1st time investor?

I dont have a lot to invest basically 1500.00 to start with. And I dont need an investment that I can cash out in one, two or five years either but it would certainly be nice to have several investments out of this 1500.00 Of course it would be even better to have that money if I needed to cash out. I have children and would like something for their future and was thinking that if i could take a portion of my taxes every year and put towards investing in government bonds,stocks, cds or whatever that would be a major accomplished.
But how do i do this? where do i get started? who do i trust to invest my money ? can i invest my money, if so can you recommend some sites where i can learn about investing.
thanks for the advice

Well, I started with less. I think it was $300 but it was a long time ago and memories become blurred after so many decades.

You do have a slight problem but one that can be overcome. $1500 is not enough to buy most mutual funds which would be your best alternative for beginning. Most no load funds have a minimum of about $2500. There is other options open to you. I think that first you should read "Investing for Dummies" That will give you a good deal of valuable background. About $20 or your library may have a copy. There are some mutual funds that do not have such a high minimum. American Funds does not. Only $250 but you have to initiate an investment through a stock broker and there is a sales charge of 5.75%. Another option is to open an account with an inexpensive on line broker such as Scottrade or T D Ameritrade. There are exchange traded mutual funds that you can buy. One of my favorites is GAM. Been in business since 1928. And it has a record of returns that compares very favorably with other mutual funds. There are also index funds you can buy. Many as a matter of fact. They are currently very popular with investors. And of course you can buy also stocks is individual companies. That is more risky than buying a fund.

Not sure if this answer will help, but I did much the same thing.

When I started, I didn't know a think about investing or trading. I tried a website called Investopedia.com and signed up for their stock simulator. Bascially I was able to play the stock market with fake money.

In truth, I learned a lot and ended up losing money for the first year or so.

Good for you on thinking of investing though

$1500 is more than enough to get started as you can see from one of my favorite articles: http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/StartInvesting/StartInvestingWithJust100.aspx

If you're interested in additional readings or investing in individual stocks, I recommend "The Neatest Little Guide to Stock Market Investing" by Jason Kelly: http://www.jasonkelly.com/smi.html

However most would suggest "The Intelligent Investor" by Benjamin Graham is the best investment book ever written. I agree but Jason's book is much shorter and more comprehensive IMHO. I've read both.

If you decide putting a portion in CD's ingdirect.com is worth a look and if you want to put a portion in government securities - treasuriydirect.gov.

It looks to me unit trust or mutual funds are good option for you. You may want to consider them for long term investment. Of course, you can cash out (sell) anytime you like. There're professional people to help you invest your money and trustee to make sure those professionals are doing a right thing.

Some basic understanding of unit trust. Hope it helps. :)
http://financialindependent.blogspot.com/2006/10/what-is-unit-trust_25.html

Good for you for looking into investing. The key to investing is time. Time is your friend as it allows your investment to work for you and grow.

I recommend reading the basics at some straightforward websites such as these:

http://www.kiplinger.com/investing/

http://moneycentral.msn.com/investor/beginnerguide.asp?page=introduction

Good luck!

Top 10 Scrips to INVEST in 2008 when the Indian Stock Markets fall:

Reliance Industries (RELIANCE), Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), NTPC, Bharti Airtel (BHARTIARTL), State Bank of India (SBIN), Larsen & Toubro (LT), Bharat Heavy Electricals (BHEL), Steel Authority of India (SAIL), Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC).

Savings Bank accounts are accounts maintained by banks that pay interest but cannot be used directly as money (by, for example, writing a cheque). These accounts let customers set aside a portion of their liquid assets that could be used to make purchases while earning a monetary return. All savings accounts offer itemized lists of all financial transactions, traditionally through a bank passbook, but also through a bank statement.

In India, a demat account, the abbreviation for dematerialized account, is a type of banking account which dematerializes paper-based physical stock (equity) shares. The dematerialized account is used to avoid holding physical equity shares: the equity shares are bought and sold through a stock broker.

