Hi, I am 15 and considering investing some money in the stock market. I know its best to get started early. I have a few questions. First off, which online broker should I use? I want one with just the basics, no fancy tools, with cheap trade fees and no membership fees. Also, how much is a good amount to invest where it is not too much, but still enough to be worth the trade fees? I was thinking between 0-2000. I have about 00 saved up now from my job and other stuff. Also, with these relatively low amounts of money, is it better to trade frequently and try to capitalize on small 5% gains, or is it better to let my money sit and hopefully grow? Finally, does anyone have advice on what companies to invest in or some ways to find good companies? Thanks!!
Additional Information - Tax question about Stock Trading? I'm new to trading stocks online and had a question about filing taxes. Am I required to list every transaction for the year, buys and sells on the forms, or do I list only the total costs, proceeds and total capital gains? Also, I used two different online trading sites.......
- Does it cost money to set up a stock market account online and also what stock's should i buy with $2000? Dont know many st. markt. terms but i was thinking of investing in either Pepsi, General Electric, Coca Cola or the IRS. Im thinking of leaving it there for anywhere from 4-10 years. How much money can i make (i.e. after 4 years, after 5 years, 6 years, etc.)? Also,......
- Intech Lancer Junior Golf Set, (Right-Handed, Age 8 to 12, 17.5 degree Driver, 4/5 Hybrid Iron, Wide Sole 7 and 9 irons, Junior Putter, Deluxe Stand Bag) User Reviews Send this to a friend Intech Lancer Junior Golf Set, (Right-Handed, Age 8 to 12, 17.5 degree Driver, 4/5 Hybrid Iron, Wide Sole 7 and 9 irons, Junior Putter, Deluxe Stand Bag) Manufacturer: INTECH Customer Rating: List Price: $89.99 Sale Price: $89.95 Availibility: Usually ships in 24......
- computer doc? One day Bill complained to his friend that his elbow really hurt. His friend suggested that he go to a computer at the drug store that can diagnose anything quicker and cheaper than a doctor. ''Simply put in a sample of your urine and the computer will diagnose your problem......
v b 17th March 2010
You are under 18, so *you* won’t be opening this account.
Your parents would have to open a custodial account for you and they would be in charge of it.
For $2000, you would do better to buy a CD and wait until you are 18. For $2000, you would be hit with low-balance fees every quarter. If you buy stock, you will be charged $8-12 per tiny trade to either buy or sell. Spending $24 to make $10 is not going to work.
Plus, the joke about day trading is as follows. How do you get a small fortune from day trading? Start with a big one.
James N 17th March 2010
well now is a great time to buy and hold. there are 3 online investment brokers to use, etrade, scottrade, and TDameritrade they arent the only ones but they are the good ones in my opinion. 500-2000 is a good amount especially because a good amount of stocks are now under 5 dollars. Stocks i would invest in personally are Ford Motors, out of the 3 auto makers they are the ones who didnt need the bailout and they have new promising cars coming out soon. I would buy large shares and currently it is at 2.30 a share. so i would buy maybe 870 shares if you wanna spend all your money.
But think about it like this. in about 3 years Ford is expected to go up, that means that lets say it hit 100 dollars a share (which once ford has good cars on the market and once the economy is better that is easy to do) so if you have 870 shares and at a hunded dollars a share when you 18 you could cash in for a nice fortune of 87,000. The amazing thing is that this is very plausible.
That is my advice
Lamar R 17th March 2010
Hi:
Its great to see someone at your age think about investing for the future.
I started investing at the age of 17 and today my portfolio is in good shape. I’ve survived three great market burst. My advice is to look at stocks and companies that you know. Learn how to read the charts and
information on them. Like if you go to Abercrombie and Fitch to buy your clothes and all your friends do, then if the numbers on the stock sales and Price to Earning is good, buy them.
You would be better off to get a on-line brokerage account. The fees for trading can be anywhere from 7.00-29.99 a trade. I use e-Trade for my sons account. If you are planning on college, you can put that money into a college fund that you can build up tax free. But you have to use the funds for college.
Stay away from the cheap penny stocks. There is a reason why they are cheap. Most of them have 50-60 million shares out.
My rule of thumb is know when you buy the stock how much you want to either make of it or lose on it. In other words have a plan and stick with it. If you are willing to buy a stock at $5.00 and want to make 10% off it. Then sale it at $5.50, don’t wait for it to keep going up. You’re got lots of time for that later on. The same holds true if the stock goes down. Know what your acceptable lose is.
Kristina 17th March 2010
I’m not answering all of your questions since I don’t have much time, but I’m a teen investor too.
My best bit of advice:
don’t be impatient.
Let the money sit for a long time.
A good idea is DRIPPING, which is when very large companies let you buy stocks directly from their website without a trade fee. I think Coca Cola does that.
Do your research on a company before you invest – how’s its history? What can you expect?
And if you become a member of an online brokerage (I can’t recommend any since mine are done through my dad) make sure the trade fee is less than one fifth of the money you’re investing in that trade
Good luck!
Kristina
madmoney 17th March 2010
Scottrade.com is a good online broker, but at $7 a trade you would need to buy in $700 lots or more for your costs to be under 2%. $7 dollars when you buy and $7 when you sell. At zecco.com you can get 10 free trades a month if you invest $2500 or more. That way you could buy in smaller bloks – as small as you want b/c no commision cost.
I would not buy and sell too much. At 15 you should buy and hold ( unless conditions for buying the stock have changed ).
I would buy an ETF ( research if you dont know what they are ).USO – oil, KRE -banks, are 2 good ones . In 5 – 10 years they will almost certainly come back. But research to make sure you know what you are buying and why.