I know nothing about investing but would like to start. How do I decide what to invest in?
101274
research is the key. read bobbrinker.com as your start point.. he lists good books to read as well as a fine investment education section.
1076880
Nowaday's there are alot of basic how-to's on investing. I suggest taking a financial accounting course at a local college (audit it) to attaina more thorough understanding.
1000859
You did not specify the type of help you require.  Your first step should be to reads a couple of books on investing. You first need to understand some of the concepts.  \n\nFor those who wish to participate in the stock market but do not wish to spend a great deal of time doing the necessary research to investigate which stocks to buy, there are mutual funds.  They are a good method if you first determine which mutual funds have a good track record in both bull and bear markets.  The internet will provide you with all the information you need.
7682
I would suggest that you work with a professional broker or financial advisor - they can recommend funds & stocks that meet your needs.\n\nAsk someone you trust to recommend someone they trust.\n\nI know nothing about stocks & investing, but I've managed (on average) make some money (and not lose it) in stocks, _only_ becasue I have a broker who I can trust.
546035
Open an online brokerage account with Ameritrade, Scottrade, Tradeking etc and buy shares for say 2000 USD. Sell it after you have gained atleast twice of commission (say 10*2) by looking at ur balances every day. It may go down initially butdon't lose heart on that. It eventually will go up (2min, 2days, 2 years...). Stock investing is basically finding a safe stock which doesnot give you a loss after your waiting period and investing in it. \nTo a beginner like you a safe stock could be EWD
358597
None.  IMHO, you should start by learning how to invest, determining WHAT to buy through Fundamental Analysis and determining WHEN to buy with Technical Analysis. \n\nIMO, newsletters only make narrow recomendations based on their system of analysis and investment strategies, and often they are compensated heavily for their recomendations and therefore dangerously biased.   I firmly believe that to get a clear picture about any stock, and to determine whether you're actually going to invest in it, it's best to do your own research and adapt a system that meets your investment needs, style and risk level.  There are many stocks ripe for the picking just about at any time if you know how and where to look.\n\nStart with Investors.com, it's William O'Neil's online version of Investors Business Daily.  The How To Invest section is the best place to start learning the importance of Fundamentals and the basics of Technical Analysis.   The site has the IBD 100, a cross index list of the market leaders, the Stock Checkup, a great tool for checking fundamentals on any stock, and articles and analysis of stocks and general market conditions.  They also run various screens every day which in addition to the other lists, (IBD100, New America, stocks under $10, CANSLIM select, ect) are very helpful for finding investment ideas with solid Fundementals that are ready to move.  The CANSLIM method alone is a very successful and popular trading system, but I prefer to use a combination of Fund & Tech Analysis, rather that just the rating system alone.\n\nFrom there you can move on to more detailed study of Technical Analysis.  \n\nStart with StockCharts.com, they have an excellent free Chart School which helpfully explains various chart patterns and Technical Indicators and overlays.  Pay particular attention to the Chart Patterns section, and make sure you learn about Zig Zag patterns, Bollinger Bands, Moving Average, Volume, RSI, the MACD (Mac-D), The Williams %er, Stochastics, and the Chaikin Money Flow.  Sounds complicated, but when you start chart reading you'll want about a half a dozen or so of these overlays and indicators.  I personally rely heavily on the ZIG-ZAG, MACD, Chaikin Money Flow, Volume, Moving Average and RSI.\n\nStockTA.com is also an excellent Technical Analysis site, with charted Fibonacci resistance and support lines and will tell you if the stock is bullish or bearish in the short, medium and long run.  The site also has an extensive Candle Pattern Glossary and a fantastic technical screener.\n\nThe above sites do have premium services, but all the services I mentioned are free.  After you've absorbed some of the Technical information, do some reading on Fibonacci numbers and Elliot Wave theory, there are good links in the "School" section of StockTA.com.  I've been using Elliot Wave and Fibonacci's to help refine my in and out points.  StockCharts.com's "ZigZag" overlay helps me plot and count the waves and that helps determine where I am in the overall pattern.  \n\nSo basically I'll find interesting stocks through the screens on Investors.com or StockTA.com, run them through the Stock Checkup at Investors.com, if they measure up I'll run them through the Analyisis & Fib Analysis at StockTA.com and do an extensive chart study, examining the 2 yr, 1 yr, 6 mth, 3 mth, 1 mth & 5 day.  I'll also do my due dilligence, studying the profile, key statistics, headlines, etc. through Yahoo Finance and web searches.  If it all measures up and the stock is in a base or in a pull back and it's starting a wave 1 or wave 3, it's time to buy.\n\nRemember, always protect your downside with a stop loss or a trailing stop loss.  Once you have absorbed a few of the things I've mentioned, the fog will begin to lift and you'll start seeing which stocks should be bought or sold and you'll be able to do your own analysis on any stock, no matter where
479576
You have to decide if it is a good investment or not.\n\nI suggest you contact several licensed insurance agents in your state and tell them your wishes and needs.  Have them explain term insurance (which is geared toward covering a fixed amount of time - the "term") and permanent insurance (whole life, universal life and variable universal life).  You may also wish to contact one or more financial planners in your area to discuss your personal financial situation.\n\nDo not expect complete answers from a web forum.  You have not given full information about your financial position and needs.  I would not expect anyone to post that sensitive information on a website.\n\nBTW Jstmother's answer is a grave disservice to you and to the insurance world. It is very incomplete and misleading.
