mutual funds vs stocks - TravelPUNK Backpacker College Student Budget Travel Message Boards!

**LaurieL622** · 06-14-2007, 09:03 PM

what are your opinions? what are you invested in? any pros/cons to either...besides the obvious?

any hot stocks to buy?

**ScarlotteDorian** · 06-14-2007, 10:06 PM

wow, i clicked on this to get some info on this as well. i have one mutual fund and then stock through the company i work for as well as a 401K. i think it's probably a best practice to have your money in a few different types of investments and kind of feel out where they are going. sorry i don't have any better advice, but i'll be watching this thread for info as well.

**travelpunk** · 06-15-2007, 12:01 AM

I used to be a big mutual fund believer, but I've grown in my financial education.

I am more into stocks, than mutual funds, but real estate first.

Here's something that might scare you about mutual funds- http://finance.yahoo.com/expert/arti...chricher/36074

There is soooo much financial educational material out there to learn more, just stay away from Suze Orman and other traditional thinkers.

It's good that you girls are thinking this way, because by the time you retire, your monthly social security check will only be enough to fill your gas tank for a week.

Be smart, calculated, and aggressive in your investment strategy.

Whatever you do, all the gurus will tell you this "Pay yourself first"- http://finance.yahoo.com/expert/arti...llionaire/2058

I know this wasn't part of your original question, but better to get you on the right track than to lead you astray.

Real estate in the long run, will offer the best and fast road to financial freedom. That is the bottom line.

There are many books that will show you how to get started with little or nothing down.

And to prove my point, I don't have to go too far to prove my point- http://travelpunk.com/boards/showthread.php?t=13241

Good luck!

**joe7f** · 06-15-2007, 04:25 AM

I agree with Tony on the real estatet. Since most people put down less than 10% for a new home, even a modest 2% appreciation is really 20%! You seldom get that in the stock market.

I have both a 401K and a Roth IRA with a mix of funds and stocks.

Personally, I think having some money in individual stocks causes you to pay more attention to your financial outlook and keeps you from being bored (even if you are satisfied) with consistent mutual fund results.

If you want to get a broad based fund you may want to consider index ETFs (Exchange Traded Funds). For example, QQQQ tracks the Nasdaq, DIA tracks the DOW, SPY tracks the SP500, etc. They are like stocks with no minimum investment and low expenses

Good luck!

--Joey

**voyd** · 06-15-2007, 06:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by travelpunk

I used to be a big mutual fund believer, but I've grown in my financial education.

I am more into stocks, than mutual funds, but real estate first.

Here's something that might scare you about mutual funds- http://finance.yahoo.com/expert/arti...chricher/36074

Interesting, didn't realize that mutual funds were at the bottom of the food chain.

But, mutual funds are more for "lazy" people who don't have time to actively follow the market, anyways.

If you buy stocks, you do have to do more homework and follow the fundamentals (company health - for longterm performance) as well as the trending (based on mob psychology - for short-term performance) very regularly. Of course, you have far more upside (and downside) here too.

Another area is commodities like precious metals. They've had a great run over the last few years.

**ScarlotteDorian** · 06-15-2007, 12:47 PM

whoa, good info. i'm still reading through the whereshegoes's post. great info! i'm going to start learning more about this. sounds like the way to go.

**maracle** · 06-15-2007, 01:56 PM

Investing in individual stocks takes some skill, and also a lot of effort because a company's situation can change on a moments notice so you kind of need to pay attention all the time.

Mutual funds are nice, but most mutual funds do worse than the market does overall. Which is why for beginning investors you should consider an index mutual fund (which basically just buys an equal bit of every company).

Here are some good sources of info:
http://www.fool.com/mutualfunds/mutu....htm?source=LN
http://www.fool.com/mutualfunds/inde....htm?source=LN

DearScotty · 06-17-2007, 10:30 PM

Invest in GOLD!

GOOOOAAAAAALLLLLDD!!

**voyd** · 10-15-2007, 02:15 PM

Right now, I'm diversifying my portfolio:

~50% long (stocks or mutual funds showing consistent growth)
~25%-50% short (play money for "day-trading" volatile stocks)

This seems to be a good combo to cut any losses with a see-saw effect (usually if a few go down, others go up).

I'm still just a noob but have made about 7% a month so far. Which can be vastly improved upon...but is loads more than I could ever make just letting it passively sit in a CD or even many mutual funds.

