# New to Investing: Seeking Advice



## Wake

I'm 25, and I've started investing using Scottrade. There are so many articles an opinions out there that tell you to do this, not that, etc. It's kind of intimidating, so one of the only few ways of knowing what to do is tapping into the experience of others (who aren't stock brokers or advisors wanting your $$$).

I bought these stocks:

x4 DBLEP (Double Eagle Petroleum Co.) 

x10 ADK.PRA (AdCare Health Systems)

It cost $7 per pop for each order, which is going to take a few years for each to pay back just that commission. It's probably better to buy up a bunch of the same stock at once so you don't get beaten down by commission costs.

...so, guys, do you think I screwed up? For the first time I experienced the distinct worry/anxiety of investors/traders, and it was over the line on the graph bouncing up and down over the course of one day, lol. 

My investment strategy is to bust my hump saving up money to thrown into perpetual/cumulative preferred stocks, while diversifying as much as possible. Currently my tentacles eek are tapped into oil/petroleum and the medical/nursing facility. Are emerging markets a good option, maybe? I want to save up to buy 50-100 shares in fracking, or whatever Eric Bolling and others think is favorable (I dunno).

Hopefully this investing will be worth the living in sufferable conditions.

Please help this newbie out!


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## sjay

It's a mistake to buy individual stocks unless you can start with a minimum of 12 stocks,100 shares each.The number one rule in investing is diversification.Go to vanguard and buy shares of their s&p 500 etf VOO(automatic diversification)it's also free of commision costs.The other 3 rules of investing are dollar cost averaging,rebalancing and asset allocation.Asset allocation won't come into play until you can buy the other principal etf's which would be VGK,VPL,VXF and VWO to complete your portfolio.


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## freedombecki

Oh, to see the future! *sigh*


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## Sunshine

Wake said:


> I'm 25, and I've started investing using Scottrade. There are so many articles an opinions out there that tell you to do this, not that, etc. It's kind of intimidating, so one of the only few ways of knowing what to do is tapping into the experience of others (who aren't stock brokers or advisors wanting your $$$).
> 
> I bought these stocks:
> 
> x4 DBLEP (Double Eagle Petroleum Co.)
> 
> x10 ADK.PRA (AdCare Health Systems)
> 
> It cost $7 per pop for each order, which is going to take a few years for each to pay back just that commission. It's probably better to buy up a bunch of the same stock at once so you don't get beaten down by commission costs.
> 
> ...so, guys, do you think I screwed up? For the first time I experienced the distinct worry/anxiety of investors/traders, and it was over the line on the graph bouncing up and down over the course of one day, lol.
> 
> My investment strategy is to bust my hump saving up money to thrown into perpetual/cumulative preferred stocks, while diversifying as much as possible. Currently my tentacles eek are tapped into oil/petroleum and the medical/nursing facility. Are emerging markets a good option, maybe? I want to save up to buy 50-100 shares in fracking, or whatever Eric Bolling and others think is favorable (I dunno).
> 
> Hopefully this investing will be worth the living in sufferable conditions.
> 
> Please help this newbie out!



Oil is pretty high risk.  I don't know about health care facilities, either.  Obamacare makes that a craps shoot. 

The population is aging and soon will be top heavy with elderly.  Your good bets are going to e products for the elderly.  Pharmaceutical companies that make the dementia meds should be a decent investment too.  And don't forget Viagra.  

Look around and see what people are buying.  What are they spending their money on?  Dr. Joyce Brothers made a fortune in the stock market in the 50s & 60s investing in products that advertised on children's TV shows.  She didn't think finance at all.  She thought human nature.  Population demographics should lead anyone who is investing.  No one is getting any younger.


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## william the wie

sjay said:


> It's a mistake to buy individual stocks unless you can start with a minimum of 12 stocks,100 shares each.The number one rule in investing is diversification.Go to vanguard and buy shares of their s&p 500 etf VOO(automatic diversification)it's also free of commision costs.The other 3 rules of investing are dollar cost averaging,rebalancing and asset allocation.Asset allocation won't come into play until you can buy the other principal etf's which would be VGK,VPL,VXF and VWO to complete your portfolio.


