RRZ.com Investments

investments?

i would like to start making some money grow. i already have 401K and i am interested in stocks but i dont know much about it. I thought about putting some money in a CD, i would like to create a financial portfolio. i don't know where to start. please help me get a start..

Public Comments

1. Watch Mad Money on CNBC. Jim Cramer uses a humorous approach to explain the stock market.
2. Standard investment advice is that you should invest in a diversified mix of stocks, bonds, and money market funds. You want to buy a diversified portfolio of stocks as individual stocks are too risky. Most folks have a dificult time buying a properly balanced portfoilio of stocks on their own. They will misbalance their portfolio by buying all small stocks or all growth stocks, or some other misbalanced assortment of stocks. Unless you know what you are doing, it is best to buy mutual funds. I like Vanguard.com, other people like Fidelity, TIAA-CREF, and DFA. Buy no-load, low cost funds. If you are like most people you will invest part of your money aggressively in stock funds, and part conservatively in money market funds and bond funds. Vanguard.com has an on-line questionnaire which will give you an idea of how to do "Asset Allocation," determining how much to put in each type of fund. If your company offers a 401K plan at work, try to invest the most you can. The money grows tax free, and some companies will match your contribution. Investing in a mutual fund IRA is also a good idea. If you have children, you may want to consider a 529 plan or other college savings plan that grows tax free. I like index funds. Because of their broad diversification, you are less likely to have a dramatic drop in value. They also have the lowest expenses. For stock funds, I would suggest putting ~70-80% of your money in the Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund. and ~20-30% in a foreign stock index fund. However, there are many different opinions out there on what the best mutual funds are. Read the links below and form your own opinion. Buying a house instead of renting will save you a lot of money in the long run. You don't have to pay rent and you build equity in your house instead. Buying rental property can also be a good investment. However, being a landlord can be hard work, and many people are not good at it. If you don't know how to handle deadbeat renters, you can have trouble. If you have high-interest debt, like credit cards, it is best to pay this off first before trying most of the investment ideas above. You should also have 3-6 months of salary saved up as an emergency fund in a bank or money market fund before trying more risky investments. Believing advice you get on Yahoo answers can be risky, so read these websites for further information. If you find it too confusing, contact a professional financial advisor. They will charge you significant commissions, however. Sources: http://www.vanguard.com/VGApp/hnw/planningeducation http://www.fool.com/school.htm http://sec.gov/investor/pubs/assetallocation.htm http://www.diehards.org/readsites.htm http://finance.yahoo.com/education/begin_investing http://finance.yahoo.com/funds/basics Asset Allocation Calculators (Determining how much to put in stocks and how much into bonds and money markets is a personal decision depending on your financial status. These Asset Allocation questionaires give you a rough idea how to do this. I like Vanguard best, but try some of the other sites as well.) https://flagship.vanguard.com/VGApp/hnw/FundsInvQuestionnaire?cbdInitTransUrl=https%3A//flagship.vanguard.com/VGApp/hnw/planningeducation/education https://ais2.tiaa-cref.org/cgi-bin/WebObjects.exe/DTAssetAlcEval http://www.ifa.com/SurveyNET/index.aspx Web forum: http://www.diehards.org/ (Many investment web forums are overrun by scam artists. This one seems the most legitimate site.) 529 plans: http://www.savingforcollege.com
3. It is always good to think in the direction you are doing right now. To trade in stocks and be able to do it safely and successfully requires that you are able to study and analyse a lot. This might take a lot of learning curve. But the other day, I came accross something that will greatly help you and I think someday, you will thank me for this. I stumbled upon a robot designed to analyse and predict stocks performances and so far, it has been doing so well. You might need to suscribe to a newletter that will give you one stock pick from the robot every week. Go check it out below, and thank Yahoo for this Answer service. It is incredible! http://www.ewealthsuccess.com/money.html Hope this helps.
4. Great question! I would have to know a bit more about you to be of any help. Things like knowing your age, goals, investment time frame, ability to add periodically are all facts that I should know about you before offering you any advice at all. Please read my profile and send me an email. I would be very happy to advise you and then get you on your way.
5. First find out what " investing" is all about. You can get introductions at : http://moneycentral.msn.com/beginnerguide.asp?page=introduction http://finance.yahoo.com/education/begin_investing http://beginnersinvest.about.com/ Then open a " self-directed" ROTH IRA with a good investment company...Fidelity, Vanguard, T.Rowe Price, etc. ( All on-line ) Your initial investment could be $2000. -$4000. after which you would be allowed to contribute $ 5000. per year ( if you can)...but make it a point to regularly add to it... you'll be amazed at how fast it will grow..( making your future more secure) You will choose investments in your IRA...probably start with a mutual fund...when it grows...branch out to two or three. These first few years, pick something " international" ( it's just what's working right now)...and you will get your nestegg off to a running start. Information is the key...read about and check on funds 'til you get some that really " work" for you. It's not hard, not complicated, millions of people do it ...just take it slow and good luck. To be more specific..it's simply a case of filling out an application ( on- line) and sending a check to Fidelity or whoever...then you will get a site to visit ( ID and password) ...and your " portfolio" will be there on your screen...everything will be in " cash" until you follow the steps to buy a fund. Then you will see the results of your investment at that site every day if you want. A running total is kept for you and you know where you stand........ if you've read the " introductions...and think you're ready you can move your money whenever you wish...most funds must be held for about 90 days or you pay a fee to get out early...BUT " funds" are a " long-term" investment and you don't want to be jumping around too much, anyway. But, if you want to ...ETF's can be purchased in smaller amounts than reg mutual funds...you may prefer to own three of them rather than one fund.....it's all up to you. P.S. The reason I mention ROTH IRA is that it will give you a different kind of retirement income than your 401...it will be tax-free... and when you get there ( retirement) it will be to your advantage to have two different types of accounts to " withdraw " from. Sorry I got so long with this answer...you'll gorw into all this stuff if you just take the first steps. BEST of luck.