Right now, I'm just waiting for "the Big Ones" and hoping to dump a wad on some Chinese IPOs. Wish me luck!

**lost in texas** · 10-15-2007, 04:20 PM

7% is huge, if you can maintain that! What kind of stuff are you into now? I've read a lot of Cramer, and I'm into mid-term investing with a couple of high growth mutual funds on the side.
I don't know about you, but today was a baaad day.

**pinknic38** · 10-15-2007, 04:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by voyd

Right now, I'm diversifying my portfolio:

god, I have mad respect for you finance gurus. I don't even kow what "diversitying my portfolio" really means. I tried to buy the book about the stock market for dummes but I just couldn't read it. I got an A in micro and macroeconomics but damn.

all I know is checking and savings accounts. HAHA. I do use excel to balance my checkbook though. :D

**voyd** · 10-15-2007, 05:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lost in texas

7% is huge, if you can maintain that! What kind of stuff are you into now? I've read a lot of Cramer, and I'm into mid-term investing with a couple of high growth mutual funds on the side.
I don't know about you, but today was a baaad day.

Well, it could have been much higher but I missed the boat on a few. And I mean some real CRUISELINERS. Doh!!!
----------
Anyhoo, I'm currently focusing mostly on:

Chinese stocks & some emerging markets
Certain hi-tech domestic & defense stocks

Yea, today was a "buy" day. But thanks to my diversification*, I only lost ~$100.

* Note for Nic - just means to not put all your eggs in one basket. Have at least a few different positions of different types in your mix. For me, I have a few long(term), some short(term), some foreign, some domestic, a mutual fund, some stocks.

Really, I'm no expert. My friend actually just mentored me and got me restarted. I watched from the sidelines for a few months and just recently got my feet wet again. And have fortunately done OK so far.
----------
Basically, there's 2 types of trading: long and short.

Long is longterm. You buy a position based upon its FUNDAMENTALS. In other words, its actual business performance. Because this is what matters most in the LONG RUN. This generally includes brand-name stocks and mutual funds. You can sock some money in these and sort of forget about them for awhile.

Short is short-term - like "day-trading." Here, you buy positions based upon ANALYTICS. In other words, charting patterns and MOB PSYCHOLOGY. Because these are what matter most in the SHORT TERM. This includes highly-volatile stocks and IPOs. You need to watch these closely to buy low and sell high, sometimes just a day or less apart. Because, many of these stocks are overvalued and unpredictable. So, there is a gambling aspect to this type, except the odds are still muuch more in your favor than at a casino.
----------
Overall, the market's not too bad right now. Of course, they keep talking about an overdue correction or recession, so wtf knows? As always, caveat emptor...

lost in texas - what kind of returns are you making right now? And so you're not really playing stocks as yet, just MFs?

**joe7f** · 10-15-2007, 07:15 PM

^Make sure that you don't use the term short position to describe what you said was short above. A short position is where you sell the shares before you buy them (ie to make money you must have a fall in stock price...). That could make for a problem later :D

7% per month is beyond outstanding. I feel like 10% a year is pretty good. I usually have some big swings (one stock that I hold is down about 50% another is up about 500% but my position wasn't as big)

--Joey

**travelpunk** · 10-15-2007, 07:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by voyd

Right now, I'm diversifying my portfolio:

Right now, I'm just waiting for "the Big Ones" and hoping to dump a wad on some Chinese IPOs. Wish me luck!

Which ones are you waiting for, Voyd? I've been tracking some big Chinese companies that are all doing well.

Type in these tickers-

STV
CHL
CTRP
JRJC
BIDU

Or click here- http://finance.yahoo.com/q/cq?d=v1&s...+jrjc+chl+ctrp

I may jump on them (options) after Google and Apple report their earnings this next week. I am in both of those already, but will most likely cash in right before they announce earnings (ride the run up), then buy cheaper options with high strike prices, just in case they blow away the street. If they dive once they report earnings, I'll only lose some of the profits I made and not my own money.

**voyd** · 10-15-2007, 07:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by joe7f

^Make sure that you don't use the term short position to describe what you said was short above. A short position is where you sell the shares before you buy them (ie to make money you must have a fall in stock price...). That could make for a problem later :D

7% per month is beyond outstanding. I feel like 10% a year is pretty good. I usually have some big swings (one stock that I hold is down about 50% another is up about 500% but my position wasn't as big)

Ha yes, a key distinction there. Shorting a stock and "going short" (slang) are 2 very different things. :D

And up 500%??? Wow, what stock is THAT?