The Lazy man portfolio thread covers similar ground. But why not use covered puts to make sure that you are working within your budget?


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## expat_panama

sjay said:


> ...start with a minimum of 12 stocks,100 shares each.The number one rule in investing is diversification...


My number 1 is making money.  

12 stocks is nice but they've got to be bot one at a time anyway, so I find I've doing ok when I'm say, at 4 or 5 and up.  That 100 share rule doesnt seem to make any sense.  My Master Card stock sells for ten times the price of my Starbucks stock, so I buy an even amount of each in dollar value.


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## Mr Natural

You're 25 and can afford to take some risk.

I'd look into exchange traded funds (ETF).  They're like mutual funds that trade like stocks but don't carry the management fees that mutual funds do.

Start with ETFs in equal amounts for each of the three major indices: The Dow, S&P 500, and NASDAQ and diversify slowly from there.

Good luck.


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## Moonglow

Don't put all your eggs in one basket.


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## Moonglow

Invest in some long term and short term investments.


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## OnePercenter

freedombecki said:


> Oh, to see the future! *sigh*



You don't need to see the future, look at the stock the rich guys are investing.


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## tyroneweaver

I inherited these stocks from my parents, wasnt stupid  but kept my inheritance
they are:
qep, str, ida, ibdry

and on a tip bought this at 30 cents bpth


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## Chuckt

Wake said:


> I'm 25, and I've started investing using Scottrade. There are so many articles an opinions out there that tell you to do this, not that, etc. It's kind of intimidating, so one of the only few ways of knowing what to do is tapping into the experience of others (who aren't stock brokers or advisors wanting your $$$).
> 
> I bought these stocks:
> 
> x4 DBLEP (Double Eagle Petroleum Co.)
> 
> x10 ADK.PRA (AdCare Health Systems)
> 
> It cost $7 per pop for each order, which is going to take a few years for each to pay back just that commission. It's probably better to buy up a bunch of the same stock at once so you don't get beaten down by commission costs.
> 
> ...so, guys, do you think I screwed up? For the first time I experienced the distinct worry/anxiety of investors/traders, and it was over the line on the graph bouncing up and down over the course of one day, lol.
> 
> My investment strategy is to bust my hump saving up money to thrown into perpetual/cumulative preferred stocks, while diversifying as much as possible. Currently my tentacles eek are tapped into oil/petroleum and the medical/nursing facility. Are emerging markets a good option, maybe? I want to save up to buy 50-100 shares in fracking, or whatever Eric Bolling and others think is favorable (I dunno).
> 
> Hopefully this investing will be worth the living in sufferable conditions.
> 
> Please help this newbie out!



Why don't you try:

https://www.zecco.com/

The other companies are going to get you with fees.


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## ryaan

Moonglow said:


> Don't put all your eggs in one basket.



Stocks can be volatile.

This is a key point. Volatility is when an investment rises and falls by a broad percentage in a short period of time. Stocks are generally more volatile than, say, bonds. They also tend to appreciate more over long periods.

Finally, you should be wary of concentration risk. Most companies do not fail. But when they do their investors lose everything. Owning a large number of individual stocks is one way to reduce the risk of loss from bankruptcy or a corporate collapse.

Hope it helped.


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## Wake

Apologies for the late response&#8212;I'm grateful for your help.

I've been taking a safer approach by only dealing in perpetual/cumulative preferred stocks, and keeping the collection diversified. The more stocks are spread out, the less devastating it is when one or two of them fail.

Being a newb, I'm sticking to safer preferreds for income investing, but having gotten my feet wet in the stock experience I might want to dabble in some value investing, too. There's one, Dehair Medical, that has my attention a bit. Been watching it for a month now.


