How do people make money with stocks and are mutual funds better than stocks.?
82526
2 ways to make money.  First if you buy the shares at 10 dollars and they jump in price to 13 you made 3 dollars per share. The second way is when you own shares say of GM and they decide to pay a dividend of 1 dollar per share. You would receive a dollar for every share you own. Mutuals are better in general for novice investors do to investing in many companies into one fund which makes your risk less.  Also they pool many people together to invest which makes expenses much less do to more people sharing the expense.  If you interested in funds.  Vanguard is a great way to begin.  They have some very nice funds and their expense ratios are the best around.
332949
These 2 sites are pretty good for learning. The beginner will do best investing in mutual funds.
716687
There are two types of mutual funds.  Front end load mutual funds and no load mutual funds.  The load mutual funds have about a 5.75% sales charge added to the fund.  If you buy funds through a bank, chances are excellent they will suggest a load mutual fund because that generates income for them.  No load mutual funds do not contain a sales charge.  Generally they are sold directly by mutual fund companies and through many on line stock brokers.\n\nJust because a fund has a load does not necessarily mean that it is a bad investment.  Some of those funds have performed excellently and generally they have a lower expense ratios.  Enough lower that over a five year period you will make up the difference in the front end load.  \n\nThere are also closed end funds that are traded like stocks. Many Index funds fall into that category.  Most banks will be happy to sell you these funds because they receive a brokerage commission just like when they sell stocks. \n\nFund companies such as Royce,  Fidelity, Vanguard, and most others have internet sites where you can read about the funds they offer, down load the application forms and then order the funds.  You can then afterwards log onto their sites, check on how your funds are doing and even redeem your shares. \n\nYahoo finance and Forbes both offer mutual fund screening tools to help you find good funds.  Those sites however do not evaluate closed end funds.  You have to go to special internet sites to find out information about those.  Don't know why?
173961
A mutual fund is a collection of some kind of investment, usually stocks. They’re extremely popular. Your parents own at least one mutual fund if they’ve ever worked at a company. Mutual funds work like this: You pick a fund you like (e.g., growth, value, technology, international…), buy shares of the fund, and let a money manager pick the stocks he thinks will yield the best return. In exchange for this diversification and his expertise, you pay an annual fee. \n\nAdvantages: Hands-off approach means an expert money manager makes investment decisions for you. Mutual fund (ostensibly) holds many varied stocks, so if one company tanks, your fund doesn’t go down with it (i.e., it’s “diversified”).\n\nDisadvantages: Annual fees can equal tens of thousands of dollars or more (!) over the lifetime of an investment. If you invest in two mutual funds, they may overlap in investments, yielding a less-diversified portfolio than you really think. In other words, if both funds hold Microsoft and Microsoft tanks, you get hit twice. Although you’re paying an expert to manage your money, they rarely beat the market—the mutual fund industry’s dirty secret!\n\nMuch more clear info in the link below :)
359867
He told you that most people don't have the time or brains?  OMG, that would make me wonder right there.  Load funds give your broker a commission up front plus the 12bII's.  No load come in many different forms, check the fine print for the fees.  If you are new and want to learn more about stocks, then may I suggest looking into ETFs?  They are like mutual funds except the fees are lower and they are more transparent and trade all day long, and after hours.  You can find out a lot about stocks, investing on the Internet.  I like to use msn's money site, it taught me a lot.  Good luck and always ask for a prospective before you buy a mutual fund from anyone.\n\nOh, and since this is a Yahoo site, I thought that I would mention that Yahoo has a finance site.  I bounce back and forth between the two because they both have features that the other one doesn't.  Like I can keep track of my investments on Yahoo messenger with Yahoo.
1001149
to learn about mutual funds and the stock market go to investopedia.com or the motelyfool.com. they will tell you everything you need to know
192317
Unlikely that kind of growth in mutual funds.  They are for safe, slower growth investing.  You would need something volitile, like oil stock to make that much money that quickly, and you stand to lose money that way.
