Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with stocks

Best online broker for newbie investor w/ modest funds?

mintyfresh — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 09:41:32 -0800

I'm trying to choose an online broker. Fees vs. site functionality and features are my main concern. (1) What is the best online broker for someone who has between 5 to 10K to invest? (2) Is there any advantage to paying higher per-trade or per-contract fees for use of a site that has better features, or can all of the common features be found elsewhere easily? (3) Which discount broker has the best site functionality? I'm afraid of signing up for a discount broker with a site I'll hate later because it doesn't offer enough, and I'm also worried about paying too much for awesome tools I won't really need. With less than 10K at my disposal, fees could easily eat up my profits.

I'll be dabbling in trades and options, so the ideal brokerage would have low-to-moderate fees on both. Bulk pricing discounts probably won't be too relevant at the volumes at which I'll be trading.

I know sites like MSN Money have free tools available, although I'd rather have them at hand on my broker's site. I've also read that some of the best tools are on pay sites, though this may be hype. How do tools from discount brokers such as TradeKing, TradeMonster, and OptionsHouse stack up to the tools from higher-priced brokers such as Fidelity, Ameritrade, and Schwab, and how do they both stack up next to free and pay tools from other sites?

I'd appreciate tales of personal experiences with these sites, or with any others that I haven't mentioned. Are you happy with your broker? Were you ever unhappy enough that you switched to another? Also, do some pay site subscriptions offer a significant-enough advantage to be worth the cost, or are they a ripoff, or only useful for the experienced investor? I'm going to be taking a class from Investools this week, but I don't know if I'll end up paying for the subscription or not. Thanks!

How accurate are 3rd party stock analyst reports?

blahtsk — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 10:20:47 -0800

How accurate are third-party stock analyst reports, such as S&P and Argus? I recently got an account at Schwab, and they provide the following 3rd-party analyst reports:
- Schwab Equity Rating
- Credit Suisse Research
- Ned Davis Research
- Argus 12 Month Rating
- Standard & Poor Stock Reports
- Reuters Research
- Market Edge Second Opinion

I especially like the S&P and Argus reports, because they provide the most background information supporting their positions. My question is, how can I find data on how accurate these reports are? For example, is there a website that tracks 3rd-party predictions vs. results? In lieu of that, is there a way to access older reports from these analysts so I can compile my own data?

Thanks!

(P.S. please no anecdotal info!)

UK Pension with Worldwide Index Funds

lilyflower — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 04:10:00 -0800

UK Pension Filter: Is there a pension out there which will allow me to invest in the SSE Index, BSE Index and the Nasdaq/Dow Jones/S&P500 indexes? I want to move my pension away from one which is based on a fund managed by a company which charges me over 1% a year.

I would like to have a pension with minimum fees (such as a SIPP) which allows me to move my pension across from my previous provider. I would then like to buy Index Funds such as the SSE, BSE and NASDAQ/Dow Jones/S&P500.

I do not intend to pay any more into the pension for the foreseeable future, so monthly paying in fees do not concern me at this time.

I have looked at the Hargreaves Lansdown Vantage SIPP but they only offer stocks from the UK or USA. Does anyone know of a UK based pension which allows purchase of worldwide stocks through a SIPP with low fees?

I would also like the pension to allow me to start withdrawing it from the age of 55 if at all possible.

Further information: The pension is currently worth approx £15k and no payments have been made into it in the past financial year.

How to learn more about finance.

theholotrope — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 09:25:47 -0800

Where/How do you get your best stock tips? What is your routine when studying a market trade? What are some good websites to learn about finance? I'm barely getting into the market game and I have a lot to learn. Please share any websites for learning finance for free and/or websites that have helped you gain some knowledge on good stocks to invest in. Thanks.

Investment habits for a college student?

Ricket — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 18:13:43 -0800

What are the best investment habits for a college student with decent income to get into, in order to maximize yield in 3 years? I am going into my sophomore year of college.

I recently opened an Orange Savings account with ING Direct and set up an automatic transfer of $30/week into it. It was what I felt safe with at the time. However, while I am glad that it's putting the money somewhere that I don't regularly see it or contemplate withdrawing it, I'd like to know if there are other better options. If my math is correct, the savings account, in the course of three years, will gain around $100 from interest, and I feel like there are better ways to invest my money out there that I just don't know about.

I don't know much about the stock market, but I do have a Scottrade account. I used it to invest quite a bit of money a couple years ago into a penny stock which dropped significantly; but I still have faith in it, and I have no need to withdraw, so I am leaving it to see what happens (rather than taking a significant loss by pulling out). However, this didn't completely scare me away; I just want to be sure, next time, that I do something MUCH less risky and something more universally accepted as a good investment practice, not 'gambling', and that I know when to stop or when to pull out before I lose too much again.