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## william the wie

Wake said:


> Apologies for the late responseI'm grateful for your help.
> 
> I've been taking a safer approach by only dealing in perpetual/cumulative preferred stocks, and keeping the collection diversified. The more stocks are spread out, the less devastating it is when one or two of them fail.
> 
> Being a newb, I'm sticking to safer preferreds for income investing, but having gotten my feet wet in the stock experience I might want to dabble in some value investing, too. There's one, Dehair Medical, that has my attention a bit. Been watching it for a month now.


If you can afford to dabble then just subscribe to Value Line's cheaper services for small investors, It's beaten the market for literal decades.


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## ashleyjames389

Try a diverse portfolio with stocks from different sectors like

Verizon (VZ) Telecom
Google (GOOG)- Tech
Estee Lauder (EL)- consumer staples
3M- MMM- industrial conglomerate

If you have different sector stock then you will negate a lot of the risk because you wont be vulnerable to one sector specific risk


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## william the wie

ashleyjames389 said:


> Try a diverse portfolio with stocks from different sectors like
> 
> Verizon (VZ) Telecom
> Google (GOOG)- Tech
> Estee Lauder (EL)- consumer staples
> 3M- MMM- industrial conglomerate
> 
> If you have different sector stock then you will negate a lot of the risk because you wont be vulnerable to one sector specific risk


Lacks commodity, real estate and bond exposure.


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## ashleyjames389

william the wie said:


> ashleyjames389 said:
> 
> 
> 
> Try a diverse portfolio with stocks from different sectors like
> 
> Verizon (VZ) Telecom
> Google (GOOG)- Tech
> Estee Lauder (EL)- consumer staples
> 3M- MMM- industrial conglomerate
> 
> If you have different sector stock then you will negate a lot of the risk because you wont be vulnerable to one sector specific risk
> 
> 
> 
> Lacks commodity, real estate and bond exposure.
Click to expand...


True the more diverse the portfolio, the less risk, i only quoted stocks which i think will give a good return next year


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## Wake

I've heard that one good strategy when it comes to income investing is to search out preferred stocks from established companies that have a yield of around 5-6%. Not only that, but you need to find out whether the dividends have been steadily paid over the course of, say, 5+ years. One of the things to watch out for with Preferred stocks and income investing in general is (I think) lowered interest rates over time. Say you spend $1000 in February and you're looking to get around $60 (6%lol?) during that year in dividends. The risk is that you buy that stock, and then let's say the yield goes down to 3%, which is 3% less than what you were expecting to accrue.

I did something stupid, and bought about 35 shares in Green Hunter Resources, a preferred monthly stock, and it was around 12%-13% yield. I figured that'd be good, until, DUH, higher yield generally means more volatility, risk, and potential loss of principal. A better way is too seek out stabler investments, even if it means netting 6% per years instead of 13%.


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## william the wie

Just go with value line's cheap subscription or google direct stock purchases. You are proposing strategies that only make sense if you're investing in the 8-9 figures range.


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## sjay

Willie,he's hardly in the 8 or 9 figures range when he's buying 35 shares,that's less than chump change range. You would think that Wake(after getting advice)would realize that with his very meager money,his only option is by going with commission free index funds or etf's,looks like he's determined to learn the hard way.


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## william the wie

sjay said:


> Willie,he's hardly in the 8 or 9 figures range when he's buying 35 shares,that's less than chump change range. You would think that Wake(after getting advice)would realize that with his very meager money,his only option is by going with commission free index funds or etf's,looks like he's determined to learn the hard way.


True and even when you don't set out to challenge yourself the learning curve will leave deep emotional scars.


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## SteadyMercury

Just chuck it all into VWELX, then go watch some basketball or something.


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## Mac1958

SteadyMercury said:


> Just chuck it all into VWELX, then go watch some basketball or something.




LOL, I've heard worse advice!

.


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## Spiderman

Here's my advice

Don't look for investing advice on an anonymous message board.


