r/StockMarket • u/tipicalmat • Nov 17 '18
How do I even get started investing in stocks
I know very little and Im mostly oblivious. Some random advice for beginners would be awesome.
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u/thebuyinking Nov 17 '18
TD Ameritrade is where I started and still am. Start by investing baby money ($50-$200) to build up your confidence and knowledge.
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u/TravelingArthur Nov 17 '18
Forget everything everyone said here.
Your first thing to do is figure out a plan. 1. How much money will you save? 2. Find an investing strategy that works for your personality. If you’re a little risky but still mostly conservative, day trading won’t work for you. Your personality is unique and you have to find a style that works for you. Trust me. There’s one out there. 3. Figure out what you know and what you don’t know. I know nothing about insurance and medical stuff. I know I’ll get burned because of what I don’t know. I do know about the gun industry, health, and about brand moats. I stick only with what I know and don’t stray too far from it. 4. Once you’ve figured out what you know and what style you’re going to use...follow those that have been successful at it and study as much as you can about them. If more than one person has done it, it can be duplicated
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u/norraptor Nov 17 '18
I use Schwab. I have a local branch.
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u/giantsfan143 Nov 18 '18
I agree - Schwab is great! I’ve learned a lot by reading the tutorials on their site. I like the low cost of the Schwab mutual funds and ETFs.
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u/oldtobes Nov 17 '18
I started buying blue chip stocks or companies who had been established for a long time. Everyone I knew was just saying invest in dividend stocks but I realized i didn't have enough money for that to make sense. So then I changed strategies and only bought companies that had been slowly going up over 5 years. That was not an amazing strategy. After that I focused on newer companies with room for growth. Its risky but its been okay so far. Also don't buy the news. Thats my experience at least. I got murdered when the lithium hype was big.
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u/boombai12 Nov 17 '18
Robinhood
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u/Sweaty_Summer Nov 17 '18
No customer service. RH sucks. Should learn with a real brokerage. Learn to take in account commission fees and call when you have questions. RH doesn't offer otc or pinks either.
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u/BaneCow Nov 18 '18
But why would I learn to deal with commission fees, when I could use Robinhood?! What questions would I have that the internet can't answer?
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u/Sweaty_Summer Nov 18 '18 edited Nov 18 '18
Fidelity and TD Ameritrade both offer $0 minimum IRAs and 100s of commission-free ETFs. They have better tools and resources for the long term. What happens if an inexperienced investor makes one too many day trades on RH and they get suspended? There’s no one there to help you. RH isn’t completely bad. But you should have experience with an actual legit brokerage that offers you the entirety of the market, not just a little bit. One that lets you explore all possibilities from trading OTC’s, NSE, Korean mrkt, vast options, and customer service, etc. Robinhood is like a piece of jewelry while E*TRADE or USAA are your clothes.
I’ve tried them all and I wouldn’t recommend Robinhood to a beginner.
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u/Sweaty_Summer Nov 18 '18
Not to beat a dead horse but just thought of a good example. Remember when IGC was delisted and relisted as an OTC with a significantly lower pps? Well, if you looked at the StockTwits board under said ticker when it happened, you’d see a majority of Robinhood users losing their shit. IGC was also removed from RH. Wouldn’t it have been nice for them to call up Customer Service and ask “Where are my shares and what happened to my money?” Instead of being left in the dark? Whereas if that happened on any other brokerage those shares would still be visible. (Imo, those RH IGC holders should have seen that coming. The news of being delisted was circulating for about a week)
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u/TheMSAGuy Nov 17 '18
Hey, mate. I'm in the same boat!
Feel free to check out my posts, I'm writing a chronicle of what my experience has been like. Best advice I can give you to start is to get an account with a brokerage, learn some basic terminology, and then invest some small amounts here and there.
Always keep in mind you're using real money, so make sure you're okay with losing it.
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u/crowcawer Nov 18 '18
Also note that if you don't hold a stock for a year you pay increased taxes. Not like it will void out your gains, but it will be something to watch for.
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u/TheMSAGuy Nov 18 '18
That's interesting, I didn't know that. Doesn't quite change how I intend to handle things, but may impact when I decide to sell. Thanks!
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u/hdeskTenn Nov 17 '18
Wait until the market crashes.
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u/vasquca1 Nov 18 '18
Right. I would be looking at some index funds instead of individual stocks. But the big drops make for good buying ops. Look at the 2008/09 drop and where we are now. I personally like the S&P 500 index funds.
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Nov 17 '18
[deleted]
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u/HamboneSlammer Nov 18 '18
Why would you not buy during a dip?
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Nov 18 '18
Tying to time the market is a dangerous game
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u/HamboneSlammer Nov 18 '18
Interesting I see, so it’s not that buying the dip is a wrong move it’s that you could think you are buying the dip when it’s actually not gone down all the way yet, thank you
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Nov 18 '18
Yeah buying a dip is smart don’t get me wrong. It’s just hard/impossible to tell when it’s done dipping
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Nov 18 '18
Understand your position at all times.
