There are two views of putting money to work in the market. The first is quietly sitting down, studying balance sheets and deciding on an investment that you’ll probably stick with for a few years. The other is the fast pace, high stress picture you get from movies like Wall Street. With row upon row of traders, two or three computer screens each, yelling at every single up and down tick of a stock. Exactly how realistic that is, I don’t know, but it makes for good movie drama.
For as long as there’s been market exchanges, there have been people who have taken a trading or investing approach to making money through that exchange. What exactly are the differences between the two? Which is better? What to watch out for? Continue Reading…
Volatile markets are great for the day traders. They offer great opportunities to make money, but as a trader you have to be watching the market movements on a minute by minute basis. Not everyone has the time or the risk tolerance to invest this way. Sometimes it’s better to play things safe during highly uncertain times.
Some people call it research, others analysis, maybe its due diligence, and even worse, homework. It’s certainly not fun, can be overly time consuming, but with investing it’s an absolute must or it will cost you.
When you see market corrections or moves like we have the past few days, things have a tendency to look more ominous than they really are. The markets don’t like uncertainty and that is exactly what they’re getting. With uncertainty you get high price fluctuations in stocks, bonds, and commodities, which is great for traders but tough to watch for the average investor.
As far as retirement plans go, the 401(k) has become one of the most popular choices available. It’s low cost, easy set up and wide range of investment possibilities have made it a viable option for both large and small businesses. It has also put the sole responsibility of saving for retirement squarely on the shoulders of the employees.
If you currently have investments in mutual funds and want more control over your money without having to get into the tedious analysis of individual stocks or bonds, ETFs may be right for you. ETFs have been growing in popularity and numbers over the past few years due largely to their unique advantages over mutual funds and diversification opportunities they present.