Investing money soon, what should i do?

I will soon be 18 and am looking to invest $1000. Would it be smart to invest in a mutual fund or pick my own stock or stocks to invest in? this is obviously going to be very long term

Those who advise you against investing in the stocks at all costs are usually people who got burnt while investing. These people also tend to be the type who avoided diversification and placed all their bets on one sector, or even a single company (tech bubble anyone?).

The greatest threat to any investment is inflation. The United States has seen a 3-4% inflation rate over the last 70 or more years (average per year). This means that any investment that yields (returns) less than 3-4% is actually causing you to lose money each year. In hard times like today, when the return rates on most CD's are around 3% you need to be very careful investing in them. Why? A 3% return in times of higher inflation can erode your principle.

At the same time, investing in equities (stocks, ETFs, mutual funds, index funds, etc) has its own share of risk. Ask yourself when you need the money and how badly you might need it. If you might need the money in the next year or so, keep it out of the market. If you need the money tommorrow, place it in the bank (savings or checking account). If you don't need the money for 2-5 years, you can invest it in stocks or other equities.

I first started investing at the age of 23 (age I started working). I chose stocks over other forms of investments because of the following:

1. I earned more than I spent
2. I could afford to lock away the money for several years if needed.
3. I wanted the money to grow.
4. At the age of 23, I could afford to take risks.

My investment period of 2-3 years (at 60 for instance you would keep any money you need for several years out of stocks) and I was willing to take the risk.

What stocks to invest in? I can't tell you. If you are not comfortable with investing, avoid stocks. Get broad based mutual or index funds. If you make a monthly commitment, you can invest in these with 50 dollars or less (for some). Avoid mutual funds or index funds that have a narrow focus, unless you are willing to take on extra risk.

Based on your "long term" focus, I would recommend you invest in some form of equities. Outside of your "emergency" stash of cash (1-2 months of expenses is PLENTY at your age), I would recommend you put most of your money in equities (what I do).

Check out symbol HDY. For more info go to investorvillage.com. This will be a winner over the next 10 years. Good luck!

it is better to Buy MF for the amount
For Investing yuo will have more fixed cost which will not be beneficial at this stage

Purchase an 8 month CD and continue to roll-it over when it has matured.
Try to purchase a CD that is between 8 months to a year.

Avoid the Stock Market you will lose your shirt.

take a vacation with it !!!!
Thailand is a great place.

Usually you need at least 3000 dollars to invest into a mutual fund. If you want to start investing then you should invest into ETF's. They give you the benefits of diversifying like a mutual fund but you don't need a minimum amount to get into ETF's. You can invest into ETF's for certain stock classes like index funds, growth stocks, oil, value stocks etc. You also don't have the fees of a mutual fund. The only thing that you have to pay for is the trading fee. you will have to pay the transaction fee as if it were a stock. If you don't have much knowledge of the markets then just invest into an index fund through an ETF.

Bob Saccamento has a thing going----Peruvian tin mines,check with him.

hello friend,

Firstly i would like to appreciate you for your interest in investment at this age. There are many options available in market by which you can multiply your funds. Looking at your age and risk taking ability, i would suggest you to go for Forex Market. There are various advantages of forex over equity.
1.No commission and transaction fees
Forex serves as a more cost-efficient trade as compared to Equity trading, especially in terms of both commissions and transaction fees. Most of the sites dealing with Forex trading do not charge its investors or traders with any commissions or fees.
2.Price stability through superior liquidity
The trading volume of the Forex market being 100 times more than the New York Stock Exchange, there are always dealers willing to buy or sell currencies here.
3.Higher leverage
Forex market offers higher leverage as compared to all the major stock exchange trade markets. While the commonly available leverage from the online Forex dealers is 100:1, the leverage offered by the Equity brokers is as low as 2:1 margin.
4.Profit Potential
Forex market enables its investors to trade on the upward as well as the downward trends of the market, giving them the facility to buy and sell currencies. This serves as another major advantage of Forex market over Equity trading.

For long term as well as short term, forex is always on upper hand. i would suggest you to go with forex as this would help you to earn more than you expected.

But Please be very sure and try to learn some concepts of forex before entering into forex.

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