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Posts Tagged ‘stock investing’

What are good stocks to buy in the short term?

I do not have much time to invest, not like years or anything like that so I am hoping to find some stocks that are going up in the short term so that I can make some money in a matter of months.  It is so hard to find the best stocks to buy. I have read magazines and listen to the news but still I am unsure of what stocks are best for me for the short term.

Any good suggestions?

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Can someone tell me what the best stocks to buy are if I want to save for college? I want to put some money in stocks now since a lot of stocks have very low prices right now. I want to invest so that I will have enough money to pay for college and some more (hopefully). I have a couple years before college so I have no problem with a long term investment and taking on some risks. I don’t mind short term investments either, just as long as they are good. Is it better to invest in short term investments? or is it better t invest in long term investments? I have read some suggestions in magazines and all that but I have not found a list of what investments (stocks or mutual funds) are good for investing for college. Can someone help? Thanks.

I often hear people ask about investing in stock to make money today especially people who like to gamble and want to make some quick cash.

I need to make money now, Should I invest in stocks?

In general, the answer to that question is always no. Financial planners often recommend that if you were going to invest in stocks or anything long term, then you can do it only if:

1. you have already set aside enough cash and short term investments for emergency needs. You ‘cash cushion’ should last a few months or longer. That means if you need money now, don’t invest in stocks or long term investments. What would you do if you have an emergency and need money now?
2. you have enough cash reserve for regular expenses such as food, housing, education, health, life insurance, etc etc.

Bear in mind that when you invest in a stock, you don’t know if the market is going to fluctuate (unless you are a very good stock analyst). You are gambling with your money and if that money is not needed soon, then you have time to wait the market out if the market turned against you. However, if you start investing in stocks and then you need the money out for something emergency, you will have to sell and lose out of most of the money, not to mention that the IRS probably will come after  you for capital gains tax too. Day trading is very risk and we will discuss that another day.

When investing it is important to find the right stockbroker. Just like a doctor, stockbrokers come in all sorts of experiences. There are stockbrokers who know much more than others and have lots of experience investing on their own portfolios. Other stockbrokers are less experience and some are even new at the job and has never invested. Sometimes, clients have much more experience than the stockbroker.

What to look for in a stockbroker?

First of all, if you need advice on investing, you need an experience stockbroker, not one that do not think for him/herself. A stock analyst that is also a stockbroker would be a good person to get advice from. However, most stock analysts are not stockbrokers.

You also should get along with your stock broker because after all you will be calling him/her often and vice versa. You should like his/her personality as well as how he/she conducts his/her business. Reputation is also key because it indicates that there are other happy customers out there.

How to find a stock broker?

Usually stock brokers are recommended by people you know. Investing is a very personal matter and a stockbroker will know your finances so it is important that you trust the stockbroker. Personal referrals usually go well with stockbrokers.

You can also find a stock broker in reputable investment firms. It is up to you which firms or companies you like. Not everyone likes the same firm and not everyone is impressed by the same things. Examples of investment houses are Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, UBS Paine Webber, Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, and many more. Read the news and keep you ears and eyes out for clues if you will like any of them.

Today we are going to discuss what bonds are. Let’s start with the basics. Some of you may know bonds as fixed income securities or debt securities because bonds have fixed interest payments.

So, what is a bond?

A bond is another type of investment that you can put your money in (just as you would with stocks). When you buy a bond, you are effectively loaning your money to the bond issuer. In return, the issuer promises to pay you back plus interest payments regularly. Basically, when an (bond) investor loans money to the bond issuer, the issuer must make regular payments of interest for the use of the funds.

Who can issue a bond?

Corporations, municipalities and the US governments are the issuers of bonds. They issue different types of bonds. When a corporation issues a bond, the bond is classified as a corporate bond, for example. Bond issuers issue bonds to raise working capital or funds.

There are many aspects of bonds and bond investing to discuss. We will discuss more about bonds later. For now, if you want to learn about bonds, you can go to http://money.cnn.com, http://www.bloomberg.com, and http://all-about-bonds.info. Next time we discuss bonds we can talk about bond interests, maturities and other important factors you should know when investing in bonds.