Finance, Economics, and Investing

[Platinum God n1n1]

Anyone else interested in Investing?
I've recently started putting money aside each month for stocks; so I started this thread to get some ideas and learn from any of you who my have experience.

I find it very interesting that before Donald Trump was elected the markets were favoring a Hillary election then post election Finance, Energy, and Healthcare have gone way up after a brief after market crash. Apparently the markets believe those sectors will benefit from Trump for various reason such as less regulation. This didnt help my small portfolio of a couple Tech stocks.
My goal is to build a diversified portfolio and be able to screen sectors for opportunities and be able to adjust my portfolio for economic conditions. I feel like I have so much to learn and need access to better tools and to learn how to use them.

So where do you get your news from? what tools do you use for screening stocks? what type of investor (or speculator) do you consider yourself? Thoughts on the markets and the economy now and long term? (please don't let this turn into political conversation)

 

[faint]

Unless you're in a field related to finance or very interested in stocks, I would just put all my money into a reliable index fund like the S&P 500. Alternatively, you can look into replicating a full market fund using small / medium / large cap funds and playing some of your assets safe by putting them in bonds. In the end, it comes down to your age and how volatile you're able to be with your money. I would also recommend opening an IRA (alongside your 401K, if possible) with a reputable company like Vanguard or Fidelity.

 

[Platinum God n1n1]

thats no fun. for me its a hobby; I think its very interesting to follow trends in the market and rewarding when your analysis pays off.
I've been thinking of buying and holding funds to have exposure to emerging markets. but thats about it. I do work for at an investment bank and study for CFA so I may be in a good position to start this hobby but this is still very new to me. And I do think anyone can make investing a hobby as long as they do not get carried away taking on too much risk

 

[toshimelonhead]

Anyone else interested in Investing?

*raises paw*

I've followed the markets for a while now, although not as much as I used to. Passed one of the levels of the CFA, but decided grad school was the better bet at this point until an employer pays for the next two levels. faint 's advice of buying index funds is spot on if you care about building a diversified portfolio to start - or you could even go the Wealthfront route if you don't want to touch it and just let someone else do it for you. By your question, however, it seems like you want to invest in stocks as an end in itself and not a means to an end. In that case, I would stick to buying a handful of stocks (between 5 and 10) of companies you feel comfortable enough investing in. The digging itself is fun enough and each time I dig I look for different things. I'm usually on the right track when I find a company that can print money and no one else I know has heard of the company before. I don't feel comfortable on giving stock tips (tips are for waiters), but I get a lot of my ideas from random screens on Finviz, Investor Business Daily, my broker's research reports, company conference call transcripts / investor relations presentations, and then financial statements and 10-Ks.

I generally go from looking at the micro situation and move to the macro economy because I find going the other way leads me to generalizations that are more often incorrect than not and usually not as well thought out. The only restriction I have is one stock per sector - keeps me diversified and forces me to be selective.

 

[STEELDRAGON]

I am interested in investing and I am learning about it to make some solid choices down the road. You can go safe and only invest in companies that have already made it or go for some small start ups but its important to diversity your portfolio.