[Fritzer]

Don't mess with shares. Only options. Buy high and sell low.

[Fritzer]

In actuality, AGRX. Way undervalued.

[XKxRome0ox]

i guess what I am trying to do is swing trade
but i went in without knowing when to get in and when to get out
really foolish

i'm very glad there are restrictions on day trading ... otherwise i probably would have lost my ass
anyway
i'm still just down about 1% or less over all in the 2 weeks that i've been messing around with the stock market
so it's not terrible

[MPower7]

Consistently throw large amounts of money at a low expense ratio ETF and you cannot go wrong over the long term.

[E92inNC]

Can you guys post some books you found particularly interesting for beginners? Preferably ones that start out in layman's terms and gets more technical as it goes on.

[BayMoWe335]

Originally Posted by sxyblue

Can you guys post some books you found particularly interesting for beginners? Preferably ones that start out in layman's terms and gets more technical as it goes on.

The Intelligent Investor is the best book on investing.

A random Walk Down Wallstreet also good.

[Nutballa]

Tesla is a fun ride.

[Steeler]

Crypto/blockchain is tanking tight now

Mr Buffett says “We simply attempt to be fearful when others are greedy and to be greedy only when others are fearful“

I am in large and long on a blockchain stock. Ticker KASH on the TSXV. I continue to buy when others are selling.

[E92inNC]

Originally Posted by BayMoWe335

The Intelligent Investor is the best book on investing.

A random Walk Down Wallstreet also good.

Thanks! I’ll give them a read.

[BayMoWe335]

Originally Posted by Sea-Tac

Biotech: doing VERY well with Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX). Today up about 2.75. Steady growth. One on the most difficult medical conditions to treat is CF (Cystic Fibrosis) Vertex has a very healthy marketing cap of 42 billion in a sector that is clogged will slow movers.

Tremendously risky stock with insane multiple.

[BayMoWe335]

Originally Posted by dbarton62

Crypto/blockchain is tanking tight now

Mr Buffett says “We simply attempt to be fearful when others are greedy and to be greedy only when others are fearful“

I am in large and long on a blockchain stock. Ticker KASH on the TSXV. I continue to buy when others are selling.

You shouldn’t use the term “crypto/blockchain” as they are not interchangeable terms.

Buffett buys companies that produce something, so being greedy when others are fearful only applies to non speculative, asset producing companies in Buffett’s world.

He’s called Bitcoin Rat Poison squared and his partner, Charlie Munger, originally called it rat poison.

The technology underneath Bitcoin is another story, but the companies leading that are doing a lot of other things, like IBM.

Bitcoin is worthless artificial gold and even real gold is a terrible investment. Pure greater fool speculation.

[Steeler]

Thanks for your opinion

Duly noted.

Originally Posted by BayMoWe335

You shouldn’t use the term “crypto/blockchain” as they are not interchangeable terms.

Buffett buys companies that produce something, so being greedy when others are fearful only applies to non speculative, asset producing companies in Buffett’s world.

He’s called Bitcoin Rat Poison squared and his partner, Charlie Munger, originally called it rat poison.

The technology underneath Bitcoin is another story, but the companies leading that are doing a lot of other things, like IBM.

Bitcoin is worthless artificial gold and even real gold is a terrible investment. Pure greater fool speculation.

[BMW F22]

Is now a good time to buy Amazon stocks? Also, would you rather buy fewer Amazon shares or more shares of other companies for the same total amount of $.

[XutvJet]

Here's my take. I'm 44 and I've been invested in the market since the late 1990s. I'm on track to retire at 52 and I could be driving something far more impressive than an M235, but that will come in due time. My house was paid off 4 years ago.

I first started out with a company 401K and have learned many things along the way. I've made some mistakes along the way, many because of me being ignorant and not doing my due diligence. I could be far wealthier if I had become more informed years ago.

IMO, for most of us common folks where the goal is to have around $1M to 2M in assets by retirement, it's MUCH better to play it safe with investments. I could make this post REALLY long-winded, but I'll keep it shorter for those younger folks that are just getting started (no particular order for the recommendations):

1) Take advantage of your company 401K and do nothing more than the match. Within those investments, choose the S&P 500 index funds like Vanguard 500 Index Fund (VFIAX). S&P 500 index funds simply buy the top 500 stocks in the S&P. There's no science to it. If the market is up 10% for the year, then you'd know your S&P 500 index fund is up ~10%. Simple.

2) Open a Roth IRA and do 90% S&P 500 index funds and 10% bond funds like Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Fund (VBTLX).

