Stocks investing

Discussion in 'Financial Cents' started by SB21, Mar 10, 2019.


  1. SB21

    SB21 Monkey+++

    I have no experience whatsoever in stocks investing. It would be nice to get in on the ground floor and throw a grand into a company like Amazon, Google , etc. So I'm asking for your advice , experience and thoughts. To me it seems this legalizing of Pot business is going to keep growing. If you were to invest in this , how would you go about it ? Me and a buddy were talking about it the other day , and I said it just seems like you'd have to go out and find an honest dope dealer. That was a joke. Oh well , any thoughts would be appreciated.
     
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  2. Airtime

    Airtime Monkey+++

    If you have a grand you don’t mind losing on a stock wager, have at it picking a stock or two and trying your luck. Go with an industry you know.

    As far as pot goes, while some states have decriminalized possession, cultivation and distribution, the Feds haven’t. They still consider it a felony. Until there is certainty that a current or future gung ho AG can’t go after growers and their financial backers, I’d stay good and clear of that industry right now.

    If you are wanting to make a sound investment with a good probability of a return for long term growth, put it into a stock index fund. Over the long run, stock index funds like Vanguard’s outperform about 90% of the brokers and the professional investors (there is research to substantiate that) who work at this full time every day plus the index funds’ fees are lower.

    AT
     
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  3. VisuTrac

    VisuTrac Ваша мать носит военные ботинки Site Supporter+++

    Well, for a grand you won't be buying google ~ alphabet (1150.02 per share) or amazon (1621.50).
    typically you are going to need to purchase whole shares.

    typically routes to purchase shares are:
    Full service stock broker (Schwab or a local securities broker) -usually a standard fee per share or percentage of trade value
    discount broker etrade, tdameritrade - 5 to 15 dollars per trade
    web app brokers - some offer no fee trading but limit how many trades you can do per day or what you can invest in
    or shares directly purchased from the company through their agent.

    then there is the mutual fund route .. but you can usually purchase partial shares with will have fractional shares of all kinds of companies based on their funds holdings.

    if you are interested, PM me and I can get you a signup link for RobinHood .. webapp, SIPC insured broker and they don't charge a fee to buy or sell.

    @SB21 If you signup with the link you will get a free share of stock. It could be Ford, Facebook, Sprint, Berkshire or some other listed stock.
    the application only lets you purchase/sell stocks and ETF listed on NYSE and Nasdaq .. they also allow buying/selling of options .. but I don't know anything about options so I steer clear.

    anyway, if you want a free stock (I get one too) just for signing up let me know. Oh and the stock symbol for Aurora Cannibis is ACB and yes it's in my portfolio.
     
    Last edited: Mar 10, 2019
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  4. Bandit99

    Bandit99 Monkey+++ Site Supporter+

    Specifically, you are asking what is our opinion concerning investing in marijuana companies now that they are legal in many states?

    I think you are a bit late going into this but maybe not... Anyway, they should be looked at like any other company. What's their P/E? What's their amount of debt and are they in the black (profitable)? What's their scope (local, state, national)? I am guessing that like all new businesses they will go through a growing phase where the big eat the little but don't think they are quite there yet so...

    I honestly don't know much about them as I stick to what I know when investing and for me that's technology; however, I am trying to move into precious metals but market is currently much too high. Having said that, I don't see as many potheads as I thought there would be after legalization. And, it seems many are purchasing simply for the medical benefits instead of entertainment. I also think that in many states, such as Washington State, they are so heavily taxed and regulated that it truly has slowed their growth.

    Personally, I would pass on it but that is me. Are you looking for investment opportunities or specifically just investment in marijuana?
     
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  5. SB21

    SB21 Monkey+++

    I'm just looking to invest and hopefully make a little ( hopefully a lot ) in 5 years or so as some extra retirement cash. Like I said , the ground floor of an up and coming company that took off like Google and them would be great , but I know finding that is a gamble. I don't want to lose a grand , but nothing is guaranteed.
    @bandit ,, I'm not looking specifically into pot stocks , just thinking a start up company in a growing industry might gain value quicker ,,,or fold quicker,,,
    @VisuTrac ,,, I will pm you later on. I know absolutely nothing about trading, or stocks , so I dont want to end up just tossing a grand in the trash because I don't know what I'm doing. My daughter did some trading with her ex boyfriend a few years back , and did pretty good , but she's to busy to try and get her to sit down with me and do this. So , I'll need detailed instructions, :D
     
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  6. oil pan 4

    oil pan 4 Monkey+++

    I stay away from startups.
    I would wait for a "too big to fail" institution had a bad quarter or 2 and snatch up that stock while at a many year low.
    Too many people buy when the stock is "hot" and hope it goes higher.
     
