Stock market - Who is into it?

[Arthur Dent]

Snuka, are you looking for some quick profit or a long term investment for retirement?

Shortly after 9/11, the market was at a serious low, so I bought some big name stocks at the lowest they've been in over a year. They went up, but still haven't gotten back to their normal average price. So, what I thought was going to be a short-term (3 or 4 month) investment will take a bit longer. Only made about 10-15% on what I put in so far. Expect to double my initial investment when the stocks go back up to where they belong when the economy recovers.

As for long term, I have a 401K account. Mine is from my company, but you can start your own. You get to select from a field of mutual funds with different types of stock and risk rating. Your select your funds, and what percentage of your cintribution goes into each. Then, just have a piece of your paycheck, like 4-10% sent directly into your 401K PRE-TAX.
For someone in there mid twenties, the usual advice is to put about 10% of your contribution into a bond fund which is very safe, and then spread out the rest over two or three stock funds of different risk levels.
If you talk to one of the companies that runs 401K's, like Fidelity, Merryl Lynch, etc. they will assign you an advisor who will explain the whole procedure and what the different funds are.

Edit - Another benefit of a 401K, is that you can borrow money from it, and any interest you pay on the loan goes into your 401K! Your always approved, because it's your money, and you pay back YOURSELF every cent including the interest.



Edited By Arthur Dent on Mar. 14 2002 at 09:50