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## SteadyMercury

Like any advice some is good and some is bad and one has to filter as best they can. I don't see any reason one can't interact with smart guys like William the Wie and get some useful solid info or at the very least have a discussion where they can bounce their ideas off each other and maybe gain some new perspectives. I've seen some outstanding threads on bogleheads, morningstar, and early retirement forums where people have questions and get great answers.

Conversely many an investor has gone to a "professional" and ended up with a financial adviser who loads them up with funds they get a commission on and take a fee on top of it, or bought a book by an "expert" that had them making all sorts of poor investment decisions based on expert's opinion of what will happen in the future regarding inflation etc.

Good advice = ask away, but keep a gain of salt handy.


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## william the wie

SteadyMercury said:


> Like any advice some is good and some is bad and one has to filter as best they can. I don't see any reason one can't interact with smart guys like William the Wie and get some useful solid info or at the very least have a discussion where they can bounce their ideas off each other and maybe gain some new perspectives. I've seen some outstanding threads on bogleheads, morningstar, and early retirement forums where people have questions and get great answers.
> 
> Conversely many an investor has gone to a "professional" and ended up with a financial adviser who loads them up with funds they get a commission on and take a fee on top of it, or bought a book by an "expert" that had them making all sorts of poor investment decisions based on expert's opinion of what will happen in the future regarding inflation etc.
> 
> Good advice = ask away, but keep a gain of salt handy.


There is a problem with good advice and that is that it is counterintuitive. I found out a while back why I should never mention how rebalancing a portfolio works. Do you have any idea how many men literally scream, "You're crazy! Sell my winners and invest in my losers!?! You are totally *insane*!" or words to that effect?

Selling covered options on lower volatility issues to offset purchases of options of higher volatility issues is also something best done over the internet.

And do not try to mention that market prediction threads are only done for fun because an unhedged position is the express lane to bankruptcy yet no one will believe you.


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## Jacob Adom

If you are a beginner trader looking to going pro in the stock market, OTC Bully might be the best place for you for great stock market tips on current market trends.


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## fmdog44

At 5PM Central time on CNBC Jim Kramer is on M-F. I strongly urge you to first tune in to him and second read his books. if you chose to manage your own money then you must get educated. Keep in mind one wrong move and you will regret it for a long time. People say yeah I lost money but it will come back. Really? If you had $100,000 and lost $25,000 then the market doubled the next year, how much would you have after it doubled versus how much you would have had you not lost the 25K? Greed will be your greatest enemy and it comes in the form of temptation. It takes an enormous amount of guts to hold steady in conservative investments while the market catches fire and starts souring. The great story of greed is the people that bought in to the internet stocks when the internet started and overnight they lost their buts forever. Don't sell in a downturn. Downturns are time to start buying. "Buy low-sell high"


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## Wake

I started narrowing down select stocks that I like and have'em on my watch list on Fidelity.

Now I'm waiting for them to hit their low points so I can snatch them all up.


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## HenryBHough

At 25 stocks are good.  Best, though, using dollar cost averaging - buying a set amount every month (or week) regardless of the market prices.  HOWEVER, always keep enough liquid cash to get you through minimum three, better six, months of unemployment.  If a person gets laid off due to a crumbling economy their stocks are also going to be hammered and selling then to get cash to stay alive will be a double loss.


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## sjay

Wake said:


> I started narrowing down select stocks that I like and have'em on my watch list on Fidelity.
> 
> Now I'm waiting for them to hit their low points so I can snatch them all up.


I'm curious, how do you determine their low point?


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## HenryBHough

To even come close to determining high and low points it is essential that one become comfortable with leaving a little bit of money on the table.


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## sjay

[
es  sential that one become comfortable with leaving a little bit of money on the table.[/QUOTE]

 Was looking for an answer from wake,but what is the above comment even mean in simpler terms.


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## HenryBHough

It means that one watches the indicators and when prices have gone lower at lightning speed then slow down, dropping only in small increments, it's time to figure that the trend is about to reverse.  That's the time to buy.  The "money on the table" is the small gain you might not later realize by buying when you did but that amount is minimal compared with the small gain you might make by waiting and possibly finding yourself buying at the time of a sudden reversal.

