Stocks/investment for a 17 year old?

Question

I am 17 and want to put about $250 into something and not mess with it for about 10 years and hopefully make a profit....would stocks? (if so which ones are good right now?) or something else be good for me?

Answer 1

I would find a high yield savings account (watch out for minimum balances). Your money is still liquid and you can withdraw from your account and deposit too.

Also look into CD's (Certificates of Deposit). Your money is locked in for a certain amount of time, and if you break it then there is a penalty.

With 250 its not like you are going to be making tons of money.

It'll take a 5,000 dollar CD to make about 16 bucks a month depending on the rate. Maybe that will put things into perspective.

Oh and also, messing with stocks with get you broker fees and still 250 is nothing pretty much. Maybe talk to your parents about getting in on their stocks and give them your money if they have any.

Good Luck!

Answer 2

Invest on any company that has plans of expanding in fast phase in coming 5-10 years. May be solar energy stocks?

http://www.investortrip.com/top-solar-en...

Answer 3

This "INVESTMENT GUIDE" is more helpful for you to make your money to make money for you,without taking any risk.

To gain more information about stocks/investment,just gothrough the site http://www.savings4future.com

Answer 4

I half way agree with Pamela.  Gas companies are good, banks -- still may have lots of bad news ahead.

There are some very good recession proof  international intergrated oil companies, electric and natural gas utilities that have a $250 minimum investment to join their dividend reinvestment plan.  And you can buy your first shares directly from the company (or their transfer agent, that's why some phone numbers are the same) without paying a middleman broker.  Some good ones, with phone #'s are:

AGL Resources (ATG) 800-633-4236

Chevron Corp. (CVX)   800-842-7629

ConocoPhillips (COP)  800-842-7629

Duke Energy     (DUK)  800-488-3853

Energen Corp.  (EGN)  888-764-5603

MDU Resources (MDU) 800-813-3324

ONEOK               (OKE)  866-235-0232

Piedmont Natural Gas (PNY) 800-937-5449

Answer 5

Congrats, this is a great idea for your age with a little extra money.

Here's my suggestions:

Do a search for Sharebuilder codes, find one where they will pay you $50 for opening an account.  Open one, use the code, deposit the money.  Boom, 20% gain on your money off the bat.  

Now set up an automatic investment plan.  This is the only way to get their very low cost $4 investments.  The great thing about sharebuilder is they will allow you to buy small amounts of ETF's.  For this amount of money I would highly recommend it.  They have ratings right on the site.  I would recommend choosing 2 or 3 highly rated funds in varying markets and set your plan up to purchase 1/3 of your account each.  I personally have been buying up Asian and Brazilian funds, as well as Real Estate.  These markets are booming and don't show many signs of slowing down, while the US is slowing.  EWZ, EEM are 2 good ones. A good real estate is IYR.

Anyway a fund is going to instantly diversify your smaller amount of money.  This means it's not pegged to any 1 company succeeding or failing, but spread across multiple investments managed by traders.

Good Luck.  FYI, you can open multiple sharebuilder accounts with different codes each.  They have deposited $50 each in 6 accounts now since January for me.  Good way to double this small invesment.  Just don't open them at the same time. Open 1, get the deposit, open the next, repeat.

Answer 6

I would buy a share in companies your like. For example, like Coke-A-Cola (KO) or Abrcombie (ANF). Just by 1 share of each. You won't make a huge profit but it's a good start.

Answer 7

dude wait till ur like 20 not 17 wow

go do sumtin else

Answer 8

I say go with a stock that is recession-free. Like a bank, gas company etc... People will always need to use a bank and gas. You wont lose your money on those stocks that go crazy high, then go low the next week.

I suggest the book "the lazy investor" by derek foster. I read it and its amazing. Easy to read. For people like you and me that dont know too much about the stock market

Answer 9

You have to be 18 to open a brokerage account in the US, but with the help of a parent they can open a custodian account for you

Before any one jumps in and tries to buy stock, they must first decide if they are going to be a trader or an investor. (A trader is very short term holder of a stock – 1 minute to 3 months, an investor is a 6 months and beyond holder).

Before you invest in any security, the first investment you should make is in yourself, and the best investment you can make is by educating yourself.

Start your education by learning why you should invest and the importance of being able to make your own decisions or how the pro’s make theirs.

Here is some reading material that can get you started in the right direction,

What Works on Wall Street by James O'Shaunessey

Beating the Street by Peter Lynch

One Up on Wall Street by Peter Lynch

The Warren Buffett Way by Robert Hagstrom

Trading For a Living by Alexander Elder

How to Make Money in Stocks” by William O’Neil

The Disciplined Trader by Mark Douglas

Get into the habit of making daily visits to some websites like MSN Money and Yahoo Finance.  (http://moneycentral.msn.com/home.asp http://finance.yahoo.com/ )

While at MSN following the strategy lab analysts to get a feel for what the pros are doing and why.  This site has some basic information for beginners. If any site offers free information, take it.

Other website that can provide instructions and help with procedures and terminology are

Investopedia - http://www.investopedia.com/  Stock Charts - http://stockcharts.com/

http://www.investorshub.com/  http://www.1source4stocks.com/



Visit some of the more professional websites like Zacks - http://www.zacks.com/

Smart Money - http://www.smartmoney.com/  Schaeffer’s – http://www.schaeffersresearch.com/

DO NOT let any one tell you not to invest, or you too young.  Just make sure you know what you're doing, and why you're doing it.  I started in grade school and before I graduated high school l was trading with great results.

Answer 10

Coca-Cola