Hii

[eric0089]

Hey guys im new to the site and new to stocks. This is a very neat site, nice to meet you all.

[aquaswim47]

Welcome to the site. We are all here to help; all we ask is for there to be a mutual sharing of insight with one another. Continue to read about stocks, ETFs, and mutual funds. Also, do your own research in regards to each stocks. If you need any assistance with how to evaluate a stock either through technical analysis or fundamental analysis, just ask. GIJOE, Investoid, FirstConsult, and WallSt.Golfer are among our most clever members. Wall St.Golfer provides a very sound rationale for passive investing.

I'm mainly a value investor in that I like to look for bargain stocks. Others are momentum players or like to look for breakouts in stocks. Both are very feasible strategies. Lastly, we have a group that are passive investors; they believe that it is ludicrous to try to time the market.

Welcome aboard.

[MDZ]

Eric,

Welcome to the FIO man! I am glad to hear that you like what you see. Be sure to ask any questions that you have, and suggest any ideas for the site that might make it better. We all try to work together here. Hope to see you around,

Mark

[eric0089]

Thanks guys.. today i finally opened up a scottrade account, can someone give me some hints on what i should be doing and what should i start off in investing. So far i have been reading alot of newspaper and i think that those dollar shares would best suit me.

Thank You
Eric

[gijoe9]

Eric welcome to the site. You should take the time to do some research as time spent there will save you money. I recomend at least reading the tutorials at investopedia these will show you some basic things you should know. Investopedia.com: Articles and Insight that is a link to the tutorials. If you have any questions about them you can ask here and we will help you. As far as recomendations for a specific stock go I have none as I do not know enough about you to to suggest anything that might suit you. The amount of money you have to invest will dictate your choices to some extent as well as your personality. If you can handle the ups and downs of the micro stocks or you desire the security of larger companies.

[MDZ]

Good for you man! Yeah, I agree with Joe. Work on learning, but when you do trade, start small and don't be too upset if you loose a little. It is all part of learning. Just keep working at it with money you can stand to loose, and you will get the hang of it soon.

Mark

[aquaswim47]

I agree with both MDZ and GIJOE based on my personal experience. I think it is best to do your research before investing.

My opinion is that we are at the top of the market since the FED will raise interest rates. The market anticipates a rate cut, thus don't expect it to go much higher. The fundamentals in the market are excellent, but it doesn't look like it has the room the skyrocket anytime soon.

If you should decide to invest, consider investing in 5-15 stocks (depending on the amount of research you can conduct). Some of these stocks, if you like them as companies and believe the fundamentals work, might end up being in your investment portfolio. Wish you the best. Happy studying.

Example:

1) JNJ (value) /GSK (mixed) /TEVA (growth) / MRK
2) GS/WM/TROW/SOV
3) AAPL/CSCO/MSFT/GOOG (avoid PALM, up 30%)
4) NOC/PG/LMT/GE/CAT/DE/UTX/MMM
5) JCP/COST/SHLD/CC (I consider CC to be better than BBY due to BBY's relationship with Gateway). The financials on BBY are quite strong. Also, I don't like GME since it rose over $29 per share (following the split)
6) T/VZ/CHTR/CMCSA
7) OXY/XOM/RDS-A or RDS-B/SUN
8) A company (companies) engaged in selling real estate or REITs, apartment leases, or business property. A company that has international operations may be worth a second look.
9) These are your gold, copper, timber, coffee, food products, tobacco stocks.
10) Consider LEND as a possible play in this segment. This is by far the riskiest section in that these stocks have the highest likelihood of default, such as microcaps and business turnarounds. You should definately consider international small-cap companies in this part of your portfolio. You should definately consider a basket of stocks, ETF, or mutual fund for speculative stocks. Speculative stocks can be in any industry, including financials, biotech, retail, and technology. I think the four stocks listed are decent plays (albeit, they are risky as are stocks, in general).

Am I Diversified?
Group 1 are your consumer staples / health-care stocks.
Group 2 is your financial service stocks.
Group 3 are your tech stocks
Group 4 are your defense/conglomerate stocks
Group 5 are your reliable retail stocks
Group 6 are your telecommunication stocks
Group 7 are your oil/energy stocks
Group 8 are your real estate stocks
Group 9 are your commodities/currency stocks
Group 10 are your speculative stocks.
Group 11 is your bond portfolio
Group 12 is your cash portfolio

This will hopefully ensure that no specific group has more than 20% in your portfolio when a group is also part of either groups 8-11.
For instance, if you had 15% in group 3 and 6% in group 11 that applied to the same companies or sector, you're not diversified, since your total stock exposure or exposure to the sector is 21% which is in excess of 20%. Groups 8-11 may apply to one of the sections (unless it is a government or municipal bond).

In actuality, you need to come up with a system of diversification that you're satisfied with. You don't want all of your eggs in one or too few baskets.

[hellenmoranov]

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