The only things you can really control in investing is your allocation between stocks and fixed income and your costs.
Look into low cost, broadly diversified index funds and do your gambling at the track or casino with money you can afford to lose. Oh and ignore the media/broker industry hype.
Beginners should start with investing in blue chips for long periods of time (weeks to months). Those are the safest investments.
Once you've put in more work in researching and analyzing stocks, you can opt to tackle the lesser-known companies.
There's more to investing than just purchasing stocks. Read "Investing For Dummies."
You need to establish your investment goals. Simply buying an investment may or may not be a means to an end.
Clark HOward has great info.
I haven't invested anything yet but in the next month or so I will. I was wondering if anyone has any advice on what I should look for when purchasing stock. Thanks for any insight.