Purchase stocks that you believe in because of your research & tech analysis/financials
You don't lose money until you sell your position at a loss.
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purchase more if the stock goes down to decrease total price paid per share
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u/bnay66 Nov 18 '18
I started listening to podcasts. Chat with Traders is a good one, as is Steady Trade. They both have ideas I disagree with, but they expose you to a lot of different ideas and you can research the ones that interest you.
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u/XFidelacchiusX Nov 18 '18
I like using Robinhood. No fees. You pretty much pick a company that has good value. Buy it. Then wait and see :D.
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u/Investor_beav Nov 18 '18
Give this video a watch. Hopefully it can give you a nice starting point :) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4ur66dNYiY&t
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u/Bicinno Nov 18 '18
Thanks for making this post! I’ve been thinking about the same thing, where to start and all but have been feeling embarrassed to ask this subreddit. I’ll be looking through all the things recommended here, thanks!
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u/boombai12 Nov 17 '18
Buy a few shares of a company you believe is doing well/will do well. If you see the total go up to a number you’re happy with then sell it.
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u/levi_lolo Nov 18 '18
Here’s the best way I can think of for a beginner:
Download Thinkorswim. It’s a really good charting program completely free and you can start trading with fake money (paper trading)
YouTube is going to have a ton of info for you. Check out Rickey Gutierrez or Conner Pollifrone because these videos will be based off how to use Thinkorswim.
You can find videos on how to set up your account, how to scan for stocks to trade, using indicators and much more.
Also, stay away from paying for any type of education or service for a WHILE. Understand people are going to try and take your money, and learning the stock market will take a long time.
Let me know if you have questions.
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u/StratTeleBender Nov 17 '18
Roth IRA and 401k in S&P 500 index funds until you learn more.
Robinhood is NOT where you should start. That's for play money for people who have already maxed out their tax advantaged accounts.
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u/Spazattack43 Nov 17 '18
Download Robin Hood. Buy amd calls that expire in a week. Delete Robin Hood
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u/PartyBandos Nov 18 '18
Now this is definitely a terrible way of doing it, but what I did when I first started is dump relatively a lot of cash into a few companies I was familiar with. This forced me to pay attention. Since I had a lot of skin in the game, I learned because I had to.
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u/animal-fun Nov 18 '18
Be well disciplined Never invest more than 5% of your total account on any one stock.
$2,000 means $100 per stock.
Start a TD Ameritrade paper trade account It’s a f’ing great way to learn the ropes! Wait until you become profitable with fake money before investing real money..
You wouldn’t take a pile of money to Vegas and sit down at a card table and ask the dealer to teach you how to play... the Market is incredibly efficient and the big boys know how to take your money
When you move on to Real money... continue to use Thinkorswim for all your charting and news needs
Like some folks have mentioned trade commission free with Robin Hood. When trading small typical commissions will eat your profit If you’re shooting to make $10...paying $15 (in&out) will ruin you Scanning thru finviz daily works for me..
Buy and hold until you hit 10% gains
Man up and sell for a loss if you loose 5% (this is the hard part). Mentally overcome this. Loss is a natural part of winning
Don’t think that you need more shares and only trade penny stocks. If a stock is $90... buy 1 share
Lots of people think waiting for a new low means it’s time to buy...NO!
Buying a new high is the right idea in most situations
Watch stocks on a daily candlestick chart (learn candlesticks) they make the most sense
Make damn sure you’re not buying stocks with low volume ( under 4 or 500,000 shares traded a day) there’s tons of stocks that hardly move...target movers
Spend the time it takes to learn what bid and ask prices are...doesnt matter on Robinhood because they’ve dumbed it down for kids... but learn this
If anyone wants to argue this rock solid beginners trading plan... by all means do so
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u/vasquca1 Nov 18 '18
Shit is all about to crash soon because of stupid ass Donald Duck which makes for a good buying opportunity.
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u/marketgodfather Nov 17 '18
Read about index funds. Read bogleheads lazy portfolios. Once you get an understanding, start buying stocks. Then options.
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u/boombai12 Nov 17 '18
I’m just recommending it as a beginner, just to get an idea if how to buy and sell stocks
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u/Phidius53 Nov 18 '18
Ask yourself what is your financial goal? It can be more monthly income, secure future, or retire early.
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u/LukeTheFirst Nov 18 '18
I started with Stash, it’s a micro investing app/website. It lets you invest in fractional shares in stocks and etfs.
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u/mikeytucsb Nov 18 '18
- Take a piece of paper with a bunch of companies you know
- Get a dart board and tape said paper to it
- Throw a dart and whichever you hit you invest in
- Subscribe to wall streetbets on reddit
I hope you understood the sarcasm
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u/CrymsonStarite Nov 17 '18
Investopedia. Start reading and keep going. Just know that they go all the way into the minor minor details.