoothly.

[Missouri Mule]

I set up a hypothetical portfolio in "Motley Fool" a couple of years ago and just looked at how these stocked performed. Overall, I was down 9.06%. My biggest winners were Caterpiller ,Fedex, and KMI. I got a "hot tip" from a former employee of KMI and said I should buy back about 2001 but I ignored it. Instead I invested in the "proven" winners like Microsoft , Cisco and Intel. They were all leaders in their field but their stocks all went into the tank. On the way back but long way to go. Starbucks has done the very best of this portfolio, up over 100%. But I don't know diddly squat about them except that they sell expensive coffee and I won't pay it. I still haven't gotten over the fact that I can't get a cup of coffee for a nickel. So what do I know?

[Chelle]

My guys (at Wachovia BTW) are constantly calling me with new stock ideas. Nine times out of ten I tell them that what they're suggesting might be a fine idea but it's not consistent with how I invest. I tell them to pass up stocks they think I should buy, or sit on stocks they think I should sell, and they get it. Their job is to make suggestions; mine is to decide which ones I'll act on. As long as all concerned understand that and show mutual respect things tend to go pretty smoothly.

Truth be known.. besides exorbitant fees, I've had a problem here recently with my requests being taken seriously. While I'm not the all knowing investor, I was getting pretty agitated at someone who is working FOR me, disputing what I was telling them I wanted to do.

So you've been satisfied with Wachovia?

Chelle

[Platypus]

So you've been satisfied with Wachovia?

Well, Wachovia's a big company, but the guys I've worked with there have been really good.

[Chelle]

Well, Wachovia's a big company, but the guys I've worked with there have been really good.

Thank you Platypus, for the information.


Chelle

[Thermopylae]

I used to always mess around with fantasy stock markets.. until they started charging money for it. Still, pretty neat, I wish I could..

My advice, when google enters the market.. buy it. And then sell it within two/three months.

[Missouri Mule]

Yes, I think Google will be a big winner for a while anyway. I'm on their pending list for the new e-mail service, due in the summer.

[gopman]

I think the best call for a private investor is an index fund. It's preferable to a mutual fund because the same fees aren't attached. They're just bundles of stock that are traded like regular stocks and they're put together to reflect the markets as a whole. You can find one to mirror most markets. The stock market has always been a good long term investment and index funds are an excellent way for anyone to tap into that. They're also diverse enough to prevent a catastrophe.

They also sell index funds that mirror certain industries, but they're more volatile than the larger ones.

That's a pretty graph (Dow Jones Ind. Index fund):
http://www.smartmoney.com/att/eqsnaps/index.cfm?story=snapshot&symbol=IYJ&fk=10526

[finebead]

Everyone should go to www.dowtheoryletters.com and on the main page, read the article "rich man, poor man". Then you will know what most 'investors' do wrong.

Subscribe to a market newsletter. Get some recommendations. Investech.com, Jimmy Dines 'dines letter', Richard Russell dowtheoryletters.com have good long term track records. They have different slants.

[Chelle]

Thanks, finebead. :)


Chelle

[skibum8]

The stock market, being another form of gambling, is replete with tipsters, touts, pros etc.. Some are good. Most are not. The key in any gambling venture from the market, to sports betting to craps is: determine what level you will cash out at, before you buy, then buy and do so when you hit it. Many people go into investing/gambling without any idea as to when 'enough is enough". The only people who were harmed badly in the last market bump were people who held, held, held. Nothing continues upward forever.

[Countium]

I don't have stocks but I do read alot and I have read what is apparently known as the bible.

You want to find the book/s by "Nicholas Darvas", "how I made $2,000,000 in the Stock Market"

The principals are fairly straight forward if you don't mind basic maths and logic.

The book is old but stands the testament of time, the principals are basic and I've heard you cannot go wrong.

I've been meaning to setup a test portfolio to see how I do.

[skibum8]

Test protfolio's and playing stock market games are fine, but to assume you'll react to market changes the same way when you lose 10,000 real dollars and not 10,000 pretend dollars is simply not true. Playing the game is in no way a predictor of what you'll do in real life.

[JustinH]

It can be, as long as your not investing $1,000,000 on a single stock :D. I've played "stock games" for some time, using proper amounts that I would actually use. I've done quite well with it (certainly not going to be a millionaire at 24 :D). I've only recently gotten into "actually" buying stocks. Thus far, I've talked with my dad (who has invested for some time) and he pretty much follows Warren Buffet... he's WAY conservative investor, and therefore isn't making a killing by any means, but he does well.

