The Absolute Best Site For Stock Research (For Beginners)
There’s never been an easier time to invest in the stock market, honestly.
The stock market can be intimidating and if you don’t have a parent that understands it — you were probably never taught and therefore, have no idea how to invest.
A common thought for beginners is: “There are so many stocks and ETF’s on the market, what should I start with?” Or, “Those charts don’t mean anything to me, I can’t do this”.
Even though only 50% of adults 18 have a brokerage account, it’s incredibly simple to get started.
First you’ll need a brokerage account (Fidelity or ETrade will do). Once you setup a Brokerage account, and deposit some cash into the account — you will be all set to start buying Stocks and ETF’s. Even if this feels weird or uncomfortable, it’s the absolute best and safest way to get started investing.
Even if you just put in a couple hundred dollars every week or month, you are lapping the people that are afraid of investing and are ignoring it. Congratulations to you on taking a step in the right direction!
Seeking Alpha
Seeking Alpha (seekingalpha.com) is the investment research website (they also have an app) that I recommend all of my friends go to when their first starting out. It’s got a simple user interface and has an abundance of stock information and knowledge. The best part about it is that it’s EASY for beginners to understand. They also have analysis on every stock you could possible think of.
Say you want to learn more about the Lululemon stock, or maybe you want to see how Starbucks has been performing — you will have all the investing information right at your finger tips.
Seeking Alpha as a platform operates a lot like Medium, actually. Authors spend tons of time researching certain stocks, and then write up an article on all of the important aspects of the company. They put in the hard work so you don’t have to. You can read through a bunch of different research on a particular stock, and then after weighing all of the information and data — make a decision.
I have the paid version of Seeking Alpha which has paid for itself many times over by now.
On Seeking Alpha, authors will take either a Bullish, Neutral or Bearish rating on the stock. Take DraftKings for example. (I’m not recommending DraftKings stock, I’m just using it as an example.)
Bullish means “I think this stock will go up in the future”.
Bearish means “I think this stock will go down in the future.”
What you’ll see here is that different authors have different opinions on the future of the stock. In each article, they will provide data to support their claims.
Don’t Be Afraid
Being intimidated and afraid of the stock market is the biggest reason most people don’t get started. They know that they should be investing, but the whole idea of setting up a brokerage account is just too much to handle.
The reality is that you can setup an account in as little as 10 minutes. If you’re over 18 years old and live in the United States and have access to the internet, then you can do this.
Beginning to invest is a little bit like starting to work out. It’s something you know that you should do, but it’s just such an easy thing to keep putting off. Try to shake this mentality, it’s not good for you. It’s good to gain exposure to new things.
So get started and try to learn something new!
Putting It All Together
Once you’ve figured out what stocks you want to invest in, go back to Fidelity and place a simple order to purchase the stock. Remember that any gains (profit made from selling stock) is a taxable even and you will need to pay capital gains tax on this profit.
I’m also not recommending you turn into a day trader, it’s the safest strategy over the long run to just buy and hold.
Understanding how to invest in the stock market is going to be the best way for most people to gain financial independence and invest in their future.
No need to put it off any longer — your future self will thank you!
