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| Luckycharms |
 Posted: Tue Oct 02, 2007 6:34 pm Post subject: Newbie seeks advice |
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New Poster
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Hi all. I'm 23 years old, and have $9000 to invest.
My goal is the maximize investment return in a period of 1 year. I'm open to short-term investment in the time-span of days, weeks, and/or months. I want low risk, and I want to be able to be liquid.
How and where should I invest? Your thoughts are greatly appreciated. |
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| Im Not Warren Buffett |
| Posted: Wed Oct 03, 2007 1:00 am Post subject: |
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CFO
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How much do you know?
If you're completely new to investing, it would be best for you to take it slowly and put that money in one or more ETFs.
If you actually know what you're doing, then it's a different story - and we can actually talk stock picks. |
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| Luckycharms |
| Posted: Wed Oct 03, 2007 12:20 pm Post subject: |
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New Poster
Joined: 02 Oct 2007
Posts: 4
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7038.92 e$
Net worth: 7,038.92
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Unfortunately, I'm quite green. I've only read a bit about CDs, T-Bills, and stocks.
So, what are EFTs? I thought it was "electronic funds transfer." Can you suggest some EFTs to invest in, and elaborate on why exactly I should invest in EFTs?
I'd like to invest in stocks depending on the company I'm buying the stocks from. However, I looked at some stock sites and they seem to have lots of transaction fees - I don't know if I'll be able to make a decent amount with only a few thousand dollars - what do you think?
Thanks for responding. |
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| Im Not Warren Buffett |
| Posted: Wed Oct 03, 2007 12:46 pm Post subject: |
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CFO
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An ETF is a basket of securities that trades as one stock. There are probably 500+ ETFs out right now that let you buy anything from the S&P 500, to Japanese stocks, to gold, etc.
Look at the Yahoo Finance list:
http://finance.yahoo.com/etf/browser/mkt?c=0&k=3&f=0&cs=1&ce=565&o=a
Transaction fees for online trades should be under $10, depending on the level of service you want. Scottrade gets great reviews and their trades are $7. |
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| Luckycharms |
| Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2007 1:35 pm Post subject: |
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New Poster
Joined: 02 Oct 2007
Posts: 4
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7038.92 e$
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(Thank you for responding).
I see. So EFTs can still be risky, but generally have less risk than stocks - is that right?
I heard a bit about Zecco.com - isn't it a better place to trade with their $0 trade?
As far as stocks and bonds go, all I want to do is put my money in, watch it grow, and then pull it out. I just want to take small steps right now. I suppose this won't amount to large service/transaction fees online? |
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| Im Not Warren Buffett |
| Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2007 6:07 pm Post subject: |
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CFO
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Zecco does offer free trading on something like your first 40 trades per month. But, if you are opening an IRA, they do charge an annual fee - so they aren't perfect. Plus, I've heard spotty things about their customer service. You might want to do more investigating.
Re: ETFs, it depends how you define risk. They will be less volatile than the individual stocks making up the index they track, but they also won't perform as well as a few good stock picks.
A lot to cover in that category... |
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| Luckycharms |
| Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2007 6:34 pm Post subject: |
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New Poster
Joined: 02 Oct 2007
Posts: 4
This Month: 0
7038.92 e$
Net worth: 7,038.92
Portfolio Value: 0.00
Monthly Return: 0.00%
Trades this month: 0
Churn Rate: 0.00%Items
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Hmm. I see.
I wouldn't want to have you go too far out of your way to explain to me the different aspects of EFTs. So, do you know any website in particular that covers this category well? |
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| efflandt |
| Posted: Sat Oct 06, 2007 9:22 am Post subject: |
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Investing Manager
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Just make sure you get the letters in the proper order. ETF is for "exchange traded fund", which is made up of a bunch of stocks like a mutual fund, except traded on stock exchanges just like stocks.
When looking for or at the ETF funds themselves, also make sure you get the letters in the right order, or you might end up buying something different than you expected. For example EEM and EMM are ETF's with very different prices, but EME is a stock that I would not buy. |
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| DKnightSr |
| Posted: Sat Oct 06, 2007 9:46 am Post subject: |
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Member of the Month
May
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I started with EFA, and SPY. Then branched out (thanks to help from the folks here at this site) into SDS and DOG. EWA has had a long run, and my latest "hottie" is EWH.
Watch that SDS though...it can get away from you if you let it. Awesome tool, but like a chain saw...you're wise to keep a close eye on it  |
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| Im Not Warren Buffett |
| Posted: Mon Oct 08, 2007 4:28 pm Post subject: |
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CFO
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I don't know of any sites that recommend specific ETFs, but I could give you a pretty solid list that you can choose from as it suits you.
ETFs are similar to stocks in that you are looking to buy an attractive asset that will soon appreciate in value. It just gives you a broader net. A few months back, I liked metals/mining stocks in general - but specifically Freeport McMoRan (FCX). So, whereas you might buy XME (the S&P Metals & Mining ETF), I would buy FCX. In this case, FCX performed very well, whereas XME has been flat. Because of how I analyze things, I think picking ETFs for myself would be more difficult and risky than picking individual stocks. For you though, broad market ETFs are a better bet, because you more likely need the diversification. |
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| NCSUPAGE |
| Posted: Mon Oct 08, 2007 4:32 pm Post subject: |
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Investing Manager
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| I think the biggest part of broad-area pick right now is knowing which areas don't fall when the rest of the market trends downward. Hitting a major peak like the one we're in could make sector-picks a problem... |
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| dmccrackin |
| Posted: Wed Oct 31, 2007 8:18 am Post subject: |
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Investing Sr. Associate
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| I'm not Warren Buffet knows what he is doing. |
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