661299
Buy a diversified series of HIGH QUALITY, LOW EXPENSE mutual funds. One good piece of advice is that especially when just starting out, owning individual stocks is just way too risky. In many cases, it's more akin to gambling than investing. So go with mutual funds, which are much more diversified, and therefore spread the risk among many, many more holdings. The key, of course, is buying quality. So make sure you hit ALL the asset classes, like Large cap stocks, small/mid cap stocks, international stocks, emerging markets stocks, government debt, corporate debt, hi-yield debt, foreign debt, emerging markets debt, real estate, commodities, and precious metals. That's 12 categories right there, so with $1200, you're talking about $100 each. This is called asset allocation, and it's a step beyond simple "diversification", which most idiots think is buying a hardware tech stock AND a software tech stock.\n\nAdd systematically on a monthly basis. That means make sure you put the same amount of money in every month, no matter what. Soon you won't even care what any of the markets are doing. They're up? Great! Some of my investments are worth more. They're down? Great! Now I'm buying quality investments at an "on sale" price.\n\nThen sit back and re-balance each year, back to your original percentages. Again, this is called asset allocation. It's is very important, perhaps the most important thing you can do with your money. The thinking being, what's BEEN hot is more than likely not going to STAY hot. All markets are cyclical. There's hundreds of years of data to back this up. Yet some people still think they can ride the next hot wave. They usually wind up begging on the street for beer money.\n\nNow, this sort of portfolio should average 8-12% per year, so just split the difference and say 10% on average. Will it do 10% EVERY year? Of course not. I'd be surprised if it EVER did EXACTLY 10%. That's an annual average. With that average, your money should double roughly every 7 years.\nSo, if you're starting with $1200 or so like I said in my example, then in 7 years , even if you added no more money, you should have about $2,400\nin 14 years you should have about $4,800\nin 21 years you should have about $9,600\nin 28 years you should have about $19,200\nin 35 years you should have about $38,400\nin 42 years you should have about $76,800\nin 49 years you should have about $153,600\nin 56 years you should have about $307,200\nin 63 years you should have about $614,400\nin 70 years you should have about $1,228,800!\n\nOf course, if you keep adding money in that $100 a month, you'll become a millionaire MUCH sooner. The key is discipline, and sticking in when markets are up OR down. Don't try to time the market--you'll NEVER get it right.\n\nBy the way, here's a handy formula:\n\n$100/month x 12% x 20 years = $100,000.\n\nSo if you need $300,000 in 20 years and have no idea how to get it, just save $300 a month and you're there. If you don't get 12%, you'll wind up with less naturally. But IF you still wind up with $250,000, I'd call that one hell of a failure.\n\nOh, and if you qualify on income limits (generally, if you're a single filer and make under $90,000/yr), and do this all in a Roth IRA? Then every penny will be 100% TAX-FREE. That's a deal that's too good to pass up. That's why I tell anyone who's under 30--if you make under $90,000, and therefore qualify to do a Roth, you'd be a fool not to. Just having the power of youth (and therefore time) on your side is such an advantage, to squander it would be such a waste!\n\nHope this helps!\n--J.
613289
it seems good to people who make financially investments.  You will notice that return on mutual funds are doing good, 401K etc.  The interest rate to borrow money is higher  now and the return on investing your money is higher which yields a win/win.
970570
A mutual fund is exactly what the name suggests.It is a fund Created mutually by a no. of investors like me and you.each investor contributes some amount towards the fund and in turn receives units of that mutual fund in proportion to his/her contribution.\n\nThe fund manager will in turn invest that money in the  market and try to generate profits by selling and buying at appropriate times.\n\nhe will then pass on the profits to mutual fund holders(like u and me) after deducting his fee/commission.\n\nmutual funds have a lot of benefits\n1)it takes out the burden of managing your own portfolio of stocks\n2) it provides investors an opportunity to invest in stocks which otherwise are very expensive for a single person to invest \n3)it provides you access to professional management of your investment.\n\nmutual funds are primarily of 3 types\n\n1)Equity oriented funds:most of the money would be invested in equity instruments(shares):high risk and high return.\n\n2)Growth oriented funds:most of the money is invested in Debt instruments e.g.Bonds,debentures etc.:low risk ,low return\n\n3)Balanced funds: half the money is invested in debt ,half in equity:moderate risk,moderate return \n\nhope this helps....cheers
388090
Obviously the most sensible answer is none other then Business. Investors can probably make the highest amount of money but there is large risk involved. Owning businesses but not actually working in them is the easiest way to make money as long as you can do it correctly.
1143005
This is a common mistake that most people make. I still try to figure this out… why do people buy when the market is high and sell when the market is low? It’s like going to a supermarket and asking them to charge you more for milk that’s on sale. \n\nHere’s some advice…\n\nInvest most of your money in mutual funds.  The reason… because they’re managed by people that know what they’re doing.  It’s ok to play individual stocks too, just don’t sink all you money into them.  You can also get away from commission fees by setting up an auto-investment plan with the online service that you’re using.  Doing some analysis won’t help you pick good companies, knowing the management will, however you and I don’t have that luxury.  So… what do we do?  Well, let’s start with the tangibles.  What products do they sell?  If that product would disappear could we live with out it or would it seriously hurt the way we live (i.e. toilet paper)?  How popular is this/these products and how easy is it to enter this particular market.  What competitors do they have?  What are they doing different?  Let’s take a look at the financials, how much debt is this company carrying? **** that’s the most important question.  Good companies become great by carrying little debt.  Look up book value ratio. This measures a company's stock price compared to it's book price.  \n\nEX.\n\nIf a company XYZ’s stock price is selling at $5 a share and the book value (liquidating the company) is $10, then just by buying this stock you’ve already made a $5 profit.   Hope this helps.\n\nAlso… hold your investments.  \n\nInvestments are supposed to be held for long periods of time. When I say long periods, I mean 10, 15, 20, 30 years. The key is that companies will make money, that’s what they’re in business for. Inflation, for a short-term, could affect this, however most companies will pass this off to consumers or find ways to cut back on costs. Do you see my logic…AS LONG AS COMPANIES ARE IN BUSINESS TO MAKE MONEY, you have nothing to worry about.
