Getting into stocks..where to even start?

[Redlyne_mr2]

Hey guys,
Ive had money sitting around in GIC's for quite some time and the gains just arent what I want. Im wondering how to get started in stocks. I think what I will do is start small $3000-5000 investment and then once I get the hang of it push some more in from there. I know some brokers Ive been talking to require a minimum of $10K investment and being the newbie that I am, it just isnt something I want to do yet.

[Redlyne_mr2]

Ok so did some research on my own...now I guess the question im asking now is. Whats the best online trade system out there? Who offers a low price per trade and who has the most flexibility when it comes to the amount of trades a person can do per year.

[l/l/rX]

through what i know, in order to gain profits you should invest into penny stocks, which is a high risk factor you'll be taking.
investing into penny stocks, you SHOULD be continuously checking up on your stocks as often as possible through out the day. cuz obivously they are a high risk.
IMO you should only invest into these stocks if you have the time and day to keep track of them.

The money you have to invest (3000-5000) is not alot to invest into a more medium risk stock, which are more expensive.

the stocks thread in this section deals with penny stocks. the vancouver stock exchange. the more medium risk stocks you'll find in the TSX.

i'd say before you invest into anything, keep track of a few stocks that you have heard about from your friends or what not. see how they do in during a time period of like 2 weeks.

the stock market has been pretty shady though lately. but i guess if you're a risk taker, then this will be your best time to buy in. "buy low, sell high"

[Rav4Guy]

^^The minimum for every firm is set at a different amount.

There is no company that provides the BEST online trade system. They essentially all do the same thing. If you like to trade on your own, then there are companies like eTrade out there. The price will depend on the value of the trade. A person can trade as many or as little as he/she wants per year.

As for the making money... it doesn't matter if it's "penny stocks" or not. You can potentially make money on any tradeable equities... bear or bull market. Don't get into the mindset that you can ONLY make money off "penny stocks". With micro-caps/small caps (the penny stocks"), you'll have more leverage.

[EG STyLeZ]

Originally posted by Redlyne_mr2
Ok so did some research on my own...now I guess the question im asking now is. Whats the best online trade system out there? Who offers a low price per trade and who has the most flexibility when it comes to the amount of trades a person can do per year.

If you're looking for a brokerage that will charge you lower commission fees, look for a discount brokerage like TradeFeedom or Questrade. Typically, brokerages don't have a limit on the number of trades per year. Some of them actually give you some bonuses if you meet a minimum trade quota in a given time frame as incentive for you to make more trades.

[Canmorite]

Before jumping in with all your money, start small or paper trade for a few months.

Write down what you bought, why, when, how much you paid, and what your stop loss is.

If your really new to the markets read a few books and check out online sites for info (theres TONS on the net).

[l/l/rX]

before you trade, also take into account is it really worth it to trade x amount of stock for x price for the price you have to pay to trade.

[Rav4Guy]

^ worth is different to everyone.

- is a WRX worth $XX,XXX?? to you, yes. to me, no.
- do you like cloth seats? to you, maybe, to me, no.

It really depends on many factors Redlyne_mr2. No one will ever be 100% right but you can increase those percentages by investing in something you see will make money. Right now, a lot of mining stocks particularly molybdenum, tungsten, and other industrial metals are in a "hot market".

Check out the "stock tips" page and see what people are saying. Read up on the company and see what they do... where their assets are... etc. etc. If you don't spend the time to do that.. you might as well write down any three letters and buy that on the exchanges.

[max_boost]

$3K is more than enough to get the ball rolling. You would have doubled your investment already if you bought into URA and RSG when it was mentioned in the stock section

Well redlyne_mr2, you are going to have to ask yourself what your risk tolerance is. Low risk, stick to GIC's. Moderate risk, buy some mutual funds, sit back and collect your 10% returns every year. I tell you this, the real action is in stocks.

I turned my $4800---->$6500 that's 35% since the beginning of the year. If I held on longer to a couple stocks, it would have been over $9000. Who knew Beyond can get you 100% returns on your money. Mind you there are risks involved too, my recent position in NSM has dropped my portfolio by $500 so that 35% return is now 25%. So no pain no gain.

[pinoyhero]

I'd start with mut funds first, talk to a banker let him know what you're after in terms of risk and follow your fund and individual compents from tehre until you get more comfortable.