[skibum8]

It can be, as long as your not investing $1,000,000 on a single stock :D. I've played "stock games" for some time, using proper amounts that I would actually use. I've done quite well with it (certainly not going to be a millionaire at 24 :D). I've only recently gotten into "actually" buying stocks. Thus far, I've talked with my dad (who has invested for some time) and he pretty much follows Warren Buffet... he's WAY conservative investor, and therefore isn't making a killing by any means, but he does well.

I invest in a similar manner to your Dad. Millionaires who's wealth stand the test of time invest in the same manner. I am not disrespecting you, but I am saying that using amounts you would actually use is, while commendable, is still theory and not reality thereby very different than actually using your own money no matter what the amount is. I love to play simulated games of craps before I go to vegas, but its still very different when you get there and you see xxx amount of chips yanked off the table and realize what you could have bought for the xxx you just lost in 4 minutes.

[JustinH]

True, it would only work "theoretically"... especially with the ups and downs the stock market sees one day it would be perfect in your "test enviornment" the next day the company files bankruptcy. In terms of reality... no doubt about that, it's easy to play with $100 Monopoly dollars, but I'll be damned if $100 real ones wouldn't make me think about the new golf shoes I won't be buying now :D.

[ultimate capita]

i am just wondering. i dont now much about sahres or the stock market but could anyone tell how shares work and wht does the share holder get out of inveting in a corporation? thank you

[ultimate capita]

i am just wondering. i dont now much about shares but could anyone tell how shares work and what does the share holder get out of investing in a corporation? thank you

[gopman]

You could take entire courses on that, as there are different kinds of shares companies issue, and there are different strategies depending on your goal to "get" a few different things, but this is it in a nutshell: You pay for partial ownership of the company, and the company uses that money to invest in capital or labor or whatever, and if the company is profitable, the value of your share increases and you can sell it for a profit. Some companies pay dividends, which is a certain amount of their retained earnings which they distribute to investors on a pro rata basis. Sometimes they issue dividends of more stock. In the vast majority of cases (I believe in the case of every American company), you are only liable for the amount you put in. If the company goes bankrupt, your share becomes worthless, but they can't come after your personal assets to settle the debts of the corporation. Depending on how you invest, you can focus on high dividends, potentially high short run returns, good long run returns, or any combination of those.

[Chelle]

I I am not disrespecting you, but I am saying that using amounts you would actually use is, while commendable, is still theory and not reality thereby very different than actually using your own money no matter what the amount is. I love to play simulated games of craps before I go to vegas, but its still very different when you get there and you see xxx amount of chips yanked off the table and realize what you could have bought for the xxx you just lost in 4 minutes.

That is *no* lie!!! ;)


Chelle

[Missouri Mule]

I think the best call for a private investor is an index fund. It's preferable to a mutual fund because the same fees aren't attached. They're just bundles of stock that are traded like regular stocks and they're put together to reflect the markets as a whole. You can find one to mirror most markets. The stock market has always been a good long term investment and index funds are an excellent way for anyone to tap into that. They're also diverse enough to prevent a catastrophe.

They also sell index funds that mirror certain industries, but they're more volatile than the larger ones.

That's a pretty graph (Dow Jones Ind. Index fund):
http://www.smartmoney.com/att/eqsnaps/index.cfm?story=snapshot&symbol=IYJ&fk=10526

===========
Having taken a major beating in the stock market tech bubble bursting I can attest to this wisdom. I thought I had a real buy when I bought EMC at about $70 after it had went up to $104 at its high point. I bought again when it was down around $50. It went further down, down, down, down, all the way to $4.75 per share. Yet it was the HIGHEST performing stock during the 1990s. The company was still profitable, is (or was) the leader in its field but circumstances suddenly all came together to virtually wipe out its share price. It is now up to about $13 per share and the recent profit statements look good but I'll bet I'll be a much older man before I have any chance at recouping my investment. Whenever I review my stock market statement I relearn this lesson over and over. If only......

A good index fund is the Vanguard 500 S&P index fund. The actual cost is only .18% yearly, while other stock funds have all kinds of hidden fees that you'll never find out about and your stock broker won't tell you. To the novice invester you have "sucker" tatooed on your forehead and the investment predators are out there just ready to shake the money out of your pockets.