7455
If you wish to invest in stocks, study FA (Fundamental Analysis) to determine the financial qualities of a company and TA (Technical Analysis) to determine investor sentiment about the company.  Investopedia.com has a wealth of information including a dictonary for terms and acronyms and tutorials to get started.  Do your own Due Diligence and invest only in companies you thoroughly understand.  Invest only money you can afford to lose, not rent and food money.  Never stop learning about the stock market and you may gain 10-20% monthly; or lose even more.  Good luck.  Bye the way, you can set up your stock portfolio and follow it under Yahoo Finance and even create a dummy portfolio to "paper trade" stocks without using real money until you learn the ropes.  But the best lessons will come from using real money.  Always analyze good and bad trades to learn even more.  Best of luck.
637888
1. Figure out your aversion to risk...are you a person who would sweat a higher risk investment everyday?  If so, it isn't worth it.  \n2. Determine your goals (Making as much as possible without loosing it is not really a goal).  They need to be concrete, like I need $1.5M to retire...how much time do I have to invest?, what return do I need?, how much do I intend to invest additionally?  \n3. Sit down with a "Kiplinger's" (a magazine) for a few months and get a handle on what investments might make sense for you.  They list the best mutual funds monthly among plenty of other financial advice.  \n\nAfter you have done all of that prep work, you should have a good idea of what investments might fit into your plan.  \n\nThen you can go to a broker at a discount brokerage house.  You can listen to what they recommend but research it very thoroughly before you invest.  They do give biased advice sometimes.  The advantage is that making purchases and trades are generally cheaper (besides you've already done the hard work above...if you don't want to do the work, go to a full service broker or pay a financial planner he/she will do the work for you, for a fee)\n\nGood luck.
50052
Start with mutual funds. I suggest reading The Zacks Method and How to Make Money in Stocks. These books will teach you how to pick stocks on your own. I dont recommend following advice from magazines. Their picks tend to be old news by the time the magaine is printed.
6109
http://www.investopedia.com/\nwill give you all the info you will ever need and also give you use of there simulator so you can try what you have learned before you spend your own money.
188749
Everyone is different and as a result, different people look at different things before they purchase a stock.\n\nI suggest you get a book or five on stock market investing and start learning as much as you can if you want to become good at it.\n\nAnd by the way, companies that cater to people who invest in the stock market by selling them up-to-date information and analysis charge hefty fees for their services, so I wouldn't plan on doing this without a nice, big nest egg to begin with and a good job to back yourself up when things go against you and you lose some money.
601056
You may want to talk to a financial advisor and discuss investments that would help you meet your financial objectives. \n\nIf you are interested in individual stocks you may want to consider a hypothetical portfolio, on paper, in order to experience how difficult (proper) investment selection and diversification can be to achieve.
849279
If you just want to invest and have no input i'd put most into cash management and get say 6.5% interest (very low risk). I would also put some into shares ie. banks or strong companies that are low risk.\n\nIf this is a lot to you, you dont want to risk it....
909169
This question belongs in the Philosophy section.  Investing is about making money.  If you confuse the two, then you are asking for trouble.
131668
I started small, you might want to think about penny stocks, you can buy tons of shares, for hardly any money, but it is very risky. Make sure you have a comfortable amount saved first, then work on investing.
169203
First, I like to welcome you aboard.  Never too late or too early when it comes to investing. \n\nSecond, Let's talk business, and that business is stocks. \nI want you to diversify.  what do this guy mean by diversify?  Good question.  Split your asset into at least three to five different sectors.  For example, you can put some on Technolology, Pharmacuetical drug company, Financial, Retailer, and energy or oil refineries.\n\nFinally, research each of those sectors, and try to find a leader in each or everyone of them.  You can do this.  One of the way to look for is to read newspaper.  Investors Business Daily is good source to start.  I find them very useful compared to other newspaper like Wall Street Journal.\n\nKeep post your question if you need further help.\nBest of Luck from THINKMAAN.