I've heard terms such as mutual fund, index fund, S&P 500, money market... I don't know what any of these are, and I've also heard that some things require minimum deposits. The largest minimum deposit I would be able to make would probably be around $2000, and I'd really like to know that my money will be safe if I do that.

Also, bonds and CDs... Are there any that last only 3 years? I'm not particularly sure what they are either.

So, as you can see, I probably need to take a course on investment, maybe in the spring semester, but for now I feel like I have too much money just sitting in my savings account doing nothing, not even collect a significant amount of interest. My last interest payment was $0.06. What tips can you give me?

And as I've said, I'm hoping for something that I can take out in 3 years, around the time that I graduate, though I'll also take long-term investment tips. And something automatic (on a regular schedule) would be nice! I like the idea of my accounts transferring and saving my money for me, because I know I would neglect to keep it up. Anything in my checking and savings account is fair game for spending, and being a computer science student, I am always drooling over the latest technology.

Thank you!

Learning about online shares trading very quickly

gttommy — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 08:11:56 -0800

What is the fastest way to learn online shares trading very quickly? Hi, investment newbie here!

I bought "Online Shares Investing FOR DUMMIES" :) and ready to sign up for a trading game or 2 using fake cash. I would like some tips on what investment paths or style I should take to learn quickest?

I suppose an analogy is like being able to drive unlimited cars on a race track and to maximise the opportunity to improve your driving skills you would try interesting things to learn about the dynamics of a car driving, as opposed to driving normally. I think playing it safe I won't learn as much... ?

Any other ideas or suggestions would also be appreciated. Thanks!

What do dividends mean for me?

jefficator — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 07:55:53 -0800

My stocks are paying dividends. Please teach me about this. I am gainfully employed and buying stocks for the first time in my life. I bought them with retirement in mind. Several of the stocks have now announced dividends. What does this means for me?

I know the basics: if I am to get fifty cents per share, and if I own two shares, then I will receive one dollar. That's where my knowledge stops.

What does "receive" mean? How do I actually get the money? Will I have to pay taxes on that hypothetical one dollar? I understand you can turn dividends back into stock. How do I do this? If I only have a one dollar dividend and a share of the stock costs two dollars, does that mean this option is not available to me? It has been suggested to me that the dividend is deposited into my investment account. If this is the case, and if I immediately reinvest it on my own, do I pay taxes?

These are certainly not the the only questions I would like answers to, just the ones that come to mind!

How to tell the bull market from the bear market.

edavidoff — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 14:16:32 -0800

Is there a good mnemonic device to help remember whether the bull market or the bear market is the good one? I have trouble remembering whether the bull market or the bear market is the good one. Does anyone have a good trick to help me?

Publicly-traded by state?

jefficator — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 07:43:22 -0800

Where can I find a list of public companies, sorted by headquartered state? I'm sure I'm going to feel like a moron when someone replies with www.stocksbystate.com or something, but a person I'm helping with research has asked me to find a list of all the publicly-traded companies headquartered in a handful of given states. The only lists I can find are at least three years old. I can parse the bankrupt ones, but not the new IPOs.

Does anyone know where to find a quick list sorted by state?

If I can cross-reference by profitability, then I'll dance at your wedding.

Bonus points if you preserve my ego by talking about how unimaginatively difficult my request it.

How should I invest in mutual funds?

stevechemist — Wed, 13 May 2009 11:20:30 -0800

For investing small amounts every month, is a S&P 500 index fund or a tax-free bond fund more beneficial? I know you are not my financial advisor, but I currently have about $200 in SWPIX, a S&P 500 Index fund. I've been doing some research, and found SWNTX, a tax-free bond fund that seems to be doing well (and have a good history). For small amounts of money (what I currently have plus adding an additional $20-40/month) would it be beneficial for me to split between the two funds, move completely to the bond fund, or to stay in the S&P 500? My goal is long term growth.

Stock data for use in black box trading application?

Hypocrites — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 13:12:55 -0800

Stock data for use in black box trading application? I just need raw data, the current tick and the technical analysis for each tick and I need the data to be real-time. I would prefer an API with it, but if not that's fine. All I need is data, no other analysis or "features" of any kind. (e.g. no Bloomberg Terminal, Fidessa, CQG, any variation therof) This data needs to be easily manipulated in my own application that I'll be developing in C#. Thanks in advance!

Fire-and-Forget Investment Advice

anotherpanacea — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 05:34:24 -0800

Seeking fire-and-forget asset class investment advice for retirement: TIPS? Global Equities Index/Wilshire 5000? I know this is mildly controversial, but it seems like the 'common sense' approach has changed lately from "stocks for the long run" to "risk = loss." See especially here. My wife and I are about 35-40 years from retirement. My wife may retire earlier (25-30 years) if she can get away with it. We're both professionals who would like to minimize our attention to the markets so we can focus on our careers.