285750
Buying stocks is a good and easy way to make money ONLY if you invest in stocks that go up. If you invests in stocks that go down from the time that you buy them, you'll be loosing money big time! The stock market is a big risk...it's gambling with your money. You might earn money, but if you lose money and you don't have a lot of it, you'll have a big problem.
1024088
Mutual Fund\nSome or most mutual funds do not allow you to enter or exit except after the close of the trading day. \n\nIn mutual funds, unless you give the orders, it is always "in" the market. Some are limited to how many times you may trade in and out.\n\nYou have no idea whom is managing your money, and have no guarantee from past performance.\n\nA mutual fund will rarely outperform, or match the performance of the S&P or Dow because of their fees.\n\n\nETF's\nIt will take you hours of searching to find a mutual fund cheaper than investing in ETF's. An ETF has no loads or fees except for the commission, like any stock. In general, ETF's are much cheaper to trade.\n\nAn ETF will exactly match the index it is tied to, minus commission cost, which is negligible.\n\nYou can short the market with an ETF (betting on the market going down), which you cannot do with a mutual fund.\n\nThere is no "short-selling rule" like there is with stocks.\n\nI can't imagine why anyone would pay someone you don't know to keep you in the market at all times, when you can do the same thing yourself a lot cheaper, and get out when the markets get risky, like at failures at old all-time highs, like now. \n\nThe best way to do anything yourself is to learn something about it first. You'd be surprised at the thousands of books available on this one subject at your local library.\n\nBut most people spend more time deciding the color of their new car, than they do on a mutual fund advisor, for example. \n\nAre you really wanting to do this yourself, or are you asking about someone who is an expert who can do it for you?\n\nIf you invest in the stock market right now, or just buy into all the ETF's you can afford, it's a crap shoot, like rolling the dice, and the odds are probably not in your favor, whether you have an expert fund manager or not, because mutual funds are always "in" the market.\n\nThey say "Buy and Hold" for the long term is better, but that depends on when you get in, and what your definiton of "long term" is. The phrase "Buy low and sell high" infers that you buy after a decline; decidedly not the case here.\n\nThe Dow has approached all-time highs last seen in Jan 2000 and failed, so if your long-term definition is more than seven years, then you won't mind waiting another seven years for a profit.\n\nIn my opinion, the name of the game is capital preservation. When the risks are high, like right now, you get out of the stock and bond markets and park your cash in a interest bearing money market fund or CD or Treasury Bill.\n\nThis is simply not a good entry point for investors. Be patient, wait a few months, and you'll be able to buy much more stock a lot cheaper, the risks will be lower (even though they will seem higher), and your chance of success greater.\n\nIf you wish to research the “Buy and Hold Strategy” further, or perhaps trade yourself, I recommend two book titles. One is called "Which Is Better, Buy-and-Hold or Market Timing?" The other is "Do You Have What It Takes to Be a Market Timer?" They will give you plenty to think about.
535179
mutual funds ..as the name suggests is pool of funds contributed by large no. of individuals which is invested by financial experts in different fields to give a good retuen on the investment to the contributers. A company, trust, financial instituion as the case may be in a country invites funds from individuals and hires experts to invets the same into equity, debt, commodities and even real estate to generate profitable returns on them and investors thus gain from their investment as the profits made on investments are distributed among different contibuters to the fund in the ratio of their contribution. thus mutual funds help small investors to gain advantages of diversified portfolio and gain from specialised knowledge of experts who invest the money. to know more email me at siderminator@yahoo.co.in
918168
If you live in the U S, you might want to go to the book store and buy "Investing for Dummies".  It will be a big benefit in giving you a head start.  \n\nOne thing that many beginning investors due is to buy shares in one or more mutual funds.  By doing that there is less risk, of making a really bad investment and loosing a lot of money.  Many mutual funds however due have a period of time 30 to 90 days in which they will charge you a redemption fee if you sell the shares. \n\nMany successful investors buy shares with the intention of holding them for a very long period of time.  That way if they have purchased shares in growing companies, the value of their shares grows with the companies and continues to grow without having to pay taxes to the government in the mean time.  \n\nMutual funds unfortunately are required by law to distribute their realized gains annually on which one does have to pay taxes.  But there is a newer form of fund now available called an index fund that has very little realized gains and therefore little in the way of taxes.  \n\nThe minimum amout somewhat varies.  Some brokers will let you open an account with as little as $500.  And some mutual funds have a minimum initial investment of about $500.  Many however are in the $2000 to $2500 range and some even more. \n\nThe kind of shares I would recommend would be shares in companies that have an established record over at least 10 years and that are selling at a reasonable price relative to their earnings and that pay a dividend.
182088
There are all different types of mutual funds, so a "good return" depends on what the fund is invested in.  Every fund is classified by the sector that it is in and then the returns are judged against a benchmark.  So for example, if a growth fund consistently beats the return of the S&P 500 with a 13% average annual return than it would be considered a good return.  Conversely, if a government bond fund had an average annual return of 7% per year that would also be considered a good return.\n\nTo do some research on "good returns", you can use tools like Yahoo Finance or go straight to the third party, mutual fund reporting companies like Morningstar and Lipper.\n\nGood Luck!!