Any Stock Investors?

Hey all:

Just had a couple Autumn Ambers at home and curious what you guys/gals think about equities and the market. It is so crazy right now, wondering what my fellow homebrew dudes think if they dabb in the markets.

My take is, difficult to make a decision because the financials are a disaster with this sub-prime crap. Where are you guys running for shelter?

Just curious!!:cross:

Cheers!!!

John

Primary: empty
Secondary: empty
Bottled: Autumn Amber Ale
On Deck: IPA

I invest in beer futures and titty-bars.

Sex sells ... always! ;-)
j/k ...Certain companies that won't never really have a shortage of customers (Visa, Mastercard, Amex, GM, ...) are a decent shot most of the times. However, be very careful with the stock market! Many people loose all their savings...

-Dan- said:

Many people loose all their savings...

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Diversify.

Never bet (much) on a "sure thing."

Put most of your money into stable companies from which you plan on getting steady, long term returns.

Use small sums of money (less than 10%...maybe more like 1%-2%) to "dabble" in things like day trading, penny stocks, and other volatile investments. That way the loss will be small, but the payoff can still be good if you happen to get it right.

coke, macdonalds, johnson & johnson and wrigleys. THey don't grow fast, but they are big, solid companies that are not going anywhere. My grandmother got them for my brother, sister and I when we were little and they have multiplied times 5.

I'll second Yuri's thoughts on the matter and add that investing in single company stocks is not really smart investing; if that's what you are looking to do, I wouldn't put much money into it. I'd recommend finding a nice diverse fund or two and I wouldn't put any more than 1% of my investment funds into anything high risk.

I think most people get into trouble because they panic at the slightest hint that things may be headed for a downturn. Investing is a long term proposition, look for growth potential rather than immediate returns and don't panic when your share price drops a few points (this is why lots of people end up buying high and selling low, they jump on the latest bandwagon, then sell when it's not the hot new thing).

Mutual funds are the way to go. I dropped a chunk in a couple funds a few years ago and haven't touched it since. I had a friend invest a similar amount in single company stock, and did day trading and all that crap... I now have almost twice as much as him 12% may not look like much, but if its steady....

This is also why I have read women are better investors than men. Men want to constantly dabble in the pot and move on to the next big, hot thing (I'm guilty of this too, when my friend would be bragging about some huge return he was getting, id be tempted to jump in. Of course in 3 weeks he would be bemoaning his loss....). Women just kinda forget its there and let it be. In the end, the women end up with more.... Wait, are we still talking about investing?

Oh yeah, and never take investment advice from a friend (or a bulletin board where the main focus is beer).

I've done well doing my own investing & mutual funds. The key to buying stocks is to focus on one sector and do your research. I've made most of my money in the chip manufacturing area. There are patterns where the chip manufacturers move out of sync with the fabrication companies and the companies that use the chips.

For 95% of people, a spread of mutual funds is probably best long-term. If you're young, focus on growth funds, as you get older shift to income producing funds.

Right now, I'm liquidating to fund my startup, so I haven't really watched the market.

As Will Rogers put it, "Take everything you've got and put it in a good stock. When it goes up, sell. If it doesn't go up, don't buy it."

I wasn't trying to gain investment advice, I hope I didn't come across like that. I was curious (of course, after a couple beers) to pick and see if any of my fellow homebrewers who dabble in the market had any input on this crazy market. I let the professionals (whoever they are) make decisions on my retirement money, but the money I have left (after my homebrewing hobby ), I wanted to see the opinions from my fellow insane homebrew buds on where they were putting their investments.

I am a newbie here and was curious.

Drink up and brew on!!!!!!

Cheers!!

John

Primary: empty
Secondary: empty
Bottled: Autumn Amber Ale
On Deck: IPA

Corjyn said:

I wasn't trying to gain investment advice, I hope I didn't come across like that.

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My comment was meant to be lighthearted and fun. Apologies if it came off rude.