Stock Markets Exposed

stock market?

ive done some stocks with fake money and real stock quotes for real tickers. i always end up making a profit. now my parents are going to give me some money to try it out. im in high school and dont have too much experience. how do successful investors research? im not asking who to invest with or how to make a profit for sure. im asking what i have to do on my own to pick the right investments.

Public Comments

1. Investing in "individual" stocks takes a lot of knowledge and practice; so I would not suggest doing this until you understand completely how the stock markets work. Vanguard.com is ideal for long term investors who want to learn about mutual funds, index funds, and exchange-traded-funds (ETFs). Trading funds is less risky than trying to trade "individual" stocks. Unless you plan on spending everyday of your life looking at stock charts trying to determine the best time to get in and out of "individual" stocks, I would look into some sort of fund. Also be very careful about asking for stock tips online. Most are probably worthless or contain unethical motives. Do not fall for any Pump-and-Dump scams. As far as books go, I actually started out with the Investing for Dummies books, and they definitely pushed me in the right direction. To many other books have their own agendas in my opinion. The websites below all contain plenty of FREE information to get you started in the right direction. Also understand that when you move from paper trading to real trading your emotions may cause you to do stupid things when real money is involved. You will never make the right picks 100% of the time; so you have to know when to cut your losses and simply move on. So make sure you learn how to use stop-loss orders and trailing stops.
2. If you go the ETF route it can (and usually is) subject to wilder swings than an individual stock. But it is safer than an individual stock because it can offset a bankrupt compnay much easier than the compnay stock. Investor Business Daily is a must read, Barrons is pretty good as well watch fast money and the fox saturday business block. Pay attention to areas they do NOT talk about.
3. Forget about mutual funds until you are older. Look at what products your HS friends are buying. Do they like the IPhone or some other type of phone. What cell phone service does your age group like and why? What is important to you and what companies are selling those type of hip products. Your age group is largely ignored by investors but you can get in early (before the big money does). Coorborate you thoughts with Yahoo Finance or some other broker site (like Ameritrade). Look at how much debt the company has, what the return on equity is, whether the stock is at a low or high - reminder: buy low and sell high
4. Doesn't sound like you have much confidence in your own paper trading picks. Try this: http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/TradingZoom/
5. Congratulations on getting funding. I use an on-line TD-Ameritrade brokerage. The transaction fees are only $10. I use technical analysis techniques to determine what stocks to buy and when to sell. The object is to pick stocks that have the highest probability of having a gain and if you are wrong, minimize you losses by selling before they become large losses. Do not be surprised if your performance is different with real money as emotions come more into play, especially if it is your own. For the last year the market has been bullish and it can be easy to pick stocks that continue in an upward trend. When a bear market starts, will you recognize it and know what to do? Check out yahoo group ComputerProgramPicks. Best of luck to you. Having luck is executing with a prepared mind.