With all the volatility happening for the last 2 weeks, there has got to be a way to use it to someone’s advantage. I know buy low sell high, but for someone that is totally unfamiliar with investing in stocks, how do you go about making smart decisions right now, before the market returns to normal?
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I would not play this market for short-term gain, it is so volatile you might get lucky, you might get burned.
Only invest money you don't need for a few years, you should see a profit on it when this all clears
Same as always, buy low/sell high. If you already own it, and the price has dropped below the price you paid, then hold on to it. If you've been eyeing it and waiting for a good time to buy, buy while it's falling.
Don't fret hindsight worrying about whether you maybe possibly could have bought a bit lower or sold a bit higher. Imaginary gains and losses only raise your blood pressure for no reason.
Personally, I prefer investing to trading. Look to old companies that have already weathered several "disasters" and are still around. Stay away from upstarts that haven't proved themselves unless you have time to really dig into the research on them.
Just my view, find a broker or firm that you like. Interview the team who will be handling your account/funds before you decide. If you don’t think they are listening closely enough or have enough research info on the investments you are considering, keep looking. My parents used Schwab for almost 40 years and I went with another company. I just bought a lot today, some individual stocks, mutual funds, and ETFs. Good luck on this, hope you do well.
What stocks are you looking into. I have a pretty good 401k building with my current company over the last few years, because they have a great match and employee investment program. But, I have about 5k from a previous employer that I am not longer contributing to, so the growth will probably be a little more stagnant. I was thinking that I could take the money and basically gamble a little of it, to try to capitalize on what is happening. It’s not money that will make it break anything, so I figure why not.
Any advise? It’s pretty intimidating, when you have just trusted the 2050 growth plan, without trying to do anything on your own...
A couple of names I heard today were Wells Fargo and Pfizer.
Are there things in your 401k that are doing particularly well or do you just get summary information by quarter? Is there an industry you know a lot about and if so, do you think some companies are better managed than others? Or, do they have new products coming on line? Do you want to put the 5k in a CD or money market fund?
There are many smart people here, other ideas?
Buy things that will make money right now. Proctor gamble. Paper (toilet) companies. Etc
Don’t buy cruise liners. Airlines. Etc
Short VIX index. Buy VIX puts. ViX is volatility. At a once in a lifetime high. Volatility can't stay high forever. By definition.