Investment fundamentals

[WinningWand]

Well I am 38 and now have some money to start investing beyond the typical IRA/401k. Just like capping you have some fundamentals that you follow like looking for good defenses and teams with good running games.

What are the fundamentals of investing?


What is the best book to read to learn solid fundamentals?

 

[hollywood_69]

jim cramer books

 

[WinningWand]

jim cramer books

any specific one to read first?

 

[desrat]

Nothing personal but Cramer is a pumpmonkey still in Goldman's pocket. I've read his books and found them thin; for real meat...

Charting/TA: http://stockcharts.com/school/doku.php?id=chart_school
General: http://www.investopedia.com/
Dictionary: http://www.investordictionary.com/
Options: http://www.cboe.com/LearnCenter/Tutorials.aspx

Books -

Intelligent Investor - Benjamin Graham (get the updated one with Jason Zweig)
Trading in the Zone - Mark Douglas
Anything by Peter Lynch

If Technical Analysis interests you
Technical Analysis of the Financial Markets - John Murphy (must for starters)
Encyclopedia of Chart Patterns - Thomas Bulkowski

 

[WinningWand]

Nothing personal but Cramer is a pumpmonkey still in Goldman's pocket. I've read his books and found them thin; for real meat...

Charting/TA: http://stockcharts.com/school/doku.php?id=chart_school
General: http://www.investopedia.com/
Dictionary: http://www.investordictionary.com/
Options: http://www.cboe.com/LearnCenter/Tutorials.aspx

Books -

Intelligent Investor - Benjamin Graham (get the updated one with Jason Zweig)
Trading in the Zone - Mark Douglas
Anything by Peter Lynch

If Technical Analysis interests you
Technical Analysis of the Financial Markets - John Murphy (must for starters)
Encyclopedia of Chart Patterns - Thomas Bulkowski

Thanks!! I really want to read the RIGHT book so I start out thinking clearly so I appreciate the input.

 

[Hitman26]

I second "anything by Peter Lynch".

 

[desrat]

Only had a few minutes this morning...

If I had to start with one book to learn fundamentals I might give Lynch's Learn to Earn a slight edge over The Intelligent Investor but I mean slight. You really can't go wrong with either, don't let the original publication date of Graham's book fool you (1930s), it's timeless. The revised edition with Zweig and a foreword by Warren Buffet make it even more so.

Pick one than read the other after, you'll have time as the fan is being pelted and sitting on the sidelines might be a good idea while you start your education. Like everything else the learning never ends, I usually average a book a week to try to stay up to speed.

The online links will also provide you with a ton of resources no matter you experience level.

Good luck!!

 

[ghoul31]

Buy low, sell high.

 

[Moneyneversleeps]

Pick four good stock mutual funds. A large company growth stock fund, mid cap, small cap, and international fund. You can use morningstar.com to screen mutual funds.
Use dollar cost averaging by investing a set amount each month into each fund. For example lets assume you begin with a $3000 initial investment in each fund and invest $200 monthly in each fund. Assuming a 10% rate of return (historical long term rate of return of the stock market) you will have $1.2 million in 25 years. It is pretty simple.

 

[asiarush]

Jaybird, I'm new to investing, I have an IRA for about 3 years now, I invest the max per year

Question, How do I invest in mutual funds, that aren't IRA's

I'd like to invest 2000, and some extra per month like you had talked about,

Please explain,

Thanks!!

 

[DennyCrane+]

Buy low, sell high.

Smart ass LOL. I thought the same thing when I read the topic :missingte

 

[Moneyneversleeps]

Jaybird, I'm new to investing, I have an IRA for about 3 years now, I invest the max per year

Question, How do I invest in mutual funds, that aren't IRA's

I'd like to invest 2000, and some extra per month like you had talked about,

Please explain,

Thanks!!

You can invest directly with the mutual fund company instead of going through a broker. This will likely save you money on fees. First you need to pick a mutual fund that you would like to invest in. You can research funds at morningstar.com for free or here is a link to funds that Kiplingers magazine recommends:

http://www.kiplinger.com/magazine/archives/2007/06/kip25.html

Let's say you would like to invest in Selected American Shares which is one of the funds Kiplingers recommends. Go to Selected American Shares website and you can request an application via the website or by calling. You can even download an application. You can find their website by using Google. Complete the application and mail a check. On the application you can elect the automatic monthly investments I speak of. They will debit your bank account monthly. It is that simple.
Most mutual funds have minimum investments of about $2500 but will take smaller initial investments if you agree to the automatic monthly investments.
Hope this helps. Let me know if you have any other questions.