Investment Advice

[Toad]

I actually think investing in a foreign currency at this point isn't such a great idea. You want to buy low, sell high. Right now, the dollar isn't worth that much. It's probably not going to get that much worse than it is right now. Long term, it's more likely you'd lose money with such an investment. Now's actually the time foreigners want to convert their money into US dollars since they can get them for so cheap.

 

[Joffrey]

I was about to start a new thread but did a search and found this. Glad I did.

I just looked at my ING savings account and was happy to see my balance, but saddened to see the current interest rate. So I've decided I would like to move some of my funds over to a real investment account. I don't currently have an IRA or 401k (apart from a profit sharing account through my company) but plan to open one when I switch jobs. So for the mean time, I would like to have another investment account apart from that.

I did a quick lazy search on morningstar and think I would like my first account to be in International Stocks (because of my youth I want high growth and don't mind above average risk). Maybe with an investment minimum of $1000 (I'm willing to do up to $3k as well). What are some Mutual Funds, ETFs and Index Funds you guys know are worth looking into? Any funds to stay away from? Is it more advisable to join a fund that is closed to individual investors (I've noticed some that require that you purchases through a Financial Advisor)? I will not base my decision solely on suggestions here as I plan to do some more research and reading on my own. But I would appreciate your insight.

 

[constant struggle]

Originally Posted by Jodum5

I was about to start a new thread but did a search and found this. Glad I did.

I just looked at my ING savings account and was happy to see my balance, but saddened to see the current interest rate. So I've decided I would like to move some of my funds over to a real investment account. I don't currently have an IRA or 401k (apart from a profit sharing account through my company) but plan to open one when I switch jobs. So for the mean time, I would like to have another investment account apart from that.

I did a quick lazy search on morningstar and think I would like my first account to be in International Stocks (because of my youth I want high growth and don't mind above average risk). Maybe with an investment minimum of $1000 (I'm willing to do up to $3k as well). What are some Mutual Funds, ETFs and Index Funds you guys know are worth looking into? Any funds to stay away from? Is it more advisable to join a fund that is closed to individual investors (I've noticed some that require that you purchases through a Financial Advisor)? I will not base my decision solely on suggestions here as I plan to do some more research and reading on my own. But I would appreciate your insight.
Sir, please take a step back
the kind of funds you are looking into should be your last choice of investing
This is how you should keep your money..
1) 6 Months living expenses in cash/savings
2) Short Term money (money you will need in the next 5 years) in your ING/Savings/Money Market/CD whatever something short, accessible
3) 401K maxed to full employeer match
4) Roth IRA
5) Remaining 401K till it is MAXED
6) Other investments such as stock... mutual funds, etc


I know you are sort of looking for the "get rich quick by going into an emerging market scheme" but look at the big picture, what if you lose all that $? Are you going to be happy/stable for the future

 

[untilted]

put it in a market index fund and forget about it.

you can't beat the market, consistently.

 

[untilted]

btw, read Burton Malkiel's "Random walk down wall street". every household should have a copy. very, very basic investment book.

 

[grimslade]

And whatever you invest it in, put it in a Roth IRA if you're below the income limits. Contributions can be removed at any time without penalty, and income can be withdrawn (within limits) for events like buying a house. You should max out your Roth contributions before you think about a taxable investment or mutual-fund account.

 

[gnatty8]

Originally Posted by untilted

btw, read Burton Malkiel's "Random walk down wall street". every household should have a copy. very, very basic investment book.

Yes.

If one wants to go further, Fooled by Randomness by Nassem Taleb. It doesn't address "fund managers" so much as hedge funds, but it is illuminating, and one of the reasons I never invest in managed funds.

 

[indesertum]

max out your roth ira and use it to invest in spider ETFs. SPY would be your best bet. http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/20...ors-the-young/ read random walk through wall street. i think the calculation comes out to $1.5 mill after 20 years of $2000 roth ira invested every year with 10% interest. edit: lulz did not know this was thread necro by spambot

 

[kruze]

Honestly with 600 bucks, it isn't much and don't expect to make anything big. Best bet for you is to open up a Roth IRA. Just throw it in there. Then continuously deposit funds into it on a weekly, biweekly, or monthly basis until you have enough to invest in a mutual fund. There is a 5 year vesting period with a Roth IRA which shouldn't really matter if you are young. I suggest any money you put in an IRA or 401k you leave untouched. So if you really need this $600 bucks in the near future, open a brokerage account with [insert name]trade, and invest in **** through there instead. At least you will be able to pull out when you need to at anytime. As someone mentioned above, you really can't go wrong with an index fund. Expenses are typically low, and over the long term they perform well. It'd probably be worth it, if you are serious, to speak with an investment advisor in your local area. But with this small amount of money, just play conservative until you save more and get more comfortable with the whole investing idea.

 

[mickey711]

Originally Posted by gnatty8

Yes.

If one wants to go further, Fooled by Randomness by Nassem Taleb. It doesn't address "fund managers" so much as hedge funds, but it is illuminating, and one of the reasons I never invest in managed funds.

Seconded. Nassim Taleb's books are always an entertaining read. I also recommend "When Genius Failed: The Rise and Fall of Long-Term Capital Management" by Roger Lowenstein.

Originally Posted by dacia1300

I did give proper disclosure there, really risky but the upside is pretty impressive.

I think it'd be more prudent for him to invested in an IRA or ETF instead, given the relatively limited funds he has. ETFs are quite cheap and the expenses are usually lower than index funds, although the brokerage commissions will lower your returns.

 

[mickey711]

By the way, you might want to try practicing investing with Kapitall, which provides a great introduction to the basics of trading stocks, mutual funds, ETFs, etc.

 

[Cavalier]

I am surprised so many people here are not in actively managed funds. I guess I am one of the few get fleeced on fees by UBS and actively managed funds.

I do recommend others to passively invest, unfortunately I have a problem following my own advice

 

[MrNick]

Originally Posted by Toad

I actually think investing in a foreign currency at this point isn't such a great idea. You want to buy low, sell high. Right now, the dollar isn't worth that much. It's probably not going to get that much worse than it is right now. Long term, it's more likely you'd lose money with such an investment. Now's actually the time foreigners want to convert their money into US dollars since they can get them for so cheap.
Long term the dollar is ****. You cannot increase the money supply this much without a currency crisis. All while nations are showing signs of getting away from the dollar and a plan to have a different reserve currency. Within 20 years the dollar will not be used for the reserve currency. The time to get out of the dollar was back in March when it hit 89 on the dollar index, now besides small movements up we'll see a long term decline in it's value due to inflation and being dumped by other nations. Unless we drastically reduce the money supply and have a sound fiscal policy the dollar will be in decline as nations move to more safe currencies.

max out your roth ira and use it to invest in spider ETFs. SPY would be your best bet.

ETF's aren't good long term plays because of fees and lower returns.

 

[fiasco]

i am an investment noob and would like to invest about a grand.

so is roth ira the best thing for me to start with? i dont really know how it works.

i was thinking about investing in amd and some penny stocks?