I would like to invest on the stock exchange. Any advice on where to place my money? Thanks?

If you plan on investing yourself, I suggest you do alot of reading up on how the markets work and fully research any stock you are considering buying before purchasing anything.

Go bluechip, banks, shops, etc.

Open a brokerage (or Roth IRA account, if this is for retirement or you won't need for at least five years-check the web for terms of a Roth) with a discount broker, such as Scottrade, and invest in a no load index fund based on the S&P 500 or the Wilshire 5000.

You will pay no commissions or fees unless you withdraw before 90 days. You should average about 11% per year, although some years will be better and others you could lose.

Be persistent and do not sell when the market goes down.

Do this for at least two years, and in the meantime, learn how mutual funds work. Investing in stocks alone is far more risky and you should not do this until you understand how to do it well.

Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine costs about $13 per year and is excellent information.

Hulbert's Digest will tell you which newsletters are best for around $30 per year. Subscribe when you have $20,000 or so.

Good luck.

Remember, if you do what most people do (invest when the market is up, sell when it goes down) you will be screwed. The Dow is a poor indicator of what the economy is doing: it is just a weirded average of 30 US stocks. You would do well to ignore it.

Great idea: Ask strangers whose qualifications and motives can never be known, where to invest your money.

Good luck with that.

One person says... ask you bank. Within the financial community, it's well known that banks and insurance companies are the last place to get investment advise (not including Investment Bankers, for the very rich).

Best solution;
Find your own answer. Read 2-3 books on investing. Decide what style you want (long term, retirement, swing trading or day trading). Find a broker that best meets you needs.
It makes no sense to use a heavy discount broker if you're new to this. Always have and follow an "asset allocation".

Stay clear of "tips" or hot stocks blasted by radio, TV or print personalities.

ALWAYS UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU'RE INVESTING IN. ALWAYS HAVE AN EXIT PLAN BEFORE MAKING THE INVESTMENT.

The best way to begin is at the beginning. Use a stock market simulator to get your feet wet without losing your hard-earned cash on an investment you don't know much about.

A lot of the big companies have stock market sims on their sites, Investopedia is one of the biggest, as is The Great Game, or even Wall St Challenge.

Each of these are totally free to play, but allow you to learn how the market works by using real stock information with a fantasy bank account.

I use these tools on a regular basis to see how the markets work and operate and would trust my results with the game before I would trust them to a broker who will charge you a commission fee to buy and sell and who doesn't care if you lose your money, because he gets his share on each trade you make.

You can only be given advice on this by people who are regulated to do so by the Financial Services Authority.

See your bank or Financial Adviser or find a Stock Broker who has the FSA's authority to carry out discretionary fund management (i.e. he can put your funds where he thinks will make the most money without asking you first. Otherwise he would have to ask your permission before buying or selling any shares).

Before you give your money over to any IFA or Stock Broker, please check them out on the FSA's website (www.fsa.gov.uk/register). Under their register entry you will be able to see if they have ever been refused any permissions or had any regulatory sancture against them. Please gather all the information you can on any firm before you hand over any money - there are a lot of sharks out there!

If you are just starting out, begin by reading and learning as much about investment as you can. If you are a U.S.-based investor there is a lot of educational material on the web sites of companies such as Vanguard and Fidelity and of the brokerage houses (though remember they are trying to sell you products and services). Web sites like Investopedia, The Motley Fool and the Foundation for Investor Education also have primer material. Investopedia has a stock simulator http://simulator.investopedia.com/ where you can practice investing to get a feel for buying and selling stocks without committing actual cash.

1. only invest money if you are prepared to see your capital fall
2. if you are new to the stock market - why not try a tracker fund (FTSE 100). These are low cost and give you instant diversification. You can also use regular savings plans.
3. if employed, does you employer offer discounted plans such as share ownership plans or saye
4. start by investing in sectors you understand
5. a good research mag is investor chronicle

good luck

I only invest on money that I think I can do without. The stock market is a gamble.

I invest in companies that have a long history, that you know are going to be around for awhile.

just send ur dosh to me u'll lose it anyway lol

I’m very happy you want to “learning about the real world”.

