Questions about Investing ???

T

ThisIsNotMyName

Contributor
Veteran X
Ok... I am wrapping up my first Macro Economics course. It was a 500 level course that my MBA curriculum had me take. The timing was pretty fortunate as we got to talk a lot about what has been going on as of late. All of this has got me thinking about wanting to invest in the stock market. Or to restate this, to begin learning how to invest in the stock market.

With that said, do you think it is worth the time and effort it takes to learn everything and then endlessly monitor the market? Or would I simply be better off letting someone else handle my money? As in, do you think they would earn a better (or similar) return than I could ultimately allowing me to spend my free time and brain cycles on smashing pussy and other personal hobbies I like to undertake.

In short, is it worth the effort?
 
How many people do you know who became rich from investing as a hobby? Pick a hobby you enjoy and don't waste your time.
 
dubs said:
How many people do you know who became rich from investing as a hobby? Pick a hobby you enjoy and don't waste your time.
Click to expand...

it cant be any worse of a hobby or pasttime than playing poker regularly. its all a gamble, at least investing will help you learn how the economy works and be more in-tune with the shape of things in the world.
 
Bibble said:
it cant be any worse of a hobby or pasttime than playing poker regularly. its all a gamble, at least investing will help you learn how the economy works and be more in-tune with the shape of things in the world.
Click to expand...

I would hope that if you play poker as a hobby, you really enjoy it. My point was that it's extremely difficult to consistently make money in the market without devoting a lot of time to it. If you want to find a hobby, then pick something you enjoy. If you really enjoy studying the markets, then investing is a good hobby.
 
Rayn said:
That being said, if I were you I'd obtain just enough information to select mutual funds / ETFs that don't suck and just stick with that.
Click to expand...
^ That.

Direct investing on your own requires either extreme luck, or a large bankroll.
 
Wendel said:
Ok... I am wrapping up my first Macro Economics course. It was a 500 level course that my MBA curriculum had me take. The timing was pretty fortunate as we got to talk a lot about what has been going on as of late. All of this has got me thinking about wanting to invest in the stock market. Or to restate this, to begin learning how to invest in the stock market.

With that said, do you think it is worth the time and effort it takes to learn everything and then endlessly monitor the market? Or would I simply be better off letting someone else handle my money? As in, do you think they would earn a better (or similar) return than I could ultimately allowing me to spend my free time and brain cycles on smashing pussy and other personal hobbies I like to undertake.

In short, is it worth the effort?
Click to expand...

Buy 5k houses that NET you 5k/year. If you sell for anything, you make $$$.

CLIFFS:
1. Buy in my market.
2. I'll manage your property (as I own/manage all mine now).
3. Make bank
4. Sell for whatever once the capital gains tax is suspended for a couple years.
5. PROFIT! :dapimp:
 
Rayn said:
This is a good book to start with if you are interested; I don't like the Gardners -- I think they are sell-outs and sensationalists.

Amazon.com: The Intelligent Investor: A Book of Practical Counsel: Benjamin Graham: Books

That being said, if I were you I'd obtain just enough information to select mutual funds / ETFs that don't suck and just stick with that.
Click to expand...

this.

unless you really know how to analyze an individual company and trust it to give you correct data to analyze in the first place, long you're better off in mutual funds (the well managed ones such as American Funds, Russell Funds) because they will allow you to hedge your risk in a down market.

some food for thought on different types of investments:
1926-2004 average annual compound rate of return (%)

small caps: 12.7
large caps: 10.4
gov. bonds: 5.4
T-bills: 3.7
Inflation: 3.0

allocation
-best/worst What this means is where do I put my money? real estate? large corps? international corps? first listed is the highest % rate of return for that year. 2nd listed is the lowest % rate of return for that year. The conclusion that this puts forth is the near impossibility of predicting long term what section of the market is going to be up for a particular year because there is no trend or pattern to determine what is going to be the winner.
The 8 categories compared are International funds, real estate, small caps, high yield bonds, mid caps, large caps, core bonds, and cash.

1993-2007
1993 international 32.9% / Cash 3.1%
1994 international 8.1% / small cap -4.8%
1995 large cap 37.4 / cash 5.8%
1996 real estate 35.3 / core bond 3.6%
1997 large cap 33.4 / international 2.1%
1998 large cap 28.6 / real estate -17.5%
1999 international 27.3 / real estate -4.6%
2000 real estate 26.4 / international -14.0%
2001 real estate 13.9 / international -21.2%
2002 core bond 10.3 / large cap -22.1%
2003 international 39.2 / cash 1.1%
2004 real estate 31.6 / cash 1.2%
2005 international 14.0 / core bond 2.4%
2006 real estate 35.1 / core bond 4.3%
2007 international 11.6 / real estate -15.7%
 
roselyn.gif


btw, thanks guys :D
 
You don't let others manager your money. You do it yourself with the cheap online brokers or open a Vanguard account.

We're still not at the bottom yet.

Watch this video to see why.

 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top