So, until you really know the ropes and have the money to lose, put your money in a good index fund such as I suggested and sleep soundly. You will be rewarded in time.

[Platypus]

Having taken a major beating in the stock market tech bubble bursting I can attest to this wisdom. I thought I had a real buy when I bought EMC at about $70 after it had went up to $104 at its high point...

I was working at EMC at the time. Everyone thought I was crazy for cashing out each set of options as soon as it vested, but I figured my fate was already sufficiently tied to EMC's. Besides my paycheck and unvested options, I had actual stock that I owned through the employee stock purchase plan; that was enough eggs in one basket as far as I concerned. Needless to say, the wisdom of diversification soon became apparent. I know many people there who rode the stock all the way from its peak down to present levels or lower. Some of them wiped out all of their gains from previous windfalls...or worse. I didn't exactly become a millionaire from EMC stock, but its effect on my net worth was significantly positive.

I wouldn't expect them to rebound too well, BTW. It always amazed me that a company with six or seven billion dollars in the bank was so quick to cut every project that wasn't set to produce revenue during the next six months. Basically they were sacrificing their ability to innovate, setting themselves up for someone else to do to them exactly what they had done to IBM a decade ago - leave them in the dust during the next paradigm shift. I was intimately involved with the very people who had produced the innovation (RAID) on which EMC's business was based, who were at the time working on the innovations that would fuel EMC's successors, and heard similar concerns. IMO they would have been better off using those billions to accelerate innovation, bringing in forward-thinking people at bargain prices and preparing to leapfrog competitors technologically. Instead they seem intent on using every last dollar on expensive acquisitions of companies who are, like them, already stagnant. It's a textbook example of propping up the short-term stock price while guaranteeing long-term failure, and it happens because Tucci et al know that they'll be long gone when those particular chickens come home to roost.

Sometimes people wonder why I'm so cynical about corporate execs. It's because I know, intimately and in detail, how they operate. I know extremely well how little talent even some of the best-regarded ones really have, and how utterly lacking in ethics or compassion all but a handful tend to be. These are definitely not the sorts of people I would personally want to rely upon to drive economic success, and the fact that they are in positions to drive the nation's agenda indicates a serious problem with the system that determines who gets power.

[Missouri Mule]

That's very interesting. I see that Tucci is still hanging on. How does he keep his job? That stock drop was incredible. I made the certain mistake of relying on the companies notoriety rather than any real knowledge about the company itself. But the upside is that I learned a very valuable lesson.

On a personal note, I am inclined to think that Dollar General would be a good bet. I keep seeing them popping up everywhere, almost overnight, the cost of the physical facility is minimal, wages very little, fill a need, etc. The overhead is insignifant. I think this will be my next investment.

[Missouri Mule]

Sometimes people wonder why I'm so cynical about corporate execs. It's because I know, intimately and in detail, how they operate. I know extremely well how little talent even some of the best-regarded ones really have, and how utterly lacking in ethics or compassion all but a handful tend to be. These are definitely not the sorts of people I would personally want to rely upon to drive economic success, and the fact that they are in positions to drive the nation's agenda indicates a serious problem with the system that determines who gets power.
============
So true, so true, so true. I was just thinking about this yesterday. This is one of the major scandals of American business today with their outlandish pay packages and other excesses. Most of these guys are just good politicians who work their way up the food chain into the CEO office. Probably the janitor could make as good a decisions as some of these clowns make. Their pay level is something on the order of 540 times the average line employee. Outrageous.

[gopman]

The only thing to look out for with Dollar General is the market- it's competetive with very few barriers to entry, which tends keep profits in the long run relatively low. You may recall a while back Blockbuster was a very hot stock but it dropped in value for the reason I described. I can say though that they are a superior dollar store, and they have a well known name, and there's a very good chance that those factors could keep it above that level. In the shopping center by my house there is a DG and a privately owned dollar store, and the DG seems to do slightly better.

As far as the execs, the only thing you can do is to pay close attention and vote in the shareholders' elections. Unfortunately that seems to fall by the wayside.

[ultimate capita]

I am wondering if anyone has any tips about a good corporation that would be a good for long term investment. And although I am being generalised I don’t mind.


Something totally of the topic: I am just wondering how the weak dollar is affecting everyone there. Overall is it good for the economy and are people benefiting because by what I hear the econmy is growing at 6% anaully.

