I know a lot of you do a lot of investing, trading, etc. I'm curious as to who you do it through and what has your experience been with them.
I know a lot of you do a lot of investing, trading, etc. I'm curious as to who you do it through and what has your experience been with them.
I invest.
If you are talking day trading, DON'T DO IT until you've read dozens of books on the subject. Its a risky, extremely hard game. To make a Texas Hold 'Em analogy, getting into day trading off the cuff makes you a donkey. At the very least, do NOT go short. Never, ever go short unless you know what you are doing.
I use sharebuilder. I dont have to pay a broker and the fees are low per trade. I was a finace major and while I dont claim to be any kind of financial guru, I know enough about the market to know that it is hard to beat. So, I can just as easily get in a few index funds and if I want to get risky, I will do an emerging market fund. If I want a general market return, I get into the S&P. I also do some stock picking, but only in sectors I feel good about long-term (healthcare technology being one currently). It is proven that males generally do worse than women when trading because we believe we can time the market better and get in and out, and it simply just doesnt go that way in reality for 95% of us. This same rule applies for these mutual fund managers (save Buffett). I dont need a broker to do what I do.
always be sure to buy low and sell high
Originally Posted by champion110
I am less angry this morning and ready to get back up on the horse. That girl was a freak last night.
Originally Posted by champion110
In fact, I finally had to tell her to stop over the last weekend, because I was worn out and needed a break.
Good stuff here. I treat my Scottrade account like I would going to the casino. I only 'play' with what I'm willing to lose. Same kind of thrill as gambling. It is fun, but in no way is it a substitute for legitimate long term investing. Online poker is a great comparison actually.
Exactly, the stocks I pick, I like. However, I am only going to put as much in a single stock as I am willing to completely lose because you never know when investing in just one stock. All that being said, I was a huge Apple fan in 2004 (before I had any money) when it was at 11 dollars. Wow, I wish I had a few thousand in that then. Oh well, maybe I can goof around and find the next one.
What's the trade cost?
I have Scottrade for my quick-turnover stocks. Not really a trader, certainly not a day trader, but I do tend to buy/sell more using Scott ($7/trade).
I also have a dinosaur broker ($70/trade, plus other fees), that I use for my DRIPs and blue-chip longterm investments.
Scott offers an easy trading platform. How's USAA's?
I use Charles Schwab & Vanguard. Schwab is a good site for buying & selling stocks & bonds. Website is logical and easy to move around in. Low trade fees, low account fees, good research, good phone availability to people who have proven knowledgeable. Good investment educational information. Private line of Schwab ETFs that have no charge trading. Vanguard has similar features but website isn't as easy to manuever. Research is lacking. Fees are very low and ETF & mutual fund selection is broad. For people who want to invest but aren't so market saavy, Vanguard is hard to beat and the website is fine. Both are "known entities" and have good reputations.
In all my years, I have NEVER met a daytrader that made money.
Would there be any interest in starting a money board for financial talk? Maybe as a subsection to politics.
Honestly Tech sports is my major hobby, but talking stuff like this is 1a.
8.95 USAA and I also use Fidelity. I like Fidelity research better, but both are easy to use imo. I do most of my research from a bunch of different sources. I have always been very pleased with USAA with all their sevices and integrity. Good experiences and almost 40 yrs. of membership.
I've used both Scottrade and Sharebuilder, and currently have all of mine moved to Sharebuilder. I did some trading a few years ago, but that just pissed off my CPA. I like the slow and steady approach of Sharebuilder, and being able to buy partial shares. Also Sharebuilder offers pretty good promos to start an account, or move an account from another brokerage.
My wife's IRA is in Fidelity, and I like it pretty well. Of the three, I think Scottrade has better reasearch, and the best trade price if you're looking to trade, but Sharebuilder is better for the long term investor.