3) Warren Buffett's 15 minute retirement plan. Simple and effective. https://www.fool.com/investing/gener...ment-plan.aspx

4) Reading materials: 1) Little Book of Common Sense Investing and the 2) The Millionaire Next-Door. Both are simple, to the point,.....and redundant.

5) For funds, understand the term "Expense Ratio". In simple terms, expense ratio is what fund managers charge their shareholders to cover the fund's total annual operating expenses. So if you have $1,000 in a fund and the expense ratio is 0.50%, the fund will charge you a fee of $50 every year. It might not seem like a lot, but as your investments grow, those fee charges adds up over time and take away growth potential. Index funds generally have really low expense ratios. Anything over 0.15% is too much for the common investor, IMO. VFIAX is 0.04%.

6) Invest yourself and don't use a retirement planner. This was probably my biggest mistake. I used a Morgan Stanley retirement planner for nearly 15 years (same one my parents used) and lost a lot of money because I was ignorant on so many things like listening to his advice, paying him 1% to manage my accounts, etc. 4 years ago I wised up, moved all my money Vanguard, readjusted my investments and bought lots of VFIAX, and started self-managing. I happened to move my money and change investments at a very opportune time in the market and have increased my portfolio in the deep six figure range.

7) Stick with it, don't panic during big market swings, and remember you're in this for the long haul. I have weathered some of the biggest market swings in history and have watched my portfolio drop by up to 40% during the last crash. I've made all that back plus a massive amount more.

8) When you get a solid financial base (say 5X time annual salary), then you can start looking at solid stand alone stocks and throw a few thousand at wild cards for fun. When it comes to wild cards, you really should have some level of research before diving in.

9) Between my brokerage account, two Roth IRAs (wife and myself), traditional IRA (converted 401K from a prior employer), and my current 401K, my portfolio is about 70% VFIAX, 15% Berkshire Hathaway Class B, 5% other stocks and wild cards, and 10% VBTLX.

10) Market timing doesn't work. Don't believe anyone that tells you they can.

11) Get rich schemes are simply that.

12) Live within your means. Don't be a cowboy with a big hat, but no cattle.

13) Put away as much as you can. Don't live solely in the now because the chances are high you'll live deep into your 70s and you could be quite miserable if you don't plan accordingly.

14) Don't count on social security. If it's there when you retire, then consider it spending money. That's the way I look at it.

[overcoil]

Originally Posted by sxyblue

Can you guys post some books you found particularly interesting for beginners? Preferably ones that start out in layman's terms and gets more technical as it goes on.

Pound Foolish by Olen

https://www.amazon.com/Generation-We.../dp/0963124692

[rad doc]

Originally Posted by XutvJet

Here's my take. I'm 44 and I've been invested in the market since the late 1990s. I'm on track to retire at 52 and I could be driving something far more impressive than an M235, but that will come in due time. My house was paid off 4 years ago.

I first started out with a company 401K and have learned many things along the way. I've made some mistakes along the way, many because of me being ignorant and not doing my due diligence. I could be far wealthier if I had become more informed years ago.

IMO, for most of us common folks where the goal is to have around $1M to 2M in assets by retirement, it's MUCH better to play it safe with investments. I could make this post REALLY long-winded, but I'll keep it shorter for those younger folks that are just getting started (no particular order for the recommendations):

1) Take advantage of your company 401K and do nothing more than the match. Within those investments, choose the S&P 500 index funds like Vanguard 500 Index Fund (VFIAX). S&P 500 index funds simply buy the top 500 stocks in the S&P. There's no science to it. If the market is up 10% for the year, then you'd know your S&P 500 index fund is up ~10%. Simple.

2) Open a Roth IRA and do 90% S&P 500 index funds and 10% bond funds like Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Fund (VBTLX).

3) Warren Buffett's 15 minute retirement plan. Simple and effective. https://www.fool.com/investing/gener...ment-plan.aspx

4) Reading materials: 1) Little Book of Common Sense Investing and the 2) The Millionaire Next-Door. Both are simple, to the point,.....and redundant.

5) For funds, understand the term "Expense Ratio". In simple terms, expense ratio is what fund managers charge their shareholders to cover the fund's total annual operating expenses. So if you have $1,000 in a fund and the expense ratio is 0.50%, the fund will charge you a fee of $50 every year. It might not seem like a lot, but as your investments grow, those fee charges adds up over time and take away growth potential. Index funds generally have really low expense ratios. Anything over 0.15% is too much for the common investor, IMO. VFIAX is 0.04%.

