IRA stock investment

[jeffmem]

Hi guys, I worry I will get beamed again here, but... here we go...

For many years I have had about $2050 in my IRA account, yes, it is really low, because I put money in in college and then moved overseas, then finding out if I take the FEIE I cannot put money in my IRA, so... There it sits for so many years. But I cannot find any regulation that I cannot use that money to trade within the IRA. It is a traditional IRA. I would like to ask which company would probably offer the best return and safest bet for 10-20 years? I would really really very much like to turn that 2050 into 100k or more. I think it is possible, but I have to choose the right company. Looking through the boards I like FVRR and TSLA, but TSLA is unpredictable. Or perhaps an ETF like QQQ, or ARKK, but I am reluctant to hold either of those for the long run... Apple was also an idea, but I am hesitate..

[disneysteve]

You can definitely trade stocks within an IRA as long as you're with a company that offers that option. And if not, you can always move it to another company that does. I have IRAs at Schwab and Vanguard and have traded in both of them.

[rennigade]

What disneysteve said. Why do you want to buy tsla or fvrr? Because one or two people on here bought it before it skyrocketed and made a lot of money on paper in a short amount of time?

[cypher1]

Does it have to be only individual stocks? With a time frame of 10-20 years, have you considered index funds like VTSAX (Total US) or VFIAX (S&P500), or Fidelity's FSKAX/FXAIX (not sure if those are the equivalents to Vanguards offhand).

[jeffmem]

Disney - I am with TDAmeritrade, so I know they allow it. The problem is because I am not in the US, so I cannot contribute, but nothing I read says I can't trade with the IRA being overseas, so.. I will, and I should, and I should have long ago...

Renni - TSLA..... I don't know.... I just... don't know.. Is it high? Is it low? I mean.. . from one minute to the next no one knows... It's a gamble.. FVVR probably a safer option.

Cypher - I prefer an individual stock. But... I will check the ones you mentioned.

[cypher1]

Renni - TSLA..... I don't know.... I just... don't know.. Is it high? Is it low? I mean.. . from one minute to the next no one knows... It's a gamble.. FVVR probably a safer option.

You should definitely listen to Singuy on this forum as the SME on TSLA and direction that company is going, if you haven't already.

[jeffmem]

Cypher, yes, I agree, but TSLA's valuation at present would take 1000 years to catch up... It's way over priced, yet... maybe not.. but at current levels I feel it is just way over priced.. I am tossed to be honest... I bought then sold TSLA today, I took a few dollars loss because I think the company is over valued. But it is hard to value it.. I trust Singuy, but the current price is way above what most people got in at at this point, he would make money no matter what. I trust that LT TSLA will probably do quite well, but they need to catch up a bit. I see calls for TSLA at $250 or below now, some speculations is even down to $20. I was thinking SHOP too, but I haven't done any checking yet, not sure if it is overvalued too, for LT I don't worry as much, but I still want to buy stocks cheaper.

[cypher1]

Cypher, yes, I agree, but TSLA's valuation at present would take 1000 years to catch up... It's way over priced, yet... maybe not.. but at current levels I feel it is just way over priced.. I am tossed to be honest... I bought then sold TSLA today, I took a few dollars loss because I think the company is over valued. But it is hard to value it.. I trust Singuy, but the current price is way above what most people got in at at this point, he would make money no matter what. I trust that LT TSLA will probably do quite well, but they need to catch up a bit. I see calls for TSLA at $250 or below now, some speculations is even down to $20. I was thinking SHOP too, but I haven't done any checking yet, not sure if it is overvalued too, for LT I don't worry as much, but I still want to buy stocks cheaper.

Gotcha. To summarize, it simply sounds like you're more open to a more aggressive strategy with individual stocks, of turning 2050 to 100k within 10-20yrs. But if you're looking for only one company to offer the best return and safest best for that time frame, that will be the challenge.

That's why I stick to index funds and ETFs instead of focusing on individual companies.

[disneysteve]

It's way over priced, yet... maybe not.. but at current levels I feel it is just way over priced..
I bought then sold TSLA today, I took a few dollars loss because I think the company is over valued.

I would highly recommend you stop buying individual stocks.

[bjl584]

I would find a good quality mutual fund or ETF. Maybe an index fund.
A provider like Vanguard or Fidelity can link you up with an advisor.
Invest regularly up to the max allowed and forget about individual stocks until you have a better handle on what you are doing

[jeffmem]

Disney - I will never stop buying individual stocks, the return on the winners outdoes the losers by so far. I make mistakes, yes, but individual companies will always offer more return than a MF or ETF in my opinion if the right ones are chosen. There are some good ETFs and things out there also, but for only 2k an ETF is probably not going to return 100k in 10-20 years.

