Stocks

[Original9]

I gota question for ya. I got homework (amazing!) and it;s to find stocks. Well, I don't whats go to go for but I know some people here know. Anyway, whats the best company to invest in?

[Mute]

Enron is good these days.

Seriously though- if you figure out the best company to invest in, don't forget to tell your pals at BuF .

In short: the best company to invest in does not exist. Theoretically, the best company would be the most undervalued company (not necessarily the biggest company, or the most profitable). How to determine if a company is undervalued, and how undervalued it is, and how to determine it is undervalued just before everyone else does (and everyone else must figure it out too, or you won't make any money because the stock price won't rise) is ALL subjective.

I'd suggest Mutual Funds instead.

[Original9]

You know what I mean.

[LP]

this might be useful

[larrystorch]

Morningstar.com

The best way to invest is in a mutual fund. You gotta research which ones you feel comfortable with sticking your money into as far as to the risk to gain potential.

[8-4-7-2]

Funds up my arse!

I will never, ever get a fund again in my life after losing a few thousand $ with it. The stupid manager react way to late, when the **** hits the fan. If a stock falls, they will kick it out at 50%. Depending on the fund you already lost 5-10% then. Great

I took my money out, and invested it in some real shares. After 3 months, I had a nice 10% win after losses

You will need a bit of practice, and there are plenty of websites that allow you to buy real stocks with "fake" money, the one i play woth is www.aksjespillet.no which is in Norwegian, so it wont do you any good, just search in Google...

[larrystorch]

You must of been in a really badly managed fund 8-4-7-2.

The big thing to worry about with stocks is that 10% gain you have now could become -10% in less than a day. Since funds are (ususally) spread out over many securities, any plummet on one will be buffered by the others.

Whatever you invest in, you have to do your homework in the performance, managment, and outlook of a stock or fund. And if you don't feel comfortable investing in it, don't do it.

[8-4-7-2]

Originally posted by larrystorch
[B]The big thing to worry about with stocks is that 10% gain you have now could become -10% in less than a day. Since funds are (ususally) spread out over many securities, any plummet on one will be buffered by the others.
[B]

The problem is that most people see the stock market as gambling table, and take all winning they can get.
Meanwhile I started to sell my stocks too when they rose 15-20%, and buy again when they are cheap

Another concern with some I have is, that the companies and numbers of traded stocks alone is so small, that alone the intention to sell 1000-2000$ makes them fall 5-10%

[larrystorch]

Originally posted by 8-4-7-2

The problem is that most people see the stock market as gambling table, and take all winning they can get.

That's so true. I'm in it for the long haul (i.e.: 30-35 years) While I'm not trying to time the market as far as buying and selling, I do take the time every night to go over any news that a company release or and analyst's might post. (Did they fire a CEO? Are EPS inline with it's sector? Any SEC investigations? Any new products/services coming to market). If anything unsettles me, then I'll sell.

It'll be a long time till there's another bull market like the internet stock boom. Becoming an instant millionaire is a thing of the past.

Back to the original post:
Original9, investing in general means you have to investigate a company/fund/bond to see if it's good for you and your financial goals, afterall, it's your money.

Suze Orman is a good place to get some information. I've read many of her books and she has some good things about stocks under resources on the site. She doesn't overwhelm you with a ton of financial info to confuse you. It's common sense, and fairly easy to understand. Good Luck with you homework.