To the ladies and gentlemen reading this answer: This is NOT SPAM. I do not own any web site. I want everyone to know I DO NOT own any portion of any web site, nor am I associated with or connected with the web site in any way. I do not have any financial gain from this web site. I know of site the information it probides. THIS IS NOT SPAM. www.investopedia.com I suggest you go to this site and tour the site. The site provides extremely helpful information.

As far as courses are concerned, you may want to enroll in Investing 101 OR Economics 101.

I WOULD LOVE to tell you about the software programs we bought and use, BUT I KNOW I would be reported for SPAM. I’m still trying to get an answer to that Q. “When I’m using a product, AND I’m happy [or unhappy] with it, why can’t I mention the product?” The Yahoo! Answer team hasn’t responded to that Q.

There is much, much more to learn, but my answer to your question is a good start.
This is what I know about stocks:
Every broker has different fees and commissions. You are going to have to do your homework to find out who will let you pretend to “trade” [more commonly known as “paper trading”] using an account with limited funds. OR since this is a project, ask your teacher about this. He/She may tell everyone to use the same broker. This keeps the whole class “on the same even page/field”.

By properly investing AND WATCHING the stocks you choose, you may be able to “have your money grow”. At the same time, if you don’t watch what goes on with those stocks you chose, you could lose A LOT of that money.

Stocks [more commonly known as “shares”] are actually small -pieces of a corporation. Stocks are bought and sold at a location - known as “the exchange” - to earn money for that corporation.

Brokers are the middle people. Brokers bring the Buyers [“BUlls”] and the Sellers [“BEars”] together. Do you see how the terms are related? If not, BEars are SEllers and BUlls are BUyers.

How did they get those names?
When a bull defends itself it throws its head up. Buyers cause stock prices to rise or go up.
When a bear defends itself, it moves its paws down. Bears cause stock prices to decline or go down.

Using their money, the Bulls are “betting” a stock’s price will go up.
This is known as being “Bullish”.

Using their money, the Bears are “betting” a stock’s price will go down..
This is known as being “Bearish”.

When a Bull and a Bear agree on a price for a certain number of shares in that stock, the broker’s job is to bring Bull and Bear together.

Money is paid for the stock. THEN that Bull owns that small piece of that corporation. AND that Bear has the money from that Bull.

Sometimes a Bull will buy a stock, “betting” or with the intention of having the price go up, but that stock’s price goes down. THEN the Bull loses money.
Sometimes a Bear will buy a stock, “betting” or with the intention of having the price go down, but the price goes up. THEN the Bear loses money.

As you will learn, many people refer to “”earning” money as “making” money.
Here’s one point you might want to keep in mind:
The ONLY people who “make” money work for the U.S. Government at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing in Washington, D. C. and at the mints where the coins are made.
Every other person must “earn“ money..

At one time or another, Bulls AND Bears earn money. When the stock’s price goes up, they earn money. When the stock’s price goes down, they earn money. When the stock’s price goes sideways ["consolidates"], they earn money.

Any person trading in the market [known as a "trader"], MUST have patience AND the ability to believe the position he or she buys or is in will have a return on that trader's money ["investment"].

Any person trading in the market MUST ALSO KNOW AND HAVE a limit as to how much of a loss he or she will accept - without allowing the account to go broke or almost go down to $0. When the account goes broke or below a certain amount, the trader cannot trade anymore. THE ONLY way a trader can “get back in the market” is to deposit more money in his or her trading account.

Here are some market sayings and expressions:

"Bulls earn money. Bears earn money. Pigs get fat. Hogs [greedy traders] get slaughtered." These folks lose A LOT of money.

"There are no gifts on Wall Street."

"You am trading people. You are not trading stocks.

"V.I.C.P.I.E.: Volume Is the Cause; Price Is the Effect."

“Trees don’t grow to Heaven. Neither do stocks’ prices go to Heaven.

"Plan the trade. Trade the plan."

There are many, many others.

Thank you for asking your question. I enjoyed taking the time to answer it. You did a great job - not only for your information, but for every other person interested in reading my answer. Thanks to everyone for reading my answer.

I wish you well.

VTY,
Ron Berue
Yes, that is my real last name.

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