Stock Investing 101
January 8, 2004 2:41 PM
I'd like to start investing in stocks. What's the best way to get started in a safe, conservative way. ETFs maybe?
Where would ETF maintenance fees be disclosed by a brokerage?
posted by Fupped Duck at 4:46 PM on January 8, 2004
posted by Fupped Duck at 4:46 PM on January 8, 2004
Fupped Duck, it's not the ETFs that would be charged a fee, but having a brokerage account.
I'll second trharlan's recommendation on when to use ETFs or funds; funds if you're going to add a bit each month, ETFs if you're going to infrequently commit bigger sums (and get a low-cost brokerage account).
oissubke, Morningstar has some useful tutorials, I think, along with research on funds. You have to register (free) to do some things, and others they save for those who pay. Their forums are free and can be good, too, especially the Vanguard one.
For diversity, you might consider buying Vanguard's Total Stock Market Index fund (profile). Low expenses, huge (US only) diversification. They also offer it in an ETF form, I think (Vanguard calls its ETFs VIPERs). They have a Total International One too (profile)
Other useful reading is FundAlarm.
posted by pmurray63 at 6:51 PM on January 8, 2004
I'll second trharlan's recommendation on when to use ETFs or funds; funds if you're going to add a bit each month, ETFs if you're going to infrequently commit bigger sums (and get a low-cost brokerage account).
oissubke, Morningstar has some useful tutorials, I think, along with research on funds. You have to register (free) to do some things, and others they save for those who pay. Their forums are free and can be good, too, especially the Vanguard one.
For diversity, you might consider buying Vanguard's Total Stock Market Index fund (profile). Low expenses, huge (US only) diversification. They also offer it in an ETF form, I think (Vanguard calls its ETFs VIPERs). They have a Total International One too (profile)
Other useful reading is FundAlarm.
posted by pmurray63 at 6:51 PM on January 8, 2004
are mutual funds still reliable? that was what I was recommended to look into first for investing.
posted by Hackworth at 9:24 PM on January 8, 2004
posted by Hackworth at 9:24 PM on January 8, 2004
Yes, Hackworth ... provided that you:
a) pick good fund companies that put customer interests first, and
b) have the proper allocation (mix) of funds
Good fund families include Fidelity, Vanguard, Dodge & Cox, and many others. Bad ones include the ones you've heard news stories about, and many others. To echo my previous advice: read Morningstar and FundAlarm. MSN has some decent articles. I like Money magazine too.
You don't need to go overboard and buy a lot of funds if you choose carefully. In fact, you can actually reduce your returns by doing that, along with not being as diversified as you might think.
posted by pmurray63 at 8:20 AM on January 9, 2004
a) pick good fund companies that put customer interests first, and
b) have the proper allocation (mix) of funds
Good fund families include Fidelity, Vanguard, Dodge & Cox, and many others. Bad ones include the ones you've heard news stories about, and many others. To echo my previous advice: read Morningstar and FundAlarm. MSN has some decent articles. I like Money magazine too.
You don't need to go overboard and buy a lot of funds if you choose carefully. In fact, you can actually reduce your returns by doing that, along with not being as diversified as you might think.
posted by pmurray63 at 8:20 AM on January 9, 2004
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To clarify what I'm looking for, I'm not interested in daytrading or anything of that sort. I just want to start taking some of my discretionary income, and instead of spending it on DVDs, video games, etc., invest it in something that's going to make me say, "Man, I'm sure glad I did that" years or decades from now.
It seems to me that the stock market, window-jumpers aside, is generally a good long-term investment. If you have a stable, diversified portfolio over an extended period of time, apart from occasional disasters, it seems like you'd do pretty well -- that's why I was wondering about the ETFs.
Since I don't plan to do a lot of short-term trading, are there better ways to get in on the indexes? Would a fund be better?
posted by oissubke at 3:15 PM on January 8, 2004