This account is popular in India. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) mandates a demat account for equity share trading even One equity share. As of April 2006, it became mandatory that any person holding a demat account should posses an Income Tax Permanent Account Number (PAN), and the deadline for submission of PAN details to the depository lapsed on January 2007.

Procedure:

1. Fill demat request form (DRF) (obtained from a depository participant or DP with whom your depository account is opened).
2. Deface the equity share certificate(s) you want to dematerialize by writing across Surrendered for dematerialization.
3. Submit the DRF & equity share certificate(s) to DP. DP would forward them to the issuer / their R&T Agent.
4. After dematerialization, your depository account with your DP would be credited with the dematerialized securities.

The benefits:

- A safe and convenient way to hold securities;
- Immediate transfer of securities;
- No stamp duty on transfer of securities;
- Elimination of risks associated with physical equity share certificates such as bad delivery, fake securities, delays, thefts etc;
- Reduction in paperwork involved in transfer of securities;
- Reduction in transaction cost;
- No odd lot problem, even one equity share can be sold;
- Nomination facility;
- Change in address recorded with DP gets registered with all companies in which investor holds securities electronically eliminating the need to correspond with each of them separately;
- Transmission of securities is done by DP eliminating correspondence with companies;
- Automatic credit into demat account of equity shares, arising out of bonus/split/consolidation/merger etc.
- Holding investments in equity and debt instruments in a single account.

Required Documents:

The extent of documentation required to open a demat account may vary according to your relationship with the institution. If you plan to open a demat account with a bank, a savings account holder has an edge over the non-account holder. In fact, banks usually offer additional incentives to customers who open a demat account with them. Along with the application form, your photographs (with co-applicants) and proof of identity/residence/date of birth have to be submitted. The DPs also ask for a DP-client agreement to be executed on non-judicial stamp paper. Here is a broad list (you wonâ€™t need all of them though):
Income tax PAN card / Voterâ€™s ID / Passport / Ration card / Driverâ€™s license / Photo credit card / Employee ID card / Bank attestation / Income Tax returns / Electricity bill / Landline phone bill

While they only ask for photocopies of the documents, they will need the originals for verification. You will have to submit 8 passport size photographs on which you sign across.

Your first option should be to fund fully a retirement account. If you do this, and you have extra cash, then one of the best things you can do is open a DRIP Plan.

Go to : low-cost-stock-recommendations

.com

They have a DRIP Section and it is free.

These powerful investment plans are seldom talked about because brokers make very little money when they suggest them. Yet, they have proven to be one of the best, if not the best, long-term strategy on Wall Street.

They are perfect for small investors, as well as big investors. They are safe and allow you to not care about whether the market is going up or down. They are a must for any serious investor.

I strongly recommend looking into it. They are great plans.

Good Luck

1500 in these days are really not going to get you far, first to say.. dont invest in cd's and bonds. thats a big no no... as much as you put in is what your going to get back after they deduct taxes.. sure your promised a 5 or 6% back but again thats what they will take away too. now a mutual fund is a good idea, but again 1500.. most companies dont want to take that amount, they want to get at least 10000 of your money. however.. if you were a pro and knew how to invest in penny stocks you would be in great hands. but i admire your interest in your childrens futures. so im going to tell you the best thing to do.. take your money and invest it into a high yeild stock, one that does not manupilate so much.. you'll be in safe hands and make a good profit.. however before you invest study the market and invest at the end of the quarter if you want.. a good invester does not rush into things.. yahoo/ finance is a great source to get your research by looking up a stock to see how it does every day.. with that being said i will now give you a short list of options to invest in.... they are GE, XOM, DCI, MSFT, GOOG, APPL.. its like this, if you invest in one of these over a long term, you will earn a good future for your children.. to invest go through scottrade or aig and its a very low cost to pick the stock you wish to invest in...
good luck, hope i could be a help

$1500
Better deposit your money at 13% interest in Belarus bank. It will take you 5.5 years to double it.
I did it
I wish you success!

You should learn to trade the stock market. Many professional traders can make 2 to 3 did-git returns on their money year after year.
All you have to do is learn a few simple rules and develop a system.
This site will teach you a lot and help you develop your own system.

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