Stock Markets Exposed - Where can I get recommendations on long-term stock picks?

Where can I get recommendations on long-term stock picks?

I'm not interested in day trading, I want stocks that I can buy and hold onto for a long time. Are there any sites where I can get advice on which stocks to buy?

Public Comments

If your looking into long term investing the simplest thing in my opinion to do is visit: vanguard.com They will help you decide your risk/reward tolerances and which funds are best for you. Trying to pick "individual" long term stocks that will consistently go up over long periods of time is very difficult. Index funds, mutual funds, and ETFs will be better for long term investing in my opinion and let you have more of a hands off approach. Any advice you get from any so called "stock picking sites" needs to be taken with care. The best thing to learn is how to do your own stock analysis and not really on what others have to say.
For long term I hope you have in mind at least 10 years. Vanguard is excellent for funds (also see fundadvice.com, morningstar.com and investopedia.com for some tutorials). You can buy individual stocks through a brokerage firm or you can buy a stock fund (through a brokerage firm or directly from the mutual fund company). If you are a long term position holder I would suggest growth stock funds. If you want to buy individual stocks I suggest the mentioned websites (there are so many more good ones) and getting some books on the subjects. I suggest you become a value investor. A value investor is one who picks stocks which are undervalued i.e. a company whose market value < book (or net worth) value, low debt, good growth (earnings) rate >= 10% per year and some other factors to look at. Sounds a little corny but invest in yourself first. Get some books and play around with a stock simulator, investopedia.com has one and get a feel for the market. You need to understand what vechicles will work for you, there never is a quick "universal" answer it is dependent on your time horizon, risk tolerance, personal financial status, etc. "Making money" is not a complete answer :) Also before investing the FIRST step is set aside an emergency reserve of at least 3 months worth of living expenses. DO NOT use this money to invest with but put it in a FDIC insured bank savings account or money market fund (or account). This is just that, a rainy day fund for emergencies. Too many people make the mistake of investing all of their money without a reserve. You will be ahead of the pack! My $0.02
MSN Money has a section called "Top rated stocks". It's under Investing>stocks. You can get some ideas from there in different sectors. Then research them and see which ones you think are best. Regardless of where you get your "advice" from, that should only be the starting point. Do your own evaluation!
Very few stocks become long term winners because stocks live and die by quarterly earnings reports - so you buy the best stocks of the moment and watch them. I could say, for example, that BIDU is a great long term investment - a Chinese Google in the fastest (and soon probably the biggest) economy in the world, with a dominant market share; and the stock price action reflects that, but I really don't know what BIDU will be doing next quarter or next year, so the best I can do it hold it as long as the earnings and news are good and the stock is going up. For current picks, you can check:
Try this: go to any financial site...put the symbols of some rock solid Mutual Funds in the quote box...then click on " holdings"... compare lists... see a few repeats?...there you go! Check FCNTX...FAIRX...MXXIX...JAVLX..WWNPX Sites ? http://moneycentral.msn.com/investor Go to " stock scouter" and look for a link to " top 50"...
Just pick companies that you use and relate to the most. Don't try to invest in companies for the long-term if you are not familiar with them. Examples: If you like Toyota cars, invest in Toyota; if you drink Aquafina, invest in Pepsi; if you love Apple products, invest in Apple. Investing in companies that are used by your favorite companies also helps.