Ditto in selling.  The trick is to estimate when a market is nearing what you figure to be a peak and sell then.  It might go up a little more in the next few days.  If it does then that's the money left on the table.  Small compared to the risk of waiting for an actual high which quickly reverses itself and leaves you selling far below the peak.


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## Wake

sjay said:


> Wake said:
> 
> 
> 
> I started narrowing down select stocks that I like and have'em on my watch list on Fidelity.
> 
> Now I'm waiting for them to hit their low points so I can snatch them all up.
> 
> 
> 
> I'm curious, how do you determine their low point?
Click to expand...


I'm still only a little experienced with investing.

The main method I use is watching the 52-week high/low period to see how high and low the stock went within 52 weeks. If there's a fairly decent stock I like that's relatively volatile, I'l wait for it to dip, snatch them up while inexpensive, and then wait and sell them when their pirce rises, even if it takes a few months.

Probably making some rookie mistakes along the way tho...


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## SteadyMercury

Wake said:


> The main method I use is watching the 52-week high/low period to see how high and low the stock went within 52 weeks. If there's a fairly decent stock I like that's relatively volatile, I'l wait for it to dip, snatch them up while inexpensive, and then wait and sell them when their pirce rises, even if it takes a few months.


What if it never rises past your buy point, or does so at a rate slower than other stocks or investments?


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## fmdog44

Many of you are hung up on stock prices. you are not buying a stock rather, you are buying a business. The pie in the sky dream is to buy low and sell high but not one person on earth can tell you what tomorrow will bring.  Remember this and burn it in to your brain, regardless of whose advice to take the money you may lose is YOUR money and as you watch it disappear you may never go with that advice again.


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## SteadyMercury

I sure as hell don't get hung up on stock prices, I just buy broad index funds and hold.


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## fmdog44

Nothing wrong with index funds for the long haul - look at the DJ Index for example if anyone owns that. I have three Vanguard funds and sold a TRP Index funds last year and got hammered yesterday on my income tax for selling it.


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## SteadyMercury

fmdog44 said:


> Nothing wrong with index funds for the long haul - look at the DJ Index for example if anyone owns that .


DJIA is far too narrow IMO to be a useful stock index fund, I'd go at least S&P 500 index and prefer total stock market index if looking for broad equities coverage in an index fund.


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## Delta4Embassy

Wake said:


> I'm 25, and I've started investing using Scottrade. There are so many articles an opinions out there that tell you to do this, not that, etc. It's kind of intimidating, so one of the only few ways of knowing what to do is tapping into the experience of others (who aren't stock brokers or advisors wanting your $$$).
> 
> I bought these stocks:
> 
> x4 DBLEP (Double Eagle Petroleum Co.)
> 
> x10 ADK.PRA (AdCare Health Systems)
> 
> It cost $7 per pop for each order, which is going to take a few years for each to pay back just that commission. It's probably better to buy up a bunch of the same stock at once so you don't get beaten down by commission costs.
> 
> ...so, guys, do you think I screwed up? For the first time I experienced the distinct worry/anxiety of investors/traders, and it was over the line on the graph bouncing up and down over the course of one day, lol.
> 
> My investment strategy is to bust my hump saving up money to thrown into perpetual/cumulative preferred stocks, while diversifying as much as possible. Currently my tentacles eek are tapped into oil/petroleum and the medical/nursing facility. Are emerging markets a good option, maybe? I want to save up to buy 50-100 shares in fracking, or whatever Eric Bolling and others think is favorable (I dunno).
> 
> Hopefully this investing will be worth the living in sufferable conditions.
> 
> Please help this newbie out!



Don't invest in things you've never heard of no matter how well they're hailed by others. That'll be $500 btw


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## longknife

You don't need to go to "experts" to decide what stocks to invest it!!!

