[size=30pt]THERE IS NO FINANCIAL ADVICE IN THIS THREAD[/size] only ideas and thought provoking conversation if you truly need help go to finra.com and find a financial professional in your area all investment related topics please post ITT. short-term, long-term, IRAs, 401ks, brokerage accts, analyst projections, twitters you follow, your personal positions, whatever! i'll go ahead and start since i opened my first brokerage account today i am considering my first equity purchase in the next few weeks, here's my overall strategy ... Objective capital appreciation Time Horizon 3-5 years Risk Tolerance moderate to aggressive Investment Amount $1000 Stocks I'm Considering Verizon, AT&T, GE, BofA, Ford, Citi Philosophy the money i'm investing is somewhere between short-term to intermediate term use. i could forsee the use of these funds towards a significant purchase (like a home) and with the combination of other funds like savings. that may sound risky for individual stocks, the money i have to invest is set aside from my current savings goals, so i am willing to let it ride a bit, hoping to see returns much greater than savings accts or CDs. i am trying to minimize my risk to capital by investing in Fortune 500 type companies w/ long track records of profitability & dividends, but are undervalued in the current market. my only problem with those types of companies generally have higher prices, i would love to purchase some Exxon Mobil right now since it's very low, but there are companies w/ solid yields that i could purchase and acquire far more shares (which is why i've focused on a company like GE). in terms of BofA, Ford, Citi, i'm thinking with a little more of a "growth" strategy in mind. based on recent history i find those to be a bit speculative, but i'm confident none of those falls to zero at any point (be it through gov't intervention or actual good business). so ideally, i'd but about 75% of my funds towards a less risky blue-chip w/ good dividends, and maybe swing for the fences a bit with the last 25% where i can pick up a good amount of shares ... that's my strategy and i'm sticking to it ... unless you have something better. i'll hang up and listen
Really only have a Roth IRA set up right now (I am 22). Have been putting in $20 a month or 50% of paychecks when I have worked at places. Currently sitting at roughly $15,000 in there (I opened it my freshmen year in college) and hoping to contribute to the limit when I start work full time. Do need to start consider investing in other investments to diversify my portfolio and definitely interested in this thread.
Yeah I am pleased with it and although not getting much put in there this summer due to just studying for the CPA exam all summer, I think it is a nice amount before hoping to put in max contributions of $5,000. As if I rise quickly enough, I may not be eligible for the Roth into my later 20s or early 30s. Probably will start looking at some funds that are a tad more aggressive, and look to try and buy low and hope for the market to make a nice turn around. Although not sure how far off that still is from happening.
I have a really aggressively invested 403b (I am only 30 and will not retire until 55) and it dropped 1200 last quarter and has already gained 2300 this quarter. I am going to go with less and less risk every 5 years or so. Question -- I would like to sock some money away for 18 years or so........would like capital appreciation......and would like to add a good thousand or more per year to the account/fund. Any ideas?
Yeah I am one of the most fortunate people that I know, give my parents credit for a lot. My parents have paid for tuition, room and board and food throughout college. So I have been able to work and not have to pay for expenses outside of alcohol and books. Which is only an expense two times a year. My freshman year talked about investing and did all the research and my parents said they would match $.50 on the dollar. So I wound up having $7,500 ($5,000 on my own) and have just made an effort to keep depositing money. Certainly something that I am thankful for.
I'm just trying to get my debt paid off by end of 2011. Between car and student loans its like 30-35k. I have an IRA with a grand or two in it, its been performing pretty damn well. My brokerage account has like 2-3k in it. And I can't comment on of the stocks you are considering but a good list.
Woodrow: Buy, sell! Buy, sell! Buy, sell! Funny money, boo-bah! Kate Hudson: Wow. That sounded important.. Woodrow: Yeah. That's Wall Street stuff. I'm sorry about that.
I'm by no means any kind of authority on investments, but I've got some GE stock in my IRA. It's nice that the cash from the dividends pays off my annual fees and such so I never have to worry about it.
this thread is of interest to me...I plan on beginning to invest at the end of the year..All extra cash is going towards upgrading my living situation..once i have it the way i want it im going to be all about it.
I'd stay away from BofA. I really don't think ML and BofA is a good fit and would stay away until something gives.
Are you in college, or are you working? I would suggest putting all of your money in a 401k and Roth IRA if I were you. You can put up to $20.5k in a year between the two. If you can invest more than that more power to you though.
It is my advice that no one should be investing outside of Roth's or 401k unless they have disposable income after maxing those out. Tax reasons mostly.
So how about an explanation for investment ignorant peopleregarding a Roth IRA. What is it and what are it's advantages/disadvantages?