  7. duane

    duane Monkey+++

    Old comment my grand dad made about all investments. If anyone could guarantee that you would make over a 20 % profit in a year, they would borrow the money at 5 % and keep the rest of the profit themselves. All investments have risks, even putting dollar bills under your pillow, inflation, robbers, fire, mice, etc. In my lifetime if I had invested $1,000 in the first issues of Google, Microsoft, Berkshire Hathaway, Apple, and all the other winners, I could have had millions, If I had invested in GM, Eastern Airlines, Sears, the other losers, all my money would be gone. But in their day, they were all top stocks. In my lifetime the bankers loaning money and those selling the stocks have made the most money and the small investors with their IRA's etc , have lost the most money. As said before, the stock index's have been the best return, as to keep the scheme going, they keep "updating" it to keep it meaningful, thus they replace the losers with winners. If you buy a share of stock and it drops, you lose, if you buy into a mutual fund, you own a share of a basket of stocks, while the failure of any on stock no longer is a total loss of your money, the basket is only as good as those selecting the basket and the general market. Stocks are the ultimate fiat money, you own a paper share of a company that you have no control of that operates in a political and economic system that they do not control. Still the biggest winners in my lifetime have been those who won the lottery or won in the stock and fiance game. Odds in the gamble in latter slightly better than the lottery..
     
  8. Bandit99

    Bandit99 Monkey+++ Site Supporter+

    @SB21 I would agree with @oil pan 4 "Too many people buy when the stock is "hot" and hope it goes higher." I just don't believe in Pot stocks, mainly due to how their taxed and regulated and because everyone wants in them thinking they are the next Amazon or Google or whatever...

    The mechanics of investing are relatively easy, certainly easier now than when I started. I have made a lot of money investing but loss a lot too - thankfully, I made more than I loss! LOL!

    What you need if you are going to go into investing in a small way of $1000-$2000 is some stock that is down on its luck for whatever reason then you must determine if you think they will be capable of moving up in the future or would they be a viable buy-out but the main thing is you must believe in the company itself and it's product or service and base that belief on cold, hard facts - not emotions.

    I really I don't want to give you an example for fear of you simply taking what I said as a 'complete truth' and losing money because in the stock market there is no such thing. Nevertheless, here is an example of what can happen... A few years back me and a friend sweated over two weeks researching a bank stock that was down, going into every nook and cranny. It looked good and the EU was on board to give them a loan (which they did do). We bought and everything went to hell in less than a week and I was out $25,000. I still hold it to remind myself that it matters not if everything looks perfect above board it's what is happening behind close doors that count. These SOBs sold out their stock holders (common stock holders). It's a well known example. There was never any hint of it prior but... So, there is my first example, it was a Greek bank stock. I could have made of ton of money...could have, would have, should have...matters not because I didn't. Another good example is United Airlines, stock tanks, files bankruptcy, then forms a new/different company using basically the same name and issues new stock, common stock holders left with worthless paper, all completely legal. Want another? World Com...but enough doom and gloom. You get my point.

    Here's a good example...Panasonic builds electronic devices but they also are the leader in high-energy batteries. They believe in battery technology so much they have put billions into it by teaming with Tesla to build a massive battery factory. Their stock has been down since the huge earthquake in Japan and now since their expenditures for the new factory (hurts their bottom line), stock is currently less than $9 but 10 years ago their stock was in the $20s, good established company with solid management but...risky for many reasons. Is this a good investment or, more importantly, is this a good investment for you? Could you lose that $1000 with a simple sigh or would it be one of throwing your coffee mug and expletives at the wall? And, what are the reasons that make this a risky investment? The obvious one is how the major car manufactures and major oil companies will react, will retaliate, will compete...

    Gosh, I could spend all Sunday here giving you examples and understand I, thankfully, I have more good examples than bad but what I want to ensure you understand is that you do your research, spend your money and take your chances because no matter how good it looks above board there are lots of unknowns happening behind those close doors, good unknowns and bad unknowns... many say that playing poker gives you better odds than the market and rightly so, it's certainly more honest.
     
    Last edited: Mar 10, 2019
  9. Gator 45/70

    Gator 45/70 Monkey+++

    Open a pizza franchise next to a pot parlor.
     
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  10. ArtVandelay

    ArtVandelay Monkey

    What I know about stocks is this: When the big guys tell you it's time to buy a stock, they're selling it. And when they tell you it's time to sell a stock, they're buying it.
     
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  11. Tempstar

    Tempstar Monkey+++

    Could just buy a pound and resell it by ounces.....
     