What products/goods/services do you, your family, and friends prefer?

They must be popular for a reason and it therefore makes sense to invest in them.


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## SteadyMercury

longknife said:


> What products/goods/services do you, your family, and friends prefer?
> 
> They must be popular for a reason and it therefore makes sense to invest in them.


Someone liking something doesn't mean it is popular, and something being popular doesn't mean the company is on firm financial footing or a strategy for growth.

I used to buy tools and fishing stuff from Sears, where would I be if I'd put my money in Sears a decade ago?


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## william the wie

The quick down and dirty is start with Benjamin Graham who in multiples of the averages had a record roughly 2x that of his student Warren Buffett.


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## Brucethethinker

Before I figured out how to make 25% / year with oil (UCO) and selling calls, I was in AMZN (Amazon).  The reason I liked Amazon was because of the founder, Jeff Bezos.  I was basically investing in him.  I didn't pay any attention to the price / earnings ratio, I figured Jeff had that under control.  You won't figure anything out studying balance sheets.  I'm not "balanced", or "diversified", or anything.  I'm basically in UCO, and selling calls.  It's risky, if oil becomes worthless next week I'll lose a lot of money.  I'll take that risk.


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## Abishai100

*Brand Beachball*


Not much seems to emerge at the surface that looks wrong with what you're doing.  Individual company/stock-selection is the right way to start --- it gives you room to study and research the brands while slowly exploring how to diversify.

Petroleum is always a mainstay, and the exciting developments with BP (British Petroleum) make it an interesting market, especially for a newbie looking to fish around.

Since you seem curious about prospecting, have you considered Hong Kong markets and the realm of Chines toys?  America arguably makes the best toys and offers the best toy stores (i.e., Toys R Us), but Europe and Asia's forays into video games and robotics toys gives Americans a run for their money.  China has traditionally invested a good deal of intellectual energy into toy-making.

When I think of the fortune cookie at a Chinese restaurant, I think of why American media celebrates imaginarium-friendly personalities such as Macaulay Culkin and Sheryl Crow (face-friendly fun celebs).  Maybe Chinese restaurants offer fortune cookies, since the Chinese have picked up on the international mercantile trend of marketing 'adventure totems.'

Ford Motor Company and Samsung are also worthy companies to research for your diversification portfolio.  Bottom line is, do what is easy enough to make you feel like you can hypothetically have fun learning about this stuff.







Hong Kong

Samsung


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## fmdog44

sjay said:


> It's a mistake to buy individual stocks unless you can start with a minimum of 12 stocks,100 shares each.The number one rule in investing is diversification.Go to vanguard and buy shares of their s&p 500 etf VOO(automatic diversification)it's also free of commision costs.The other 3 rules of investing are dollar cost averaging,rebalancing and asset allocation.Asset allocation won't come into play until you can buy the other principal etf's which would be VGK,VPL,VXF and VWO to complete your portfolio.


I have never in my life read anything so silly as that. 100 shares each-I guess 100 shares of Apple is the same as 100  shares of say any stock selling for $4 /share? Why 100 shares, why not five or 37 or 62. Madness.


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## fmdog44

With all the strategies offered a bear market will sicken you but like the flu you will get well and recover (unless of course the flu kills you)


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## CharlieH

Save your Dollars till after the crash, you won't have long to wait..


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## fmdog44

I will share my god fortune here at 67 I am $$$  secure but I still invest  conservatively but do throw some funny money around. The nice thing about being in my shoes (I have a million +) though I am not rich I do not have to invest at all and when I retire I will pull my funny money investments ($60,000+/-) out and live off my soc. sec. and conservative, no chance of a loss investments. I started young and it is paying off so do the same and when it gets rough have some to put in so you are buying low.


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## Abishai100

*Materials Margin*

Materials are hot right now (i.e., denim, metals, silicon, etc.).

Did Levi jeans supply denim outfits for prisons in the USA?

Such questions are _guiding_ new age barons.





Levi


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