1. We can and will hire an investment advisor: this question is research for that meeting.
2. I'm currently feeling less secure in stocks as an asset class than I did five years ago. Even if this was a market bottom, I'm worried that stocks may not do so well in the middle-to-long term after all this deprecation of the asset class and the US's newfound skepticism of Wall Street. I don't mind volatility, but the bond/stock return on investment profile seems to be different than it was for the last 50 years.
3. I've been thinking a little about Zvi Bodie's Worry-Free Investment advice. (Treasury Inflation Protected Securities plus Social Security to protect standard of living.) It feels horribly pessimistic, but maybe that's the right way to be about retirement? Also, I worry that Social Security may be risky as well. Hell, saving for retirement assumes we're not going to die of cancer or in a plane crash, right? Shouldn't it be a little optimistic?

Don't Short Me, Bro!

gjc — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 06:45:41 -0800

How does short selling stocks harm the underlying company? To my way of thinking, it shouldn't. But Samantha Bee on the Daily Show seems to think it does. Earlier this week she did a piece about the short sellers and made them out to be among the bad guys in the current financial storm.

But I don't see how this hurts the companies that the stocks are in. Unless those companies are somehow leveraged to their own stock, which seems like a not so good idea regardless of what happens.

A hypothetical, as I understand it: XYZ Corp. decides to go public. They sell a bunch of shares in the company. They take the cash, and give up slices of ownership. Once the original purchaser buys that stock, that original purchaser can do with it what they please. It's out of the hands of XYZ Corp. Now, I decide XYZ Corp.'s stock is going to go down, and I want to make money off of that. Say it's at $20. I find someone holding stock who is willing to let me borrow it for a while. I borrow that stock and sell it at $20. Now, time comes that I need to give the stock back to who I borrowed it from. Lucky for me, the stock is down to $10, so I buy the stock back and return it. And I've doubled my money. But XYZ Corp. isn't involved in that process. The only loser in this scenario is the clown who decided to sell their stock at $10. And they are only losers if they bought the stock for more than $10. If they bought it for $5, there are no losers in that scenario.

What am I missing? Or, is she wrong?

(Obviously, this assumes the people doing the short selling aren't engaging in market manipulations. They are doing it on the up and up, within the rules.)

I'm having a financial existentialist crisis

MrMulan — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 09:36:19 -0800

Have I been wrong on my financial core beliefs? I have had a worldview when comes to finances for over 15 years that I am now questioning.

1. I believed 8-12% return on your money over the long term was reasonable, conservative, and realistic.
2. I believed in No-load mutual funds.
3. I believed in dollar cost averaging.
4. I believed Technical Analysis does not work.
5. I believed in A Random Walk Down Wall Street.

First there was this segment from NPR(of all places!) that blew my mind: Technical Analysis actually works (at least for oil)
Then this article from Slate on Suzy Orman. The article disses No-load, and Dollar-Cost Averaging without any references.

Was NPR sinking to a major network level of reporting? Or does TA really work?
What is the mounting evidence against No-loads as part of a passive, long term strategy?

There is no other choice for me but to be an optimist for the long term health and prosperity of our country and by proxy, the stock market. Else, the best thing to do would be to stock up and canned food and guns, and that really isn't a nice way for me to live.
Why then is Dollar-cost averaging bad, if you are doing it in mutual funds, and doing it for the long term?

There are many books out know calling into question A Random Walk Down Wall Street. Is there any truth to them?

Is trading round lots tradition or good practice?

Deep Dish — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 16:31:10 -0800

I have started dabbling in the stock market again, and I've been trying to figure out why conventional wisdom suggests that trading in round lots (usually of 100) is better than trading odd lots (<100). Can you help? I bought a couple of equities today in lots of 50 and 65, and didn't seem to take any penalty on either the trading fee or stock price. Nor did I encounter what seemed to be delayed trades (maybe I did, but it didn't look like it). I've also read that the practice of trading in round lots, essentially predates Internet trading and no longer needs to apply, as long as the trading fees don't become an issue. These were just brief blurbs and I am looking for solid information here. All my equities are from the New York or Toronto exchanges.

calculating cost basis on inherited stocks given as a gift

Elsa — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 06:22:53 -0800

How do I calculate the cost basis for stocks that were inherited by my father, who later gave them to me? My father inherited a great many of his father's stocks in the 1980s. In 1999, my father transferred a number of the stock certificates to my name, and gave them to me as a gift.