BTW, 10% a year is a f'n joke. I see that now. You know, my portfolio flatlined for years because I was afraid to get back in. So, I just let it sit. I was happy just not to lose money and make any interest at all. But now that I got back in with a clue, I think you'd have to absolutely suck balls not to make at least 15%-20% a year. Granted, my whole ship may tank tomorrow...but so far it's been doing ok.

PS - my mentor made $70k over the other weekend. A lot of people don't make that slaving for a year. Now, how's THAT for inspiration? :D

**lost in texas** · 10-15-2007, 07:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by voyd

lost in texas - what kind of returns are you making right now? And so you're not really playing stocks as yet, just MFs?

It really varies, but overall YTD I'm looking at about 20%. I'm about 50/50 on MFs and stocks now. Actually, the funds have outperformed everything else, so I've been impressed. Right now I'm holding mostly big names: AAPL, MCD, C, COP, BA, IGT and GOOG. The funds are latin america and emerging market stuff.

China keeps blowing up! I keep thinking I missed the boat on that, and I hear some people talking bubble... but when?

What kind of stuff are you into, Joe?

**joe7f** · 10-15-2007, 07:41 PM

I should clarify. Averaging 10% per year I consider pretty good. I have been investing since 2002 and most years I have done significantly better but some years were tough (how many stocks appreciated 10% in 2001?)

Red Hook was my big winner. Risky play, not a lot of liquidity, high P/E, but at the time the price to book was very advantageous. A lot of people jokingly said, Red Hook is not a play on beer, but on real estate (the Seattle real estate market was really booming back then).

David, I usually buy small cap growth funds, international funds, and dividend paying companies that fall out of favor (Altria aka Philip Morris is a good example)

--Joey

**voyd** · 10-15-2007, 07:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by travelpunk

Which ones are you waiting for, Voyd? I've been tracking some big Chinese companies that are all doing well.

Type in these tickers-

STV
CHL
CTRP
JRJC
BIDU

Or click here- http://finance.yahoo.com/q/cq?d=v1&s...+jrjc+chl+ctrp

I may jump on them (options) after Google and Apple report their earnings this next weekjoe7f. I am in both of those already, but will most likely cash in right before they announce earnings (ride the run up), then buy cheaper options with high strike prices, just in case they blow away the street. If they dive once they report earnings, I'll only lose some of the profits I made and not my own money.

Ya, I've got all those and more on my watch list. I made a bit on JRJC. Missed the STV ride. Also CTEL last Thursday when it shot up about 167%!

And quite a few others that were routinely up 40%-60% per day! The Chinese stocks all had a very strong bull run last few weeks, but have laid back this week.

Thing with them is you got to get in early and know when to bail...

CISG & LFT are supposed to IPO "soon," but I have no idea exactly when. Anybody know how to find IPO dates out ASAP?

Another interesting company to watch for is EEStor. I have no idea if and when it will IPO, but it could revolutionize automobiles and other powered machines.

Ya, options do give you really great %'s with lowered risk, but you need to have large margins in your account to back your purchases up with. So, I'm just sticking with stocks for now.

lit - Your mix sounds similar to mine...except I'm also going short on some Chinese stocks too. Basically, my strategy right now is to get some solid base hits, but swing for the stands sometimes too. An emerging market MF and a defense stock being my reliable base hitters.

joe7f - Yea, 10% is not bad when you average in all the bad years. Especially right after the dot.bomb crash.

**Legitikick** · 10-15-2007, 08:53 PM

Hey Pinknic, you are investing in the Defense Savings Program, . . rrriiggghhht? Guaranteed 10% on up to $10,000 while you're deployed, can't beat that with a stick. And also the TSP is great, I figured out that with the $11,000 I put into that, if it continues roughly how it has, I'll have over $320,000 by age 60, without investing another penny (can't anyways now that I'm out). Military folks have a huge opportunity for investing early in life.

I played around with some stocks, lost some, made some back, sold, and now I stick to mutual funds. CGMFX and CGMRX have made a killing for me in the last few years. But now I'm a poor college student again, so I'm just trying to sit on what I have.

**micdans** · 10-15-2007, 09:44 PM

It seems like everyone does their own trading. What sites do you guys use?

I used to do etrade, but I stopped trading because I have so little in the account now. After school finishes I hope to get back into some trading...hopefully, if I have any money.