You should as a general rule try to out perform the market. If you only bought it recently you may have to hold on to it for at least a few months before it goes up. When you think it has peaked then you normally sell and buy another stock that you think will out perform the market. If you really want to make any money then you have to buy and sell the stocks at the right time. So you need not only to be familiar with your own stock but also other potential stocks on the market. It can be a risky business as well in case you get the timing wrong or your assumptions are incorrect.
Brokers can help you select a stock. However their are good and bad brokers out there. There is no substitute for hard work and research.
Let them sit and when the price goes up from what you have bought, sell some of them.
But ya I was also thinking about investing in stocks as it is less risky then foreign exchange (I think) so it would be great if someone can give some really helpful tip for us beginners.
Okay so my sister told me there are some sites on the internet that let you use "virtual money" and will allow you to "invest" in stocks and keep track of the money you gain. This is all just "play money", however. I think I'll mess around with that for a few weeks and then throw in some of my own precious pehayyy :]
Hey look I don’t really like the idea much myself either. I refused the idea when my sister first brought it up because I didn’t want to be treated like some sort of baby…investing play money and all.
BUT, then she talked some sense into me, saying that I shouldn’t go investing money that’s been saved in the bank for me for so many years…because there’s a high risk (me being a rookie invester) of losing it.
Has the stockmarket no sympathy for young, broke, college-bound teenagers?
Play money is good as it somewhat gives you an understanding of the whole procedure but things get changed when you invest your own money. It is better to first study the market, different types of stocks, pros n cons, get tips from people in the business, etc
Share dealing is a complicated business. But since it will be Eid soon let me give you a couple of tips for rookies 1) look out for p/e ratio of stocks i.e price/earnings ratio…the lower the p/e ratio for that sector (unless it is a high growth company that will remain high growth for the next few years) the better the stock providing that there is no reason to suspect a downturn.2) if you are worried you can put a stop loss limit on the shares…so if the shares fall when that limit is reached the broker will sell the shares. So your liability is limited.
Disclaimer this is a very basic explanation. In real life many different factors have to be weighed up.
I guess what I should do is let them sit there and keep purchasng company's stock, as you said, and may be after a few months get together with a stock broker, since I am new at it, and may be they can advise me for some small fee or percentage. Once I learn about it and get some familiarity with it, I can do the trading on my own.
phatima, buying selling stocks with a $100 or even a $500 bucks is not a worth while effort for two reasons. One that the fees involved in trading stocks will cut into your profits that is if you make a profit, unless you hit a jack pot and buy some junk stock for $2 a piece and it sky rockets to $20 or something. Secondly, the amount of time it takes to investigate a company, like going through their 10-k statement and just reading online analyst reports is not worth the time or the return on the money. For that you should use fake money where you and your Dad can use an Excel sheet or something to keep track of stocks you would purchase if you had like a $100,000 or something. It will be fun to see if you do well or your Dad.
For a $100, you should invest in some sort of commodity or retail. You know, if you think at your school people would love to have a certain kind of chocolate during lunch break and you can buy it cheap at a whole sale shop like Costco or Sams, then you should try to buy it cheap and sell it high. But don't invest all of your $100 in it. Such retail business teaches you a lot more about running a business, about inventories, profit margin, bargaining, importance customer service and cash flow than stocks would ever will.
I guess what I should do is let them sit there and keep purchasng company's stock, as you said, and may be after a few months get together with a stock broker, since I am new at it, and may be they can advise me for some small fee or percentage. Once I learn about it and get some familiarity with it, I can do the trading on my own.
You mentioned that you bought stock in your own company. The reason that you are buying is because you work for the company...however out of hundreds of companies to chose from...there maybe better investment opportunities out there.
You buy stocks normally via a broker...there is no getting away from it...at the moment you may not be using a broker but that is probably because you work for the company and are buying through some scheme.
Brokers normally charge you a fee on a sliding scale usually a small percentage of the value of the purchase...the bigger the quantitie the lower the commission. There are also two types of service...execution only...when they will buy whatever you want without advice and the other where they will advise you..obviously for advice you may pay a bit more.
you should first invest in a fantasy stock market to get some experience. it will be identical to the real thing but you will be using fantasy money instead of your own. fantasy stock games are based on real stock market activity and prices.
yahoo used to have a good fantasy stock challenge but i think they discontinued it.
You buy stocks normally via a broker...there is no getting away from it...at the moment you may not be using a broker but that is probably because you work for the company and are buying through some scheme.
Brokers normally charge you a fee on a sliding scale usually a small percentage of the value of the purchase...the bigger the quantitie the lower the commission. There are also two types of service...execution only...when they will buy whatever you want without advice and the other where they will advise you..obviously for advice you may pay a bit more.
This is what happens.
Each paycheck, a small portion is deducted from my paycheck to purchase company stocks.
E-trade is the brokerage firm that works with/for our company and each employee has to use this company to make any transaction regarding their employee stocks.
Once I have bought a few shares, I will probably either call the company and ask them the details or go to another private brokerage firm where I can sit down with someone and ask them what my options are.
I’m investing some money (I haven’t exactly figured out how much just yet, but somewhere around $100 - $500). I can’t waste my life playing investing virtual money when I could be doubling my profits in a few months, maybe less.
I refused the idea when my sister first brought it up because I didn’t want to be treated like some sort of baby…investing play money and all. 