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  12. SB21

    SB21 Monkey+++

    That's a solid investment there ,,,
     
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  13. SB21

    SB21 Monkey+++

    To do a similar quote from " Baretta "
    I don't want to do the time ,, for the crime ,,,
     
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  14. SB21

    SB21 Monkey+++

    This reminds me of my grandpa,,,one day we were riding down a road in town,, they were building a Foodlion store on some old farmland , maybe a 10-15 acre plot of land. He said , " I could have bought that land years ago for 5 dollars an acre , but was to scared to take a chance " .
    Thank you all for your advice. Supposedly , I've got to meet with my daughter Wednesday , and I'll talk with her on some of this. She's a little smarter on this stock stuff than I am , maybe. This is stuff I should have done years ago , just didn't. If I don't do stocks , I'll look into Land. That's just about the only thing I've made money on , but it was a double your money profit. But those are hard to find.
     
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  15. Gator 45/70

    Gator 45/70 Monkey+++

    Buy land,Do your research first,Make sure it's not a toxic dump and look at all the restrictions.
    Some dude bought some lots in a bankruptcy auction several years ago knowing full well that one has natural gas pipelines running under one,To this day he is still trying to ''stick'' someone into buying this lot for building a home!
    There are some dirty dealing SOB's out there who don't mind sticking it to you!!!!!!!!
     
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  16. SB21

    SB21 Monkey+++

    I got lucky a few years ago. Bought a lot , .91 acre , paid 15,000 , tax value was 27,000 , sold it last year for 32,500. I'm always looking , but it's hard to come by. I've missed a few deals , but still looking.
     
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  17. VisuTrac

    VisuTrac Ваша мать носит военные ботинки Site Supporter+++

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  18. TnAndy

    TnAndy Senior Member Founding Member

    You'd do a whole lot better to just set yourself up a 30x96 hoop house, grow veggies for a niche restaurant market in your area, and BE READY to grow pot when it becomes legal in your state, or nationwide (coming I think).

    The stock market is a rigged casino designed to fleece the small investor....my advice is avoid it.
     
  19. Thunder5Ranch

    Thunder5Ranch Monkey+++

    I personally do a 3 way split real and tangible investments like land, certain equipment etc., Investment in my own businesses, and a combination of cash on hand and money in the bank. The latter two yield no return to mention but have minimal risk. Land and Tangible things are also fairly low risk but not usually fast to liquidate if you need to. Investing in your own business instead of someone else's beats the stock market if you are cut out for it and have the drive and discipline, if not it it can be a high loss money pit. In your own business investment look at the profit margin as your return on investment and pay yer self a fair wage before calculating yer profit margin :) I shoot for 28%-60% depending on which business aspect it is. Green Beans believe it or not are the biggest return on investment for me at a cost of around $1.00 per pound to produce and a Market price depending on supply and demand varies between $4 and $6 per pound problem is they are fairly low volume in the grand scheme of things and I don't want to get into selling at the cut throat wholesale prices. So at most it is 1200 pounds produced and sold per year, without saturating my market. Hogs on the other hand run around 35% to 40% profit margins and have a much higher volume at peak production we move 50,000 pounds of packaged processed pork in a year that makes up the bulk of the farm income or did, expanding into prepared food changed everything. Eggs are at best a lead loss product with on a good year 5%-7% margins but they lead to selling a lot of sausage and bacon :) Poultry chicken and turkey runs in the 25%-28% margin. What many see as the problem with self business investment is that it is very involved in both time and labor and not a passive income generating type of investment like stocks or Mutual Funds. I personally just don't trust them and they are subject to way to many forces outside of my influence or control. That being said I have a 401K that I contribute the max to yearly and the T5R Inc Matches :) that has grown very nicely over the years despite taking some dings in the 2008-2010 period. What I will never do again is invest in someone else's business or do any partnerships that I do not have a controlling interest in. Only takes once or twice getting burned to learn that lesson the hard way. 4 out of 5 business start ups fail and fail hard. LOL even a few of my own ventures went down in glorious flames. Whatever you invest in whether it be the markets, land or yerself............. Look at it like sitting down at the blackjack table and never bet more than you can afford to lose because every type of investment carries varying degrees of risk. There may only a 1% chance of failure and losing everything invested and trust me that 1% will hit when you least expect it. There are no sure bets just some bets have better odds than others. That is just part of living in a casino economy :)
     
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  20. Thunder5Ranch

    Thunder5Ranch Monkey+++

    If you can afford the non refundable application and licensing fees.............

    What it cost to legally grow pot in IL.
    Opening a marijuana business in Illinois will not be cheap. It is one of the most expensive states for ganjapreneurs with rather strict entry barriers. The costs associated with the application for a marijuana growing operation facility in Illinois are:

    • Non-refundable application fee for a cultivation permit: $25,000
    • Once issued a permit, $200,000 permit fee for the first year
    • Annual permit renewal: $100,000
    • Applicants were required to demonstrate $500,000 in liquid assets and a $2,000,000 bond to the Department of Agriculture
    As of now, the Illinois Department of Agriculture has authorized cultivation centers to begin operating in 17 of the 22 districts.
     
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