In short IRA's and 401k's allow you to put money in and you aren't taxed on it. You are penalized if you take it out early. Essentially it is for retirement, but there are also some other things it can do tax wise. Also, I am a big fan of investing in stocks that have solid dividends and then reinvesting it into that stock.
Personally I would say investing in FNM is gonna be a cash cow. They obviously have been prison raped beyond belief but the fact remains FNM can never go under because its controlled by the fed govt per se. Two years ago 1 share was selling for $57 and its now down to $0.31... it may take 20 years to climb back up to even half of what it was initially selling for 2 years ago but if you buy $1000 dollars worth of FNM thats gonna be 3,129 shares ( with the loss of $30 for purchasing the shares ), it goes up to just say $23.50 you're starring at $73,531.50
On a side note, my neighbor from home rang the bell at the NYSE this AM. He's 22/23 and is working for his Uncle's ETP. They just launched the fund not too long ago. My neighbor is going to be http://www.thestreet.com/story/10803206/1/teucrium-trading-llc-to-ring-nyse-opening-bell-on-july-12-2010.html?cm_ven=GOOGLEFI
Roth you put money in after taxes & are generally not taxed at withdrawal. Standard IRA you put $ in pre-tax & you are taxed at withdrawal time.
IMO w/ 18 years that's too long term to try and play the market, for capital appreciation i would say just use a big index mutual fund. unless you really know what's up it may be tough to beat the market 18 years. but it's reasonable to expect the market 18 years from now to be higher ... substantially higher (based on historical info). i think one debate you may have to think on is whether to go IRA or non-IRA, 18 years you are 48 & still a ways away from accessing your IRA funds w/o incurring a penalty. is 18 on the high side or the low side?
This. So if you put in $20 grand after tax money in a Roth and it grew to $100,000 when you retired, you could take out the entire $100,000 tax free since you already paid taxes on the $20 grand. So you would have paid about $5 grand of taxes on $100,000 which is only 5%. Problem is that if you make over a certain amount (not sure the limit), you can't do a Roth. However, in 2010 there is a 1 time exemption for anyone to convert any IRA into a Roth as long as you pay the taxes on it in 2010. For example, someone who makes more than the Roth limit, but has a regular IRA worth $30 grand could pay $10 grand in taxes this year, but then that money would now continue to grow as a Roth and when it's worth about $150 grand at retirement, you only had to pay $10 grand of tax total on the $150 grand. That's only 7.5%. When you take out money for a regular IRA at retirement, you would most likely be taking it out at about 15-20% tax rate because that would be your tax bracket at that time.
Roth is almost always better that standard. I have mutual funds of CIBCX and GFACX. Why do I love these mutual funds? I'll tell you why. For CIBCX, -weighted more in favor to international mkts. -the expense ratio is decent. The cost of owning this isn't too too expensive. -EXTREMELY diverse...Consumer goods make up 17% of holdings, Finance 16%, energy 10%, utilities 10%...solid upside -the 3 yr return before I got in was like 35%! Just buying as many shares as I can, bc when the market returns to Bull, this fund will be running on all cylinders. The BETA (gay word for how the stock/mutual fund moves with the market) is great. I'm exactly where the market is. I've invested like 2500 bucks....and I have 2500 today. GFACX -heavy in US stocks -industrial materials makes up 17% holdings, healthcare 13%, Finance 12%, energy 10%...technology 23% (that's where i'm gonna make my money) -This fund is almost kamikaze. Risky as hell. I'm 23 so I'll be able to stomach the losses if there are any. With any fund in this market, I'd look for: -Large Caps (because these companies worth $50 Billion aren't going to be down forever. Buy them cheap -Heavy on the American holdings -funds that lean towards technology or consumer holdings I'm studying for the CPA exam. And feel like i should disclaim my opinion. "The preceding paragraph is for informational and entertainment purposes only".
this is good advice. this isn't for retirement, rather something I have planned for my daughter when she turns 25. My retirement savings is good, I am saving like crazy there and I have a 529ESP for her college.......
Another difference is that a Roth IRA can have up to $10,000 of earnings (in addition to contributions) withdrawn for 1st time home purchase. Helps out if you are not sure whether to save for a house or retirement. You don't really have to make that determination when you invest through a Roth IRA.