6) Invest yourself and don't use a retirement planner. This was probably my biggest mistake. I used a Morgan Stanley retirement planner for nearly 15 years (same one my parents used) and lost a lot of money because I was ignorant on so many things like listening to his advice, paying him 1% to manage my accounts, etc. 4 years ago I wised up, moved all my money Vanguard, readjusted my investments and bought lots of VFIAX, and started self-managing. I happened to move my money and change investments at a very opportune time in the market and have increased my portfolio in the deep six figure range.

7) Stick with it, don't panic during big market swings, and remember you're in this for the long haul. I have weathered some of the biggest market swings in history and have watched my portfolio drop by up to 40% during the last crash. I've made all that back plus a massive amount more.

8) When you get a solid financial base (say 5X time annual salary), then you can start looking at solid stand alone stocks and throw a few thousand at wild cards for fun. When it comes to wild cards, you really should have some level of research before diving in.

9) Between my brokerage account, two Roth IRAs (wife and myself), traditional IRA (converted 401K from a prior employer), and my current 401K, my portfolio is about 70% VFIAX, 15% Berkshire Hathaway Class B, 5% other stocks and wild cards, and 10% VBTLX.

10) Market timing doesn't work. Don't believe anyone that tells you they can.

11) Get rich schemes are simply that.

12) Live within your means. Don't be a cowboy with a big hat, but no cattle.

13) Put away as much as you can. Don't live solely in the now because the chances are high you'll live deep into your 70s and you could be quite miserable if you don't plan accordingly.

14) Don't count on social security. If it's there when you retire, then consider it spending money. That's the way I look at it.

That's pretty good advice. I would suggest a somewhat more globally diversified portfolio and additional diversification amongst asset classes utilizing low cost index funds may outperform just the s&p. Take a look at the Callan periodic table.

[BayMoWe335]

Originally Posted by BMW F22

Is now a good time to buy Amazon stocks? Also, would you rather buy fewer Amazon shares or more shares of other companies for the same total amount of $.

FYI, the price of a stock literally means nothing. 1 share of AMZN or 185 shares of GE is still worth the $1500.

To think a person would literally spend $1,500/share on something based on people (mostly n00bs) recommending it on a discussion forum is preceisely why the financial industry exists and robs people blind. People don’t want to understand jack shit and they are willing to let a complete idiot manage their life savings.

Yet the same people use coupons, bundle their home/auto insurance to save money and research what refrigerator to buy for 6 months. Amazing.

You have to do your own research and understand what you’re buying, period.

[BMW F22]

Originally Posted by BayMoWe335

FYI, the price of a stock literally means nothing. 1 share of AMZN or 185 shares of GE is still worth the $1500.

To think a person would literally spend $1,500/share on something based on people (mostly n00bs) recommending it on a discussion forum is preceisely why the financial industry exists and robs people blind. People don’t want to understand jack shit and they are willing to let a complete idiot manage their life savings.

Yet the same people use coupons, bundle their home/auto insurance to save money and research what refrigerator to buy for 6 months. Amazing.

You have to do your own research and understand what you’re buying, period.

Overall it’s the same amount of $. I’m just curious what people would do that’s all. I already know which one I’m going with.

[qba335i]

Originally Posted by XutvJet

Here's my take. I'm 44 and I've been invested in the market since the late 1990s. I'm on track to retire at 52 and I could be driving something far more impressive than an M235, but that will come in due time. My house was paid off 4 years ago.

I first started out with a company 401K and have learned many things along the way. I've made some mistakes along the way, many because of me being ignorant and not doing my due diligence. I could be far wealthier if I had become more informed years ago.

IMO, for most of us common folks where the goal is to have around $1M to 2M in assets by retirement, it's MUCH better to play it safe with investments. I could make this post REALLY long-winded, but I'll keep it shorter for those younger folks that are just getting started (no particular order for the recommendations):

1) Take advantage of your company 401K and do nothing more than the match. Within those investments, choose the S&P 500 index funds like Vanguard 500 Index Fund (VFIAX). S&P 500 index funds simply buy the top 500 stocks in the S&P. There's no science to it. If the market is up 10% for the year, then you'd know your S&P 500 index fund is up ~10%. Simple.

2) Open a Roth IRA and do 90% S&P 500 index funds and 10% bond funds like Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Fund (VBTLX).

3) Warren Buffett's 15 minute retirement plan. Simple and effective. https://www.fool.com/investing/gener...ment-plan.aspx

4) Reading materials: 1) Little Book of Common Sense Investing and the 2) The Millionaire Next-Door. Both are simple, to the point,.....and redundant.