[Missouri Mule]

"Something totally of the topic: I am just wondering how the weak dollar is affecting everyone there. Overall is it good for the economy and are people benefiting because by what I hear the econmy is growing at 6% anaully."

The weak dollar has almost no effect on the average consumer. Inflation is virtually nothing, although a little uptick recently. Gasoline is higher but in real terms still cheap at about $1.80 per gallon. Exports hit a record level last month. About everything in the stores is built in China and the Yuan is pegged to the dollar so prices haven't gone up. That might change however.

You should think about visiting as the exchange rate is very favorable to take advantage of good deals in the U.S. Lot of Brits in New York I hear.

What to invest in? I would recommend the Vanguard 500 S&P Index fund. .18% fee and you can sleep soundly at night. If you want an individual stock, you might look at Citigroup. It looks pretty good to me and pays a very healthy dividend. Offhand I don't know of any Enron type troubles. The CEO is held in high regard last time I heard.

[Platypus]

I split several posts about mutual funds and voting rights and such into a separate thread (http://www.whistlestopper.com/forum/showthread.php?t=9382) to keep this one from getting too diffuse.

[skibum8]

I am wondering if anyone has any tips about a good corporation that would be a good for long term investment. And although I am being generalised I don’t mind.


Something totally of the topic: I am just wondering how the weak dollar is affecting everyone there. Overall is it good for the economy and are people benefiting because by what I hear the econmy is growing at 6% anaully.


For long term investing I would reccomend an index fund because of low cost and the risk being spread across a number of sectors. One good fund with low expenses that gives you exposure to US stocks of all market sizes is Vanguard total stock market index. You can alos use Vanguard 500 (s+p 500), index growth (essentially top 1/3 of the index 500) or Index value (lower 2/3 of the Index 500). Most people in America have no clue as to whether the dollar is strong or weak. In comparison with the feeding frenzy that marked Clinton's term, things look bad, as they always do after a "boom". In historical perspective things are fine here. Personally my business always increases 3 fold during tough economic times.

[ultimate capita]

For long term investing I would reccomend an index fund because of low cost and the risk being spread across a number of sectors. One good fund with low expenses that gives you exposure to US stocks of all market sizes is Vanguard total stock market index. You can alos use Vanguard 500 (s+p 500), index growth (essentially top 1/3 of the index 500) or Index value (lower 2/3 of the Index 500). Most people in America have no clue as to whether the dollar is strong or weak. In comparison with the feeding frenzy that marked Clinton's term, things look bad, as they always do after a "boom". In historical perspective things are fine here. Personally my business always increases 3 fold during tough economic times.


what kind of business do you run? thanks for the advice its been really helpfull.

do you now of any websites where i could buy and sell shares that because i am really getting bogged down on information i dont really need.

[Missouri Mule]

"do you now of any websites where i could buy and sell shares that because i am really getting bogged down on information i dont really need."

I'm quite pleased with Scottrade. $7 a trade.

[timlea]

I don't know about any of this stuff. I put about a hundy a month into a Fidelity growth account. Any info would be a help.

[skibum8]

what kind of business do you run? thanks for the advice its been really helpfull.

do you now of any websites where i could buy and sell shares that because i am really getting bogged down on information i dont really need.

I'm a partner in a small law firm, with about 20 employees. I don't invest in individual stocks other than at the "seed money" stage with a few friends and relatives who have started their own companies over the past 5 years. My main investing style is mutual funds because I don't have the time to gain adequate knowledge to invest in individual stocks. I find it far easier to research the mutual fund company first, then the individual funds within the company. I won't buy anything that has not been in existence for a minimum of 10 years but I ordinarily prefer a 15 year timeline with the same manager. The exceptions are Index funds and Vanguard is always the best because they're no load funds with low expenses and American funds which don't use individual managers, but rather a divided portfolio system with 5-10 managers on each fund. This way the loss of one or 2 managers has no real effect on the funds performance.

[Missouri Mule]

Sound advice. Vanguard is an excellent choice.

[Chelle]

"do you now of any websites where i could buy and sell shares that because i am really getting bogged down on information i dont really need."

I'm quite pleased with Scottrade. $7 a trade.

MM...

Just a note here. I recently dropped off a check at their (Scottrade) local office here. Easy as pie! :)

Thanks again, for the information.



Chelle