Stock Traders Come In Here

[The King]

I will add to the origianl O.P.'s query.

....any financial analysts or gurus that are good to follow for investing tips, education and such? I usually watch Cramer and msnbc in the morning for their shows.

I usually browse sites like seekingalpha.com and thestreet.com as well as msnbc.com.

I was talking with the coke rep at work, he is into investing big time. He suggested I read up on investing in market index funds, dividend ETFs, and mutual funds. He mentioned to look into IRA/Roth IRA.

Can someone break down into layman terms the benefits/disadvatages of both IRAs?

IRA is tax-deferred, so the amount you contribute is deducted from your taxable income in the year you make the contribution. Roth IRA is funded with after-tax contributions, so you owe no taxes on your contributions or their earnings at the time you withdraw funds from it (after 5 years). Disadvantage of the IRA is you must wait until age 59 1/2 to make withdrawals ( with some exceptions) without incurring a 10% penalty.

[Captain Crawfish]

My advice is to not "trade". That bullshit is for suckers. What you should try to do is "invest". Anyone who tells you that they know where a stock will be next week or next month or even next year is a hack.

This post will be followed by blowhards who will tell you different. Don't listen.

the days of buy and hold are gone IMO. everyone has a strategy though as long as it works to each their own

[jefehbk]

IRA is tax-deferred, so the amount you contribute is deducted from your taxable income in the year you make the contribution. Roth IRA is funded with after-tax contributions, so you owe no taxes on your contributions or their earnings at the time you withdraw funds from it (after 5 years). Disadvantage of the IRA is you must wait until age 59 1/2 to make withdrawals ( with some exceptions) without incurring a 10% penalty.

so Roth IRA is the better of the two choice? it is money that is saved but has already been taxed? therefore when it gets withdrawn at retirement age, it will be tax free distribution?

[The King]

so Roth IRA is the better of the two choice? it is money that is saved but has already been taxed? therefore when it gets withdrawn at retirement age, it will be tax free distribution?

Yes, it will be tax free when withdrawn.

Which one is the better choice is up to the investor of course, but I personally went with a Roth. That's not to say that a tax-deferred IRA is a bad choice though, because many 401K plans are set up that way (mine is).

[Broncojohnny]

Like anything else, the more you educate yourself on a subject the more you reduce risk. Everybody has their own tactics and methods, just depends what kind of return you are looking for. If you are fluent with charts, day trading is not a bad deal. I would not recommend a new investor/trader to day trade. I never have more than 20% of my portfolio tied up in my day/swing trades to limit over exposure. Remember, the entire point is to buy low and sell high. The more often you do that, the more often you make money.

If you are confident in your methods then why wouldn't you have 100% tied up in day trades? Sounds like gambling to me.

[Broncojohnny]

Could you explain a little more on what you mean by investing vs trading? I know its a noob questions but I guess I kind of thought that by getting some stocks and creating a portfolio that was investing.

Learn about fundamentals, realize that you are buying a tiny part of a business, not some piece of paper. Understand what you are doing, otherwise you are just gambling.

[jayjohnson600]

Yes, it will be tax free when withdrawn.

Which one is the better choice is up to the investor of course, but I personally went with a Roth. That's not to say that a tax-deferred IRA is a bad choice though, because many 401K plans are set up that way (mine is).

Be wary. It only take the passing of a law to change how things are taxed.

[Silverback]

My advice is to not "trade". That bullshit is for suckers. What you should try to do is "invest". Anyone who tells you that they know where a stock will be next week or next month or even next year is a hack.

This post will be followed by blowhards who will tell you different. Don't listen.

I'm not sure who I despise listening to more... Investment Analysts, or Sports Analysts...

[The King]

Be wary. It only take the passing of a law to change how things are taxed.

Or, in the manner in which the current administration is operating, an executive order to nationalize private assets.

I only chose a Roth for my IRA, and it has a considerably lower balance than my 401K since the Roth option only became available in relatively recent times.

[zemog]

My advice is to not "trade". That bullshit is for suckers. What you should try to do is "invest". Anyone who tells you that they know where a stock will be next week or next month or even next year is a hack.

This post will be followed by blowhards who will tell you different. Don't listen.

a good trader does NOT predict, he executes a plan and plays the odds, NOBODY can predict what the market is going to do because it can do anything, anytime.

I use tos for futures trading and oanda for forex as the spreads are much smaller than tos

[03mustangdude]

Since this thread got bumped anyone have an opinion for jamba juice (JMBA) as a long term play?

Should have bought the thing when it was 1.80 but was waiting for it to hit 1.60- and the little thing shot up to 2.50 due to financials.

Just like a different set of eyes on it if someone has a chance.

[jayjohnson600]

Read Security Analysis by Benjamin Graham(a foundational work), and as many other reference works that you can.

Adjust to a level of safety that works for you, which also exists in the current market.

Setup a fantasy account, get comfortabel with how things work, and test your strategies etc.

[Broncojohnny]

a good trader does NOT predict, he executes a plan and plays the odds, NOBODY can predict what the market is going to do because it can do anything, anytime.

I use tos for futures trading and oanda for forex as the spreads are much smaller than tos

Most traders that I know of try to employ technical analysis which is predicting. Maybe you are saying those guys aren't good, I would agree that a lot of them aren't.

[Captain Crawfish]

Most traders that I know of try to employ technical analysis which is predicting. Maybe you are saying those guys aren't good, I would agree that a lot of them aren't.

every chart tells a story a good trader knows when to listen!

[junior]

Has anyone said "scottrade"