eTrade & investing questions

T

ThisIsNotMyName

Contributor
Veteran X
I just opened up an account with eTrade. My plans are to build my own portfolio of about 10-15 stocks. I don't have a lot of money to initially invest ($500-1000) and am wondering what kind of minimums are set on stock transactions at places like this. Would I be better off looking into ETFs?

Any advice?
 
I dont think you want to invest in 10 to 15 different stocks when you only have that much money. I think etrade is like $13 per trade so if you bought 15 stocks that just ate up like $200. Maybe find 3-5 stocks you want to own.
 
Trem_r said:
I dont think you want to invest in 10 to 15 different stocks when you only have that much money. I think etrade is like $13 per trade so if you bought 15 stocks that just ate up like $200. Maybe find 3-5 stocks you want to own.
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yeah, this is quickly becoming my thinking...
 
its $12.99 per trade there is no minimum

If you have a small amount, buy one stock. If you have less than $1000, wait until you have $1000.

ETFs trade just like stocks.

There are mutual funds that have no transaction fees and you can contribute small amounts to on a regular basis, -- but they still do charge expenses which are hidden from you so if you go this route go with low expense index funds like those offered by Vanguard.
 
Use Scottrade over Etrade. Smaller commission fee and no cap on shares.
 
There has got to be a cheaper broker for you out there. I'd seriously reconsider E*Trade if they are $13 a trade. Thats BS. Also with $500-$1000, you're basically going to be limited to stocks under $10 unless you plan on buying odd lots.

An ETF isn't a bad idea. There are a million out there these days.
 
Wendel said:
um... not really, the stocks i am looking at are anywhere from $3-20 a share :shrug:
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lol, maybe other ppl can correct me if im wrong, but im pretty sure even though the shares are only $3 real investors who are serious buy a few thousand dollars worth of the stock.
 
while putting all your eggs in one basket is a bad thing, with under 1k $ you can really only aford to put into 1 maybe 2. If you can stand to leave your money in long term go ahead, but with only 1k don't plan on fast money.

If you invest $1000 a 1% increase in stock price equals about $10, so you have to make atleast 2.6 % to get any profit off it (13$ x 2). Just be carful in the current market, do your research.

Its all about percentages, the price of a stock doesn't really matter in the end, 10% made from 10 shares of Google is the same amount of money as 10% from 500 shares of Ford
 
XTasy said:
lol, maybe other ppl can correct me if im wrong, but im pretty sure even though the shares are only $3 real investors who are serious buy a few thousand dollars worth of the stock.
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wow, YOU ARE SO FUCKING COOL. CAN I BE LIKE YOU SOME DAY?!?!?!

what part about me getting into investing did you overlook?

way to go fuck-stick...
 
Wendel said:
wow, YOU ARE SO FUCKING COOL. CAN I BE LIKE YOU SOME DAY?!?!?!

what part about me getting into investing did you overlook?

way to go fuck-stick...
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i don't understand why you're getting so aggressive when i'm just explaining to you that with $500-$1000 you are probably going to end up investing in one stock only.

with your attitude and anger problems, why anyone would want to help you is beyond me :shrug:
 
don't put money in yet orby said it is going below 500 in 3 days
spend it on guns and ammo and canned goods
 
Wendel said:
and it looks like ScotTrade or Ameritrade is the way to go for me. I need to do some more homework it seems.
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They're all relatively similar. Ameritrade will give you a month of free trades, after which fees are $10/trade.

Pretty much - any of these services will be fine as long as you intend to spend your money in the first month and then don't intend to sell or make any other trades for a long time and pray that your portfolio's value increases by a lot in order to recoup the fees for both buying AND eventually selling. With a $10 fee for a trade I wouldn't ever invest less than $500 in a single purchase, minimum.

OTOH if you're willing to sacrifice some $ in the interest of learning this stuff on your own, and you don't care if you lose your entire investment (which is unlikely but always a possibility), sure, why not. But don't view it as investing, view it as blowing your cash.
 
Another thing to keep in mind:

Let's say $1000 right now represents a significant figure to you. Maybe not your entire savings, but a good amount of money. If you invest it now with the hope of a reasonable return in the future, say 10-15%, by the time it hits that level and you're able to sell, the profits really won't mean much to you. If you can sell in a year and make $100, or 5 years and make $500....do you think 5 years from now $500 is going to be a signifcant amount of money to you? If you're young and starting to save up and get a real job etc, I'd wager that by then that type of money won't be life-changing in any way.

Caveat - the market is still pretty crazy, and it's totally possible for you to invest now and see solid returns of 25% in a matter of weeks. Of course, it's chaos, so who the fuck knows - maybe it'll all crash again and you'll lose 50%...
 
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