i think you almost have to go non-IRA if this is the case, since a generous gift to your daughter is not a reason to access IRA funds early. still like index mutual funds ... or actively managed ones w/ low expense ratios, but diverse and spread across many sectors. supposedly it helps reduce risk (except in years like 08 when everything sucks). makes sense in theory IMO ... one thing i would say is that w/ a 10 to 20 year time frame your risk threshold may reduce. still reasonable in my opinion to expect the markets to be up, but since you are going non-IRA you will have the funds accessible if you need it. i would not rule out more conservative investments, if for any reason you can forsee the need of these funds. this is an example that really gives me headaches when thinking about what to with "intermediate" savings. is it enough time to play or do you look for reasonable rates that will beat inflation w/o risking your capital as much? consider this: Vanguard Total Bond Market Index (huge bond fund, tracks ovr US mkt) 5 yr return: 5.48% 10 yr return: 6.2% since inception in '86: 6.91% Vanguard Total Stock Market Index (huge stock fund, tracks ovr US mkt) 5 yr return: -.28% 10 yr return: -.81% since inception in '92: 7.4% tough to say which looks better IMO ...
it's a good time to be taking a stab at the market, no fucking doubt. so many plays you can make simply if you're a proponent of "buy low, sell high." AIG is up around $35 a share that one woulda been so easy ... i know the gov't won't let Fannie die but do you think they pop up a little more quickly than 20 years? ideally i won't be keeping these funds invested that long. i feel like a hypocrite saying that because i normally subscribe to the theory that stocks are a long-term investment ...
yup and i have to say i am in favor of Verizon. PE ratio heavily in their favor, div yield slightly ahead, EPS forecasted similarly. i think technology is on their side as well. competing at the top w/o iPhones, plus dominating the Android mkt, assuming the add the iPhone by 2011 is there any way they don't establish themselves firmly on top? IMO it's already the better "perceived" network as well ...
i am very fortunate like you as well, so i may look into starting some sort of contributions like this soon as well. is it very common at all for students to start saving in a retirement account? im going home in a couple of weeks and going to thoroughly go through all my student loan stuff and other stuff with my dad and he's going to help me out with some advice
can only invest in an IRA (retirement) if you have earned income (first rule). so you need to have some part time work to be eligible. i'm not a student but IMO you can't start early enough wrt to retirement savings ...
I'm going to have to be the minority here, and say that cell phone companies just don't have anymore room for growth. Virtually everyone already has a cell phone and brand loyalty to either ATT or Verizon. This battle of mkt share between these 2 isn't going to change. They don't have anyone left to sell to, bc they've already sold to everyone. Their plan rates are almost identical. I don't know ab customer service, but I'm willing to bet that just as many people leave Verizon for billing disputes and people leave ATT for billing disputes. ATT has the Iphone. Verizon has the Droid, with Iphone in 2011. (short term that looks decent but nothing substantive, bc the increase in Price per Share will be based purely on speculation of a great 1st quarter). They've reached their ceilings, and the only way to steal mkt share is to win the price war. Neither company is dumb enough to start a price war.
interested in this thread. Graduating and starting work at end of Summer and want to start investing right away. Was going to start an IRA as soon as possible
It isn't common for all students to look into a retirement account as most students are broke and don't have the luxury of ourselves. Not to mention non finance majors don't know shit about early contributions to retirement so that doesn't help them. However after my senior year of high school I started researching and knew I wanted to start investing right away for my retirement. I worked since my junior year of high school so I had earned income. After that I made the call for a Roth in which I invested the maximum since then as I wasn't able to invest all $7,500 due to contribution limits. Just put some in a CD and then reinvested the limit again the next year and so forth. I would invest as soon as possible as this market is good to buy stuff low at. When my stuff goes up, I should be in good position.
if someone can figure out how to make bank of off powerbalance wristbands... do it. I promise it wont hurt.
Best advice anyone ever gave me was to start investing part of my paycheck to my 401k right from the start. It's a lot harder to try and take away 15% of your paycheck after you got used to having that disposable income. You don't miss what you never had.
any type of IRA you must have earned income, if you don't you're not allowed to use one. can't be gifts from parents or income from passive sources. earned income = payment for services rendered ...
in terms of a 'value' buy do you think both qualify? i'm gonna do one or the other, not principally because i think one is better, but because both have good earnings/dividends for their price. if i have to pick a distinguishing factor though, Verizon seems to have the advantage technology wise ... it looks like ATT has been trading at a higher volume as well. i don't wanna look at that as a factor too much though, since i'm not a "technical" trader ...
If you fall within the max conrtibutions of a Roth IRA put the max contribution into that account. The max limit for a hosuehold making less than $105,000 per year is $5,000. Eliminating your tax liability down the road is huge. What brokerage companies do y'all use? Just starting to get some serious money and am trying to figure out which one is best
Started with a simple savings account from BOA, but I will look into that Roth IRA if I keep my job through this next school year and definitely when I can get a legit job after grad school next fall I will target some big time investing.
Also, while you're younger and don't have any dependents take on a decent amount of risk. For one, no one is counting on you to put food on the table if you lose some and if you do lose some you have a lot of time to make it back.