Which college courses would best empower a new investors understanding of the market
I know that an educated investor is the best kind, but should I focus on investing classes $$$ (ie. Chris Rowe) or economics and finance classes in a community college. Or better yet travel to Wall street and get a mail clerk job and learn from the ground up. My wife will support me in any path as long as I can make $$ in the future.
Best Answer
904 points
jillybeansisme answered one year ago …
A person works so much in their life time. Be in a job you love and let investing be your outside endeavor. Working as a clerk on Wall Street will not teach you the business. Since I don't know anything about you, your finances or your financial skill level other than you want to learn, please don't be offended with what I'm about to say.
Take your earnings and invest them as follows every single payday even if it is only $5 in each:
Emergency account
House account (for a downpayment, property taxes, replacement water heater, homeowners insurance, etc.)
Car account (for insurance, repairs, purchase of a new vehicle)
Luxory account (for vacation, splurges, Christmas, etc.)
Investment account (so you can get enough together to get started)
And then pay all your other bills with the rest. Yes, this means budget.
READ READ READ investment newsletters, beginning with the free ones. Motley Fool, Tycoon Report, etc.
Figure out what your comfort level is regarding risk. How will you sleep if one of your investments takes a nosedive?
When you are first beginning to invest, it is incredibly difficult to diversify your holdings because you might not have the money; therefore, ETFs can be a great way to go. ETFs are exchange traded funds that trade like stocks.
I do like having some stock which pays dividends. I personally do not like to reinvest dividends into the same stock. I like to collect the dividends and put them into new purchases.
Stay away from commodity futures trading, options trading, and margin trading. All of these require specific knowledge of the ins and outs and the majority of people have no business getting involved until they are very seasoned investors.
Remember that it is a VERY RARE occasion to get a hot tip at the water cooler that makes you money.
Find an investment newsletter style that you feel comfortable with. Find out its record (I would listen more to an investment newsletter with an average yearly gain of 67% than one bragging about 9%).
See what stocks/funds keep coming up.
Go to investment seminars that don't cost much and they aren't trying to sell you anything (check out the community college in your area for general investing classes).
Get your feet wet by paper trading an account (ok, this is pretend, but it gives you an idea of what would be happening in your real account).
And, again, check in here at Tickerhound and read the various entries. You'll get a great free education.
Good luck!
Answers
951 points
Grudun answered one year ago …
If you go the college route the best classes are going to be the basic low level economics and a basic intoductory class in international bussiness(for me at least). Most of investing is understanding and acting on basic principal of Supply and Demand. I have heard from a lot of people who took extensive financial courses that it is almost all ivory tower idealized scenarios that aren't valuable in the real world( I recently read a story where a top performing sales person was failed on a class sales presentation that had already generated huge sales for the company, he left school and is making millions).
If you are going to try to work your way up through a company you have to realize that most of the positions in the Wall Street firms are sales based, if you can't sell you will never advance and will be cut in the next sweep of the department. So I would recommend working part time in any sales position you can to learn how to sell before you are in a sell or get fired position.
But I think the best option is to find a day job that you love, and also provides decent compensation. And then carefully budget and wisely invest your money. This will help you move forward financially and not burn yourself out only pursuing money while your home life and emotional life suffer.
312 points
mjrenn answered one year ago …
Great answer from Grudun. May I add a liitle more.
Most definately have a look at Chris Rowe's ISS course (CRISS) if you have not already done so. I'm sure it will give you as good an education as you need in the ways of Wall Street. The information it provides has value in the real world. C Rowe is an outstanding analyst/teacher.
You will be able to study the course at your own pace in your own home while finding/doing the work that you really love to do. You and your wife will be able study the course together.
As you become a better investor, you will become a better employee because you will be doing the work that you love to do and at the same time having that special feeling of financial independence.
If you have work that you enjoy, it doesn't matter what the work is, you can get really good at it and the pay days will get bigger giving you more cash to invest and eventually there will be money coming at you from all directions.
Sorry to go on a bit there. I invested good enough before I got CRISS. Now I invest better. And I am not an educated person.
Hope this helps and the very best of luck to you.
116 points
yorkie answered one year ago …
I'm sure Chris Rowe's course is good, though I never had it, but I read his articles in Tycoon Report -the only website worth to read. My advice is to get the book "How to Profit in Bull and Bear Markets" by Stan Weinstein.Get the Second Opinion service from The Street.com -free for two weeks, $9.50 a month.Read any books from the market (Buffetology, the Motley Fool Investment Guide) . Buy good stocks, no long shots.You can get the IBD 100 Stocks, Check them with Second opinion, and possibly you will never need more.
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