5 simple steps to stock investing with less risk.

[Philp1000]

1. Learn about the various types of investments.

2. Invest in a broadly diversified portfolio of low-cost ETFs (exchange traded funds) and index funds.

3. Don’t try to beat the market; participate in it.

4. If you want to try investing in stocks, set aside a small percentage of your portfolio

5.Take the risk by investing the money and watch how your dividend increase.

[sv2007]

If people need to know those 5 simple steps, which IMO lack details to help the novice while at the same time, are too simple for the experienced. Here;s something people can bite into:


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[james.hendrickson]

Sv, do you have a viewpoint on Sandile Shezi?

[sv2007]

Sv, do you have a viewpoint on Sandile Shezi?

I don't know what that is.

[Moolah22]

I don't know about that one too

[rdevansii]

1. Learn about the various types of investments.

2. Invest in a broadly diversified portfolio of low-cost ETFs (exchange traded funds) and index funds.

3. Don’t try to beat the market; participate in it.

4. If you want to try investing in stocks, set aside a small percentage of your portfolio

5.Take the risk by investing the money and watch how your dividend increase.

Thank you for the tips!

[johnscott]

Very simple yet effective steps to stock investing with less risk. Stock investment can be very rewarding and profitable, but you have to know what you are doing before investing in stocks.

[clatoden99]

This is how I trade in stocks with a fixed and defined risk.

Use stock options as an alternative to speculate and profit from a stocks rise or fall.[1]

Nice and simple.

How do you use stock options to profit from a stocks movement?

Assuming you have picked your stock and will profit from the stock moving in your favoured direction THEN I would place my trade using stock options.

This method replaces what you might do traditionally with stocks, CFDs futures or spreadbetting

With my preferred trading method I typically like to buy 1 strike OTM

If I am bullish I will buy a Call
If I am bearish I will buy a put
You will need to consider how much time you need as well. I am short term swing trading and typically I will be in an out in around 10–12 days. I like to have a some time in the bank if things do not move my way immediately.

As such I like to use options with around 45-days to expire.

With stock options you can have expirations are far out as 2 years so there is literally something for everyones time horizon.

[Gaston]

I think the OP didn't aim to school newbies about that they should do to be successful in investing. You still gotta learn a lot so the author just laid out a few basics so that they know where to start reading and researching.

[Gailete]

I think the OP didn't aim to school newbies about that they should do to be successful in investing. You still gotta learn a lot so the author just laid out a few basics so that they know where to start reading and researching.

Actually I think real newbies to investing would find that list confusing at best. Partly because it uses lingo that a newbie wouldn't know or understand, as have had a few other posters. For non-newbies they probably already have their system down flat whether it works or not. For newbies, I would suggest subscribing to a magazine such as Money to help learn what is going on in the investment/finance field. Read and study it and for each question that comes to you, spend the time studying up on it until you understand it. Follow what the 'gurus' are saying. That doesn't mean you have to follow them, you need to go research if they know what they are actually talking about. Don't trust anyone until you have proved to yourself that they know what they are talking about.

As a newbie, I knew one thing, I couldn't afford to make mistakes nor could I afford to invest in something 'safe'. I was looking at retirement square in the eye with nothing put aside for those days. In the last 15 years on a miniscule income, we have set aside money that with growth is now worth $34K. Retirement isn't nearly as scary when that number was zero!

One of the things I read many years ago was to invest in something that you know. Not so much like you know it because you work there, but you know it because it is headquartered nearby and so you are hearing the news about them first hand and not having to wait until the magazines or internet news grabs the story. Or it is your favorite product, that sort of thing. My very first stock investment was with a nearby company and I was doing GOOD with it. Unfortunately it was a family run company and the last CEO had no children to pass it on to and so it was sold. During the sale, those of us with shares in the company where paid off instead of changing our shares into those of the new company and so then I had to go looking for my next company(s). I got stock in a company that has a major plant in our nearby city (our rental tenant works for them), the bank I bank with which is a small regional bank, a utility that we use makes me feel like I get a rebate on some of what I have to pay them, my favorite candy maker (most of that purchase has more than doubled!). Having the stocks I use be personal to me makes investing so much more fun and interesting and I have been averaging about 27%+ on those purchases over the years I have had them. I also insisted that for us I wanted dividends to help make the amount of our holdings go up even when we can't invest at that time. I made the mistake of buying into a company that I didn't know personally although everything looked great, I sold it two years later and even with the dividends that had been paid and reinvested, I lost $2 plus the opportunity cost of not having that money free to invest.

So for the OP, yes I agree with the concept learn what you can, even if it means asking the librarian at your local library for a kids book on investing. You are in charge of what you are doing not someone else (unless you have a spouse that wants that job). Learn everything you can and make decisions for yourself. If you have done your research, your 'guess' will probably be as good as any stockbrokers.

[John Thomas]

Hello

Your tips are stock marketing investing tips really beneficial for the beginners . Before investing, it is important to know the purpose and the likely time in the future you may have need of the funds.

[Sammydabullz]

If your gonna give advice to a newbie about stock investing. Tell them to buy stock of the company they work for. Some companies offer stock buying programs to their employees so that buying their stock is easy and fee free. And besides you tend to know a lot about the company you work for making investing in your company feel great. Most newbies find themselves overwhelmed with choosing from over 5,000 traded securities to invest in.

[Gailete]

If your gonna give advice to a newbie about stock investing. Tell them to buy stock of the company they work for. Some companies offer stock buying programs to their employees so that buying their stock is easy and fee free. And besides you tend to know a lot about the company you work for making investing in your company feel great. Most newbies find themselves overwhelmed with choosing from over 5,000 traded securities to invest in.

I think some employees of some large companies would dispute that at this point. Especially those that had ALL their savings and retirement money in their company stocks, plus their living expenses are from their work at the company. One for instance is Enron I believe.

[disneysteve]

If your gonna give advice to a newbie about stock investing. Tell them to buy stock of the company they work for. Some companies offer stock buying programs to their employees so that buying their stock is easy and fee free. And besides you tend to know a lot about the company you work for making investing in your company feel great.

This isn't necessarily bad advice but needs to be done with a great deal of caution. You never want more than about 10% of your portfolio in one company, and when that company is the one you work for, it probably shouldn't exceed 5% of your portfolio.

This used to be a big problem years ago when companies were allowed to pay the 401k match in company stock. Employees ended up with huge chunks of their retirement accounts tied up in the company. Look up what happened to Enron or IBM to see why that's a bad idea.

Now if your company has a good Employee Stock Purchase plan, that can be a great deal. Many allow you to buy the stock at a discounted price and only require you to hold it for a short time before you can sell it at market price. I know people who have done very well with that.