BJ, There are a few yes. I cannot invest regularly as I explained in my original post, I have 2k to invest in my IRA and that number cannot change unless I get returns big enough to split the cash between more stocks.

[kork13]

I would highly recommend you stop buying individual stocks.

x1,000,000,000

I totally get it. Buying/selling stocks can be fun, a rush, a challenge, and all of the things. But you're simply too ephemeral. To succeed with investing, you need a plan, you need knowledge & research, and you need patience.

Until you are doing that, my only recommendation to you would be to invest exclusively in a basic S&P 500 mutual fund (VFINX) or ETF (VOO). Anything else right now is simply irresponsible & aimless.

[jeffmem]

Kork I have no idea what your definition of success is, but I think I have been successful in trading stocks as I have earned quite a bit of money despite the losses you saw in another post. I am not new or blind to trading, I made some mistakes yes, but I have done well. This website is about advice, and thus why I was asking, but right now I am starting to feel that you guys think I am a complete amateur which I am not. Yes, I have more to learn, but so do many others, but that should not deter one from investing in stocks. I also do not think all investing needs a complete plan. Research is necessary, I agree, and patience as well. And actually I do have patience, but like many users here also sold or bought stocks without thinking. If you had seen my portfolio before March you would have a completely different image. But since then I have not been so careful, that is my mistake. I am not going to invest in MF and ETFs exclusively and x100000000000000000 times disagree. Although I appreciate your suggestions on buying MF and ETFs, I refuse to do this exclusively, as I feel there is no need to fear. I would like to see more people talk about their mistakes like I have rather than just say they are successful, but that rarely happens. Perhaps I shouldn't be so open...

[kork13]

I understand that you feel that way, and you're welcome to ignore my opinions -- at least my opinion, you're not paying for (unlike the MF stock picks, which are just the old brokerage house hot stock sheet from the 80s/90s reimagined). I'm just advocating for a deliberate, steady approach to investing, rather than trying to find the "next hot stock." We all have made plenty of mistakes, but success comes out of learning from those mistakes, not trying to repeat them.

The danger in asking for advice is that sometimes you'll get it.... Regardless of if it's what you want to hear or not.

[disneysteve]

Kork I have no idea what your definition of success is, but I think I have been successful in trading stocks as I have earned quite a bit of money despite the losses you saw in another post. I am not new or blind to trading, I made some mistakes yes, but I have done well. This website is about advice, and thus why I was asking, but right now I am starting to feel that you guys think I am a complete amateur which I am not. Yes, I have more to learn, but so do many others, but that should not deter one from investing in stocks. I also do not think all investing needs a complete plan. Research is necessary, I agree, and patience as well. And actually I do have patience, but like many users here also sold or bought stocks without thinking. If you had seen my portfolio before March you would have a completely different image. But since then I have not been so careful, that is my mistake. I am not going to invest in MF and ETFs exclusively and x100000000000000000 times disagree. Although I appreciate your suggestions on buying MF and ETFs, I refuse to do this exclusively, as I feel there is no need to fear. I would like to see more people talk about their mistakes like I have rather than just say they are successful, but that rarely happens. Perhaps I shouldn't be so open...

Unfortunately, on an internet forum like this, all we know about someone is what they've chosen to post. That may give a completely inaccurate view of their actual situation but it's all we've got to go on.

In this thread and your other stock thread, your posts read (to me, at least) as someone who doesn't really have a good handle on what they're doing. Limited research, no solid investment plan regarding when to buy and when to sell a stock. Taking advice from a newsletter. Unrealistic expectations. And no idea what their personal return has actually been. When asked how your overall portfolio has performed, you responded by saying how much money you've made. We don't know the size of your portfolio so saying you made 50K has no context. What has your average annual return been over the past 5 years? Do you know? That's the number that will determine how well you've been doing - not how many dollars you've made.

In this thread, you're looking for advice for a single stock that will grow from $2,000 to $100,000 in 10-20 years. It would require an average annual return of 30% for 15 years to hit that mark. I don't know if there is any stock that has met that criteria over the past 15 years and even if there has been, there's certainly no way to know which one will do it for the next 15 years. I think it's a wildly unrealistic expectation.

Have I made investing mistakes? Absolutely, and that's a big reason why I do very little stock trading. I've had some good wins but I've also had some lousy losses. That's how things go with stocks, which is why I almost exclusively stick to mutual funds and ETFs. I still hold some stocks, and I still buy now and then, but I use a very small percentage of our portfolio to play with.

Some people do really well with stocks. They put in many hours each week doing research, following company news, listening to conference calls, and seeking out as much information about their investments as possible. That's the way to succeed.

I'm going to bow out since our investing approaches are very, very different, so I don't think I have anything else useful to offer you, but I stand by what I've said in this thread and your other thread. Good luck to you.