Where do I start?

Hello all. I've recently come into some extra income and am thinking about trying my luck with stocks. My brother got a degree in finance, so I've gotten some pointers from him, but I also want to learn on my own. What books, guides, sites would you recommend I read?

Thanks!

 

SeekingAlpha has some decent articles. You can register for free. I'm sure someone will recommend a couple of books, I've heard there are some really good ones but never actually read one so I can't comment on those.

I also recommend you to look at the financial statements of a company. Pretty much any company. First read their latest financial statement, make your own conclusions, and then read a couple of articles to see what others thought about it. This way you will be able to compare your own conclusions with those of others, and see where you agree or disagree.

 

I have been trying to figure this out myself , I am getting ready to go the book route via amazon with reviews. I am just not finding what I am looking for online in a form I trust. There are plenty of books though and I have quite a bit of amazon credit saved up so this whole subject may be worth throwing that credit at . At least if I pick carefully and do my research I will have a good supply of knowledge and tips

 

Greetings, Thejamal. If you are completely brand new to the subject, I would definitely start with reading some introductory books. The Dummies books (Stock Investing for Dummies, Penny Stocks for Dummies, et al.) for can provide a decent primer, but beyond that, you might check out:

• The Essays of Warren Buffett: Lessons For Corporate America, by Warren Buffet. Buffet, of course, is the grandmaster of investing. The book covers important topics such as common stock, corporate governance, merges/acquisitions, and tax aspects.
• Beating the Street, by Peter Lynch. While a bit dated, Lynch does layout his investing strategy and how to pick stocks and mutual funds.
• Stocks For The Long Run, by Jeremy Siegel. This is sort of a go-to text for long-term investing.

Regarding web-based resources, this forum (obviously) is one, but some of the content on MorningStar, Forbes, and the WSJ are free to read.

I hope that helps. If you have questions, don't hesitate to ask. Good luck!

 

When I was first learning about trading I found two really helpful sites.

- Investopedia -

Unsure about what a bull market means? Investopedia is the best spot to learn the language of trading.

- BabyPips -

Has an education school that you can work through to learn all about markets

Hope these links help you.

 

Fantastic! Investopedia looks perfect for what I need. Also, I took a pick at BabyPips, looks like another link that'll be well worth my time.

 

Thanks for the advice. Seems like the perfect way to start. Would a more well-known company be a better start, as they likely have more literature written about them for comparison value?

 

Thanks for the list of books! Would you say the Dummies books would give a pretty good indication whether or not investing is right for me? Obviously, this is a side-side project for me and I want to be sure this is something I can eventually get good at before dedicating a lot of time to it.

 

Yes I would highly recommend starting out with a large, stable company. Think of Coca-Cola, Walmart, maybe some big utilities companies etc. Something that is large, makes a profit, is well known and has low volatility. Much easier to start with these since they won't jump up and down like crazy and as you said, they have a more material written about them.