Could you help me with investment advice?

most internet brokerages are going to require around $1,500 – $2,500 to open an account. Even with this amount, your best bet is to begin with mutual funds (especially with limited investing knowledge) to maximize your portfolio diversification. With $1,500 you will not be able to appropriately spread your money across stocks in different sectors/industries which leads to a lot of risk (the investment equivalent of putting all your eggs in one basket). A mutual fund invests in many different stocks and allows you to purchase shares of their diversified portfolio which gives you instant diversification. Research a few mutual funds and find one that matches your interests. You can find one’s that focus on international investing, technology, small companies, large companies, etc. Then open an etrade or scotttrade account and buy some shares. Later, when you have more money in the account, if you see a company you would like to invest in, buy some shares and build your portfolio over time.

The Motley Fool is a pretty respectable source. They have reviews and articles on specific picks, but also information on the basics of different types of investing. fool.com

http://www.clearstation.com

Buy the A-list. Sell anything that drops more than 5%. Repeat.

My friends, family and I use www.scottrade.com for it has a local office, is only $7 a trade and only required $500 to open an account. I have had an account for 3 years. I am sure some of the other Internet traders are good too.

Great answers above Clearstation is a free product of Etrade it has answers to all your questions about investment strategies. I believe Scottrade is probably your best choice 500 minimum and no inactivity fee. I use Ameritrade I’m satisfied, I ended up with them when they bought Datek which I switched to after becoming dissatisfied with Etrade ten years ago. When I roll over my retirement it will probably be to a Scottrade account. The fact they have local offices is a plus too.

I think since your just starting stocks are your best choice, you need to be more hands on in your early trading the skills you learn will be more valuable to you than your initial gains.

a good general reading with relevant topics is Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine. pick one up at the news stand. I find that they explain financial stuff for a layman.

I would recommend checking out The Street.com ,they have a getting started section on investing basics, etc. The site is run by Jim Cramer (Mad Money on CNBC) and has tons of great articles on investing etc. I would even also recommend reading Jim Cramer’s books (Mad Money Get Rich Watching TV or Jim Cramer’s Real Money: Sane Investing in an Insane World). Another book I would recommend is Rule #1 by Phil Town. All are great starting points to getting informed and educated.

You don’t have to start out big to begin investing, start with a few shares of solid company like a Google or Toyota and hold for the long-term.

Good Luck !
R

Stay away from anyone claiming they can predict the future. Wall Street and the financial media want you to believe in forecasting because the products they sell are founded upon this belief. What they don’t want you to know is that forecasting is a failed strategy. Why? Predicting the future is impossible. It’s just guessing. Educate yourself about the what really creates investment success and stay far away from guys like Jim Cramer. He’s entertaining, but he promotes a failed philosophy.

Read things like this: Three Challenges of Investing

or this: Ditching the Monkey

or the books found here: Recommended Reading