Stock Markets Exposed - I am thinking of investing in stocks. Any advice, warnings, or suggestions?

I am thinking of investing in stocks. Any advice, warnings, or suggestions?

I already invest in other places that are stable for retirment but would like to start researching stocks and possibly investing. Where is the best place to do research? What should I look for in a good stock? How do I get to the e*trade game that might give me some practice? What is the best way to limit the risks involved in stocks? What is the best place to purchase stocks?

Public Comments

Stear clear of the plethora of internet sites that promise outlandish gains. Do a sanity check by applying simple math to their claims: they would own the world in no time if they actually generated the returns they promise.
stock investing involves lots of risk,in stock investing the idea is to buy low sell high,remember the market is at all time highs,gravity is always a factor http://stock-investing-info.com/
CNBC.COM is running the Million dollar portfolio challenge. You play with fake money, but the winners are paid in real money. Yahoo finance can be used to help research stocks and mutual funds. The Motley Fools have good advice and various stock pickers. I would just pick stocks and keep track of them on a spread sheet for a while to see how well you do without actually spending real money.
I'd start by reading Peter Lynch's Beating the Street or One Up on Wall St. and then read Benjamin Grahm's Intelligent Investor. Then give it a go (I'd use Scottrade) Instead of etrade use CAPS for practice: http://caps.fool.com/ My advice: Trust your instrincts Do the opposite of what your gut tells you as often as possible Do the opposite of Wall Street Don't listen to Wall Street, do your own thing The goal here is to buy a good stock when everyone else won't touch it, including the street. Good underlying fundamentals and management, but beaten down for whatever reason. Note here, you need to be able to distinguish a good value, from a garbage stock you should not touch....if you can learn to do that, and buy when no one else wants it....you'll hit it. My note about the street: these are some of the greediest people around out to make a buck....do you think they would give you their advice without using it 1st? no - once they use their advice, that drives the price up, because they control so many shares, and it is too late. You gotta go opposite of them to win. One last advice - keep a journal of what you bought and why, and what happened after....to learn from your mistakes, you will make them, but if you can learn from them and make them less frequent you will win.
I don't know about the E-trade game, but I use the "fantasy portfolio " site: http://www.top10traders.com/ There are about 1400 people in it and you can trade your own $ 100,000. portfolio... see where you stand, and observe other traders portfolios, too. As far as limiting risk, that's what " diligence" is about...you have to find sites with info... ( moneycentral/msn posts articles from about 10 different " financial" papers) One other thing is to KNOW what it is you are buying... do not jump at every " high-flyer" ...find some stable stocks you know a little about... invest in areas that you can foresee some steady growth... Where to invest? Where are your other investments? If they're not with a broker ( maybe real estate or CD's ) ...go on-line to Fidelity or E-trade...applications are easy...send a deposit... you've got a portfolio account to trade from!! Think about making your account an IRA account, also, if you haven't already taken care of that.
If I was starting over again I would NOT begin by investing in individual stocks. It simply is a lot harder to pick individual stocks then most beginners really understand. Instead I would go to Vanguard.com and look at their list of ETFs (exchange traded funds). Then I would take my initial investment and spread it over 3-4 ETFs in different sectors which have had good performance. I have found this method to be very rewarding and much less stressful then trying to pick individual stocks.
I suggest you to open a brokerage account at Zecco. It takes decades of practice. You don't have to look for anything (That's my job) Seach "Stop Order" in a Financial Dictionary. This will limit your losses to 20% or 10% or whatever risk you can take. I suggest you to hire me as your Portfolio Manager. If you don't know what you are doing you could lose some money.