A few years after my father gave them to me, I sold some of the stocks. For the purpose of calculating my capital gains, is the cost basis the stock’s value at the time my father inherited them, or their value at the time my father gave them to me?

(All of this took place within the U.S., and I need to know the cost basis for use on a U.S. IRS form. I have a record of the market value [historical price] of these stocks both on the date my father inherited them and on the date they were transferred to me. I just need to know which value is relevant. Google shows me results for either inherited stocks or stocks given as gifts, but not for stocks which were inherited and then given as a gift.)

Dan Ackroyd and Eddie Murphy prepared me for porkbellies, but not this.

10ch — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 15:07:38 -0800

I'm doing an experiment about socks and want to find data about the commodity price of merino wool. My problem is that I know nothing about trading/stock/commodities vernacular and am having difficulties finding a good place to start. Ideally, there is a source similar to http://money.cnn.com/quote/quote.html?symb=AAPL for this information so that I can download it and visualize it over time.

But anything, even words to search Google with, would be helpful at this point.

Thanks!

Crude Oil Charts

fantasticninety — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 09:15:29 -0800

Where can I find crude oil charts online? Google finance is great for seeing the charts of stock prices. When I read a newspaper that describes current crude oil prices I'm never able to find the equivalent charts. For example, right now it says crude oil is trading at around 60 dollars a barrel. Is there a chart, like the google finance charts for stocks, that show the price of crude oil over the last while (or even longer)? Thanks!

Recession Question

CollectiveMind — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 06:47:44 -0800

Are market indexes usually at their historical low before a "declared" recession (or when the indicators are there even if not officially declared), do those market indexes tend to continue rising or falling afterward, by how much and usually for how long?

investing on losers

SirStan — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 13:44:32 -0800

Investing/Day Trading -Why is it bad to pick stocks off the losers of the day assuming they will rebound? I have been casually watching stocks on Google's daily losers list, and playing with $1000 of pretend money and Excel.. and so far I am up 50% on three weeks (not counting $9/trade fees).

So -- Why doesn't this system work? Bonus points for any investing research that shows its a bad idea (tm).

Naturally there are some mega losers.. but even back when Fannie May tanked.. there would have been money to be made by buying at the crest of the loss, and selling the next day.

For example... If I had invested $1000 in Fannie May at the end of trading on September 8th, and sold it at the end of the day on September 9th I would have netted $356 (minus trade execution fees). I caught Foundry Networks as they started to go up a second time on the 24th of October @ $10.85 and now they are at $12.39.

Naturally there are really bad examlpes of this (like the drug company Savient, but even that might go up tomorrow! It seems like people overreact on large percentage sales.. and then it rebounds.

Am I playing with fire that will burn me? Is this how day trader junkies get hooked?

Exotic stocks

yoyo_nyc — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 16:49:37 -0800

How can I buy stocks at "exotic" stock markets like Kuwait? There are a few stocks I like that I would like to buy long term since the companies do a lot of business in africa (e.g. ZAIN). How is it possible to buy stocks at exotic markets like Kuwait or African stock exchanges?

Help with Money

CollectiveMind — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 11:00:29 -0800

Two years ago, when the DJIA was at 11,200, I thought the market was approaching its peak, and I moved money from an index stock fund to government bonds. For the next two years, I kicked myself as the market hit 14,000. Now, the market is full 600 points below its peak and 300 points below when I bailed. I'm wondering if I should believe the market has hit its bottom and go back to stocks. I realize it's the same concern in reverse and either way, I may lose by going back too early or too late. But, based on what is known so far, what do you think?

Buying Low?

weapons-grade pandemonium — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 14:31:10 -0800

Stock market investment filter: Buying opportunities? Let's say Obama is elected in November and the U.S. economy gets a shot of optimism. Let's assume an investor is lucky enough to time when the market bottoms or turns around. What sectors or companies would most reliably recover or be quickest to recover from the current meltdown, and why? What indicators would you look for in a prospective investment with the Democrats in power?

Difference between the Canadian and American Markets Relative to Their Economies.

Toto_tot — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 13:17:28 -0800

On the Financial crisis: If the Canadian economy is in a stronger state than the American economy then why is the TSX posting larger point and percentage losses than the Dow and Nasdaq? Is it about investor whim or the make-up of each individual index?

Probably a stupid stock question

NormandyJack — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 11:02:32 -0800

Probably a stupid question -- Is selling a long position and then going long on same security on the same day day trading? Is it subject to any sort of SEC rules? That's pretty much it, but I'll give an example anyway.

Lets say i have 100 shares of YHOO
On Tuesday I sell those 100 shares of YHOO
later that day I buy 100 shares YHOO

Is this day trading? Is someone who does this frequently subject to day trading rules imposed by the SEC? Does this fall under any other sort of SEC rules?