[EK 2.0]

Originally posted by max_boost
$3K is more than enough to get the ball rolling. You would have doubled your investment already if you bought into URA and RSG when it was mentioned in the stock section

Well redlyne_mr2, you are going to have to ask yourself what your risk tolerance is. Low risk, stick to GIC's. Moderate risk, buy some mutual funds, sit back and collect your 10% returns every year. I tell you this, the real action is in stocks.

I turned my $4800---->$6500 that's 35% since the beginning of the year. If I held on longer to a couple stocks, it would have been over $9000. Who knew Beyond can get you 100% returns on your money. Mind you there are risks involved too, my recent position in NSM has dropped my portfolio by $500 so that 35% return is now 25%. So no pain no gain.

Remember the tips I gave you dai lo...those are where to be mang...

[Redlyne_mr2]

Yah the bulk of my money is in GIC's right now obviously because of the low risk involved. Thats why I was looking at just starting small so that if I loose it all it wont hurt as much. Max_boost, who do you use to trade?

[Redlyne_mr2]

Anyone use CIBC to trade? I hear lots about RBC and TD waterhouse but since my primary bank is CIBC id like to stick with them.

[djayz]

Go with an etrade account...you get 100 free trades up to the next quarter which is june 30 and after that it will be 19.99 per trade or 9.99 if you have 50000 in assets or make 30 trades a quarter or more. Its flat rate though so you can trade as many shares as you want where-as TD and other banks charge 29.99 minimum then if its less than $1 stock and you trade more than 1000 shares they charge .02 cents a share additional or something along those lines.

Ive made huge trades with TD and because of the commisions it cut my gains quite a bit. I remember trading 10000 of a penny stock and paying 300 or something dollars in commision alone, but if I did that with etrade it would have cost me 9.99.


Also when I first started investing I made myself a base in a bunch of mutual funds and let them ride for about 6 months. After those 6 months I took out my $6000,which was close to $8000, from the funds and started putting it into stock and thats when the money started rolling in. Ive lost some but majority is in the gains.

One thing to do from the beginning is buy good stocks...dont jump into penny stocks right away, sure you might get lucky and double your money but you can just as quickly lose it all then youll have nothing to invest.

[EG STyLeZ]

Originally posted by Redlyne_mr2
Anyone use CIBC to trade? I hear lots about RBC and TD waterhouse but since my primary bank is CIBC id like to stick with them.

Whatever you do, DON'T go with CIBC Investor's Edge. I made the mistake of going with them because I bank with them. If you're really active, they do have a pretty good package where you pay $395 up front that gets you 50 US/CDN trades. Otherwise, you're going to pay about $30 per trade minimum.

If you went with a brokerage like TradeFreedom or Questrade, they will charge you $10 flat for basically all US/CDN trades

[Redlyne_mr2]

Originally posted by EG STyLeZ


Whatever you do, DON'T go with CIBC Investor's Edge. I made the mistake of going with them because I bank with them. If you're really active, they do have a pretty good package where you pay $395 up front that gets you 50 US/CDN trades. Otherwise, you're going to pay about $30 per trade minimum.

If you went with a brokerage like TradeFreedom or Questrade, they will charge you $10 flat for basically all US/CDN trades

Thats about the same as rbc and td ..tons of people i know use those.

[Redlyne_mr2]

Originally posted by EG STyLeZ


Whatever you do, DON'T go with CIBC Investor's Edge. I made the mistake of going with them because I bank with them. If you're really active, they do have a pretty good package where you pay $395 up front that gets you 50 US/CDN trades. Otherwise, you're going to pay about $30 per trade minimum.

If you went with a brokerage like TradeFreedom or Questrade, they will charge you $10 flat for basically all US/CDN trades

I was reading questrades site..do they not charge a monthly fee as well to use their software?

[Canmorite]

They don't charge a monthly fee as far as I know...

[EG STyLeZ]

Originally posted by Redlyne_mr2

I was reading questrades site..do they not charge a monthly fee as well to use their software?

You can pay extra for for higher trading platform that will provide much more information for the active trader, but their basic web-based platform is free and is probably comparable to Investor's Edge or Waterhouse software

[kaput]

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