oooo... time to start investing ....

[tina72382]

Hey everyone! My fiance and I just bought our first house last spring, which was great for us. But now, we are thinking of investing in mutual funds and stocks to put our savings to good use. Does anyone have any experience with investing without a stock broker? we want to try to do it ourselves (ie: I've been looking at ING direct, which charges minimal managment fees for transactions). We got some books on the topic, but boy, its a scary thing still! Thanks in advance have a great day! -Tina

 

[scm]

I do a lot of investing and have done very well with some and others are slow movers. I do not use a broker. However, I do quite a bit of reading about companies and products so I have solid reasons to put my money into any stock or mutal fund.
Susan C.M.

 

[Kathy02]

I really would suggest getting a good stock broker, or a financial planner. They know a lot, trust me, the test they take is the hardest test they ever have to take in their lives to be able to sell stocks and bonds. They will make it less likely that you will lose your money that you ahve invested because they do this for a living, and check the stock market on an hourly basis. I would contact either Raymond James & Associates or A.G. Edwards & Sons. Those are two companies that I know I would trust. They are two of the largest stock brokerage firms out there and they didn't get that way buy losing money.
At least look into a stock broker of financial planner, it might not be as expensive as you'd think.

Kathy

 

[tina72382]

Thanks, Susan and Kathy. I'll look into the stock brokers and start doing more intensive research on the companies we are interested in. I'll keep you updated! -Tina

 

[cjbate]

I have used both brokers and also have used Schwab investing on my own and with their online tools (Schwab's) I have had good success. It depends on how involved you want to be. I thought the brokers charged too much and didn't do all that well. Of course, this was when everyone was losing money after the dot bombs, so not totally fair. Still.