5) For funds, understand the term "Expense Ratio". In simple terms, expense ratio is what fund managers charge their shareholders to cover the fund's total annual operating expenses. So if you have $1,000 in a fund and the expense ratio is 0.50%, the fund will charge you a fee of $50 every year. It might not seem like a lot, but as your investments grow, those fee charges adds up over time and take away growth potential. Index funds generally have really low expense ratios. Anything over 0.15% is too much for the common investor, IMO. VFIAX is 0.04%.

6) Invest yourself and don't use a retirement planner. This was probably my biggest mistake. I used a Morgan Stanley retirement planner for nearly 15 years (same one my parents used) and lost a lot of money because I was ignorant on so many things like listening to his advice, paying him 1% to manage my accounts, etc. 4 years ago I wised up, moved all my money Vanguard, readjusted my investments and bought lots of VFIAX, and started self-managing. I happened to move my money and change investments at a very opportune time in the market and have increased my portfolio in the deep six figure range.

7) Stick with it, don't panic during big market swings, and remember you're in this for the long haul. I have weathered some of the biggest market swings in history and have watched my portfolio drop by up to 40% during the last crash. I've made all that back plus a massive amount more.

8) When you get a solid financial base (say 5X time annual salary), then you can start looking at solid stand alone stocks and throw a few thousand at wild cards for fun. When it comes to wild cards, you really should have some level of research before diving in.

9) Between my brokerage account, two Roth IRAs (wife and myself), traditional IRA (converted 401K from a prior employer), and my current 401K, my portfolio is about 70% VFIAX, 15% Berkshire Hathaway Class B, 5% other stocks and wild cards, and 10% VBTLX.

10) Market timing doesn't work. Don't believe anyone that tells you they can.

11) Get rich schemes are simply that.

12) Live within your means. Don't be a cowboy with a big hat, but no cattle.

13) Put away as much as you can. Don't live solely in the now because the chances are high you'll live deep into your 70s and you could be quite miserable if you don't plan accordingly.

14) Don't count on social security. If it's there when you retire, then consider it spending money. That's the way I look at it.

That is NOT a good financial advice.

1) you should max out 401k contribution. Currently 18,500.

2) you should have a diversified portfolio - that includes equities (stocks/mutual funds/ETFs), bonds, alternatives (real estate and commodities) and cash. Once you have more assets you can start adding private equity and hedge funds. Management fee vs product fee - know the difference and know what you get.

3) there is a benefit of having a portfolio manager (don't confuse with a sales oriented financial advisor who used to sell cars) as he will be able to design an optimal portfolio, monitor it and do tactical shifts. Most people don't have the skill, knowledge and time to manage money plus they make irrational decisions.

4) everyone is a star/professional investor in a bull market. The true investing starts when the market starts moving in the opposite direction.


OP: what is your annualized 1,3,5 year return? Any risk metrics? How did you do in 2008-2009?


Disclaimer: I work in the investment field.

[BayMoWe335]

Originally Posted by BMW F22

Overall it’s the same amount of $. I’m just curious what people would do that’s all. I already know which one I’m going with.

If you’re trying to learn, read what I said again. I’m not saying there are stupid questions, but your question implies the share price matters. It doesn’t.

[XKxRome0ox]

Originally Posted by BMW F22

Overall it’s the same amount of $. I’m just curious what people would do that’s all. I already know which one I’m going with.

which one are you going with?

[BayMoWe335]

Originally Posted by qba335i

That is NOT a good financial advice.

1) you should max out 401k contribution. Currently 18,500.

2) you should have a diversified portfolio - that includes equities (stocks/mutual funds/ETFs), bonds, alternatives (real estate and commodities) and cash. Once you have more assets you can start adding private equity and hedge funds. Management fee vs product fee - know the difference and know what you get.

3) there is a benefit of having a portfolio manager (don't confuse with a sales oriented financial advisor who used to sell cars) as he will be able to design an optimal portfolio, monitor it and do tactical shifts. Most people don't have the skill, knowledge and time to manage money plus they make irrational decisions.

4) everyone is a star/professional investor in a bull market. The true investing starts when the market starts moving in the opposite direction.


OP: what is your annualized 1,3,5 year return? Any risk metrics? How did you do in 2008-2009?


Disclaimer: I work in the investment field.

Portfolio managers are worthless averaged out. They are as good at picking stocks or making “tactical shifts” as a monkey. You just don’t need them.

Bonds are a stupid investment for anyone with at least a 10 year horizon.

When the market turns lower, no one is good in general. The best advice is to keep buying.

Agreed on max 401K.