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[unifiedwealth365]

So I've been using capital one share builder app for years and they decided to sell to etrade. I have just under $200 in my money market account going to be transferred to etrade. Any advice? I want to look into medical marijuana companies please throw some bread crumbs

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[fenders53]

(09-15-2018, 12:30 PM)unifiedwealth365 Wrote: So I've been using capital one share builder app for years and they decided to sell to etrade. I have just under $200 in my money market account going to be transferred to etrade. Any advice? I want to look into medical marijuana companies please throw some bread crumbs

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First of all welcome the the forum.  This is an investing forum and not a gambling forum so you may not like this advice but you will understand it's good advice someday. Gambling is fun but do it on the side with play money.  Step one is to start something real.  If you don't have much money to start then I suggest an S&P 500 index fund.  Another option is a Dividend Re-investment program.  That's how I started 35 years ago.  You can invest directly into a solid company.  $20 a month if that's all you have.  Zero commissions. 

If you want to play with MJ stocks head on over to a penny stock forum and throw down a $100.  Consider it an education as you learn most of these companies are complete scams.  Who knows, maybe you'll get lucky. The Canadian MJ stocks are less scammy then most if that helps you any.  But it's a trade, not an investment.

[unifiedwealth365]

(09-15-2018, 01:01 PM)fenders53 Wrote:

(09-15-2018, 12:30 PM)unifiedwealth365 Wrote: So I've been using capital one share builder app for years and they decided to sell to etrade. I have just under $200 in my money market account going to be transferred to etrade. Any advice? I want to look into medical marijuana companies please throw some bread crumbs

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

First of all welcome the the forum.  This is an investing forum and not a gambling forum so you may not like this advice but you will understand it's good advice someday. Gambling is fun but do it on the side with play money.  Step one is to start something real.  If you don't have much money to start then I suggest an S&P 500 index fund.  Another option is a Dividend Re-investment program.  That's how I started 35 years ago.  You can invest directly into a solid company.  $20 a month if that's all you have.  Zero commissions. 

If you want to play with MJ stocks head on over to a penny stock forum and throw down a $100.  Consider it an education as you learn most of these companies are complete scams.  Who knows, maybe you'll get lucky. The Canadian MJ stocks are less scammy then most if that helps you any.  But it's a trade, not an investment.

I totally forgot to introduce myself so thank you for the welcome. I love real answers and yours made me stop and think. I was about to fall for the flashing lights. Before this etrade business that's where my focus was on the s&p. Stick to what I know until I learn and am ready. Thanks

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[fenders53]

(09-15-2018, 01:50 PM)unifiedwealth365 Wrote:

(09-15-2018, 01:01 PM)fenders53 Wrote:

(09-15-2018, 12:30 PM)unifiedwealth365 Wrote: So I've been using capital one share builder app for years and they decided to sell to etrade. I have just under $200 in my money market account going to be transferred to etrade. Any advice? I want to look into medical marijuana companies please throw some bread crumbs

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

First of all welcome the the forum.  This is an investing forum and not a gambling forum so you may not like this advice but you will understand it's good advice someday. Gambling is fun but do it on the side with play money.  Step one is to start something real.  If you don't have much money to start then I suggest an S&P 500 index fund.  Another option is a Dividend Re-investment program.  That's how I started 35 years ago.  You can invest directly into a solid company.  $20 a month if that's all you have.  Zero commissions. 

If you want to play with MJ stocks head on over to a penny stock forum and throw down a $100.  Consider it an education as you learn most of these companies are complete scams.  Who knows, maybe you'll get lucky. The Canadian MJ stocks are less scammy then most if that helps you any.  But it's a trade, not an investment.

I totally forgot to introduce myself so thank you for the welcome. I love real answers and yours made me stop and think. I was about to fall for the flashing lights. Before this etrade business that's where my focus was on the s&p. Stick to what I know until I learn and am ready. Thanks

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

Nothing wrong with a little speculative money.  Just don't confuse it with real investing.  Getting your nose bloodied now may save you from a real loss in the future.  I've done plenty of gambling back in the day.  Just don't let it turn you off to investing and you'll be happy in the future.

[crimsonghost747]

Welcome.

Ultimately, the very large majority of us starts out small, either with a single fund or a single stock. And over time, with monthly contributions, the amount of money and the amount of different equities in our portfolio grows. I started with one utility company in 2012 and now I'm up to 20+ long positions in stocks, one bond (will be more soon) and up to 4 options at any given time.

Make a plan! Now all you have is $200, honestly that's not going to get you far in the investing world but it's a start. On top of that you need monthly contributions, it doesn't matter if it's $50 per month or $5000 per month, main thing is that you can do it each and every month so the amount of equities you own keeps increasing. Also reinvest all the dividends, it'll make a big difference in the end.

So time to start googling and researching on how to make an investment plan. You can always ask us if you have any questions or doubts. With the amounts that you are looking at, a simple fund is usually a good way to go. Some brokers offer their own funds with no commission, that would be very useful if your monthly contribution is low. You can also look at robinhood, I believe they still offer zero commission.

It's ok to have one or two speculative plays in your portfolio but I wouldn't start with one. I usually try to keep the value of any single speculative play below 2% of my total portfolio value.

[fenders53]

Good advice. Regularly investing is how the plan comes together long-term. And the early years are very important so the magic of compounding has time to work. Assuming you are young, that $25 you invest this week may be worth over $800 at typical retirement age. It doesn't require highly speculative investments for that to be not only possible, but probable.

When you make that first speculative play, make is very small and consider it "tuition" in an course in how not to invest. If you happen to "win" the trade, that doesn't make you smart, it just makes you lucky. Don't get greedy and double down. Small bets until you finally lose most of a position. Only then do you know what it feels like. I wish I had followed this advice when I first started investing. Instead I waited until the 1990's and lost some real money.