icic, so do you learn all the stocks knowledge yourself, like self reading etc. They say its good to spread your eggs, instead ofputting them in one baskets, is it true? If i start investing, should i buy at least 8 to 10 stocks instead of focusing in just 2 to 3 stocks? Also, i assume u buy the us market?
Yes just reading books and having an interest in business and economics, I also read www.wsj.com and www.economist.com when I get time. Yes diversification is best, but buy companies that you understand what they do. Risk is not understanding what you are doing. If you do not understand 7 of the companies out of the 10 you have then you'd be much safer focusing on just 3 that you can understand inside out. What do you do for a living if you if I may ask, because if you understand that sector then you'd be better off just investing into that sector. You must understand your investments. It just makes logical sense not to buy things you don't understand.
i am still studying computing in university, loving developing websites and reading news like facebook, twitter, google, yahoo stuffs like that. I think i am the the technology sector.. am i?
Yes well you'd be better investing into internet companies and tech companies like Apple, Yahoo and Google then. Building up a good portfolio of cheap/mid priced internet and tech companies. I buy into European and Asian markets (some emerging markets like India and Brazil etc) too, but mostly into the US market.
You don't have to be a genius to invest in the markets. Simply look at companies cash flow, balance sheet, and income sheet. Read the latest news and rumors coming from the company. See how it compares to other companies in it's sector, any lawsuits going on, P/E ratio, does it pay dividends, etc. Basic stuff in my opinion.
Good point here, make sure when you get a P/E Ratio make sure you're getting atleast a 5 year average.
try informed trades.com they have a forum and bunch of videos explaining about stocks, they have online free courses, david the owner seems like a serious guy, other then that trade stocks when you dont care about the money u will loose.
Those forums are more geared towards traders and not investors, you've much better sticking to credible information because a lot of time on forums you'll get people who think they know what they're talking about give people bad advice that loses people money. Just my opinion anyway. You'd be better learning accounting, because buying and selling a stock is so easy a 3 year old could so it. Knowing what to buy is the tricky part and value investing is just basically understanding a companies accounts.