As i posted a few months ago, I save a little money each month. It's been +-$400, I have a large chunk I set up an E-Trade account, I want to get into mutal funds and I just don't know what would give me a decent return. I'm new at this game, can you investing guru's give me some companies to look at. My dad suggested gold. I think it is at $88 a share, can it go much higher before taking a nasty plunge.
What are some good areas???
Thanks,
Dustin
Ones i've looked at are: PRMTX,GLD............

 

Depending on your age a S&P 500 Indexed Fund is a good bet...I believe the historical return is about 14%...hard to beat in the long run.

 

Gold is a speculative high risk "investment." Get a Vanguard account and use the funds in there. The cost ratios are amoung the lowest in the industry. Funnel the money through the account into a Roth IRA so it grows tax free, and stay away from individual stocks unless you think you're smarter than the millions of other people out there that lose money playing individual stocks. Instead, pick funds which track markets. Many stocks go up, many go bankrupt. The markets, however, always go up over the long term.

 

Indexed funds are good way to start...put some aside for 401K too. Roth 401K is better if you have more that 30 years to retire. DO NOT TRADE STOCKS until you have some good experience and loss buffer.

 

Most of us are not expert stock traders. As Vijay pointed out, a good mutual fund is probably the best way to go.

Right now the stock market tanking and stock (and mutual fund) prices are low. For the person who purchases stock for the long haul, this is a good time to buy.

Invest $400.00 a month and do the calculations to see what you will have 20 years from now.... The numbers are impressive.

Lou Braun

 

Investing $400 a month is always a good idea, but if I was going to drop a big chunk in I think that I would wait 6 months or so and take a look again. If this thing goes she is going to go big, and those so called bargins of today won't look so cherry. We could see a Dow of 10k real easey maybe down to 9 or 8.

 

The problem with trying to tell someone inexperienced to time the market (ie, don't invest now, invest later) is by the time the inexperienced recognise the bottom the market is already headed back up. If you're in for the long haul an index fund is fine, just balance out the portifolio with money markets, small cap, mid-cap, off-shore, etc. Good diversification is the key for inexperienced (and experienced!) investors.

For the unexperienced probably the best thing they can do is get one of the accounts which automatically diversifies for you based on how far in the future your retirement window is. You set up in the account when you plan to retire, and each year as you approach that date your portfolio is automatically reallocated to a diversified portfololio suited to the time horizon.

Things you should never, never, never, never do....
1. Never buy an annunity. Those selling them will dress them up in many ways, trying to make them look good for you. The fact is they have huge surrender fees, huge commissions and are good ONLY for the person selling it.
2. Never invest at your bank. Same as above... high fees and sometimes commissions. Banks are for check, credit cards and short term savings... not for investing.
3. Never invest through a CPA or insurance agent... what you're getting is a dressed up annuity.
4. Never take a commissioned or fee-based broker's advice. They are called brokers for a reason. If they really knew how to call the market they'd be living it rich, not giving you "advice" for a living. If you need advice, look for a "fee only" (not "fee based" or commissioned) adviser, and pay them by the hour. You'll pay $250 (or much more) per hour... but one hour with them can save you tons over money over the long haul.

 

well, i can recommend a pretty good book also, the isbn is 0-7645-5380-1, its called "investing bible". mine is a few years old maybe they have some updates now but it still has lots of good knowledge in it, and as a bonus, it is not overly boring to read either!

if anything, it can give you a good idea of what people are talking about and what/where to look for things.

 

currently i use david lerner associates for an investment counsellor and hes done well by me

 

Lerner sells annuities... the worst investment vehicle there is. I cannot trust someone who makes a killing in annuity commissions, especially since the products are not suited for anyone's retirement. That, and the fact that they go around doing "seminars", and they have been in trouble more than once for misleading (ie, fraud).

You could be doing much better.

Go here http://www.napfa.org/ and find yourself a fee-only advisor, someone who doesn't make money on commissions, back-end fees, etc. Less than 1 in 2000 advisors is fee only because their standards are high and most people in the business don't want to work to this ethical standard because its less profitable (short term).

Some of the trouble with David Lerner....
http://www.finra.org/PressRoom/NewsReleases/2005NewsReleases/P015088
http://www.sec.gov/litigation/admin/33-8423.htm
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C00E5DF1F38F930A25757C0A9629C8B 63
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/03/business/03insure.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
http://wallstreetfraud.clarislaw.com/investment-mismanagement/brokerage-firm-david-lerner-associates-inc-annuities-violations.php
http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-5281138/David-Lerner-Associates-Suspended-from.html
http://www.nysscpa.org/home/2004/504/3week/article56.htm

They've also used your money to build their vacation properties, Apple Hospitality Five.

If you get that sinking feeling about who's been advising you after reading these, you should be! Look them up on any of the investment forums and the picture will get clear (and scary). I'm not trying to rain on your parade, just cautioning you to be very careful about who's managing your money. I'm willing to bet they "advised" that the bulk of your money went into their investment funds rather than the most optimal.

 

Ken has given some really good investment advice on this thread. I also like mutual funds (T Rowe Price) & have made more with them over last 30 years than I ever did working. There were a few mistakes along the way too.

I have seen different articles that discussed market timing (it doesn't work) & one article picked the worse times to invest in the stock market history & guess what, it still made money if you didn't sell. If you must sell, you might be forced to take some heavy losses.

Before investing you should have $ saved for 3-6 months as a cushion.<o>
</o>

 

> I also like mutual funds (T Rowe Price)

My wife went with them and is earning between 10-13% on the fund/stocks she picked with them.

 

So where do I put it in T Rowe Price? what are the symbols????
I knew not to invest in my bank.- I learned-OUCH!
I am looking at a mutal funds PRMTX, GLD
What you all think about those???