As a newbie it would be wise to start with S&P500 or DJIA stocks and as you learn you could move to riskier stocks.
Yeah I recently got into AT&T. I don't see it as a super reliable option at the moment though, they are having all kinds of possible trouble but I see their south america acquisitions as a big plus. And you can't complain about the dividend yield either.
I would suggest Microsoft because nowadays technology is very rampant. Computer is one of it. It is most innovative stock and reliable to invest up to date. You can ensure your the money back guarantee. Once someone will purchase computers Microsoft is always part of it.
The best ones would be Microsoft and Apple. NASTAQ has many great business opportunities though. Make sure to always do your research and use good common sense. I really want to invent in a stock as well, but I'm so scared to mess things up. Good Luck Rosyrain!
There's a lot of useful information here for newbies. At the end of the day, the message should be to start by keeping it simple, do your research and keep learning. There's not a one-size fits all approach and the more you read up on it, the better positioned you will be to making informed decisions.
Rosyred, have you considered mutual funds? I may be a bit biased. But, my dad has sold mutual funds for the last twenty years. He keeps people's money safe even in the absolute worse of economic times. You have less risk since the companies are joined together. Also, you can play around with online stock market challenges, or fantasy stock market games if you want to get your feet wet without losing any real money.
Not bad advice, splitting your assets between 3 or 4 different types of mutual funds isn´t a bad idea.. the only problem is you won´t learn much. Online simulators, market challenges and fantasy stock market games can be useful for learning the basics, but the fact is that most major investing mistakes don´t come from a lack of knowledge, the come from emotional mistakes. There is nothing that will prepare you for dealing with the emotional stress of investing if you aren´t using your real money. I can probably count my top 10 biggest investing mistakes, and almost none of them were about not having enough wisdeom or enough knowledge at my fingertips, in almost every instance it was ´ I got scared and didn´t trust my analysis´..
I like Bershire-Hathaway (Brk.b) as it is very diversified, priced low right now, and has a record that is impeccable over the long haul. It also has over $40B that it's just itching to invest. Might take a few years to realize a great return (or not) but this isn't gambling, it's a rock solid company.
It is also a glorified mutual fund You are right though, it is a solid company. It could be a little bit confusing though because of the high stock price. One of the most important lessons a new investor needs to learn is the cost of trading and how it can significantly impact your final profit. You can´t go wrong investing in the Oracle of Omaha though.
