New, Hello, and Advice

gottr said: "Hi I am new to this site. I have been stalking you all for a few days then decided to join. The people here seem to be very friendly. I know very little about the stock market or investing for that matter, all I know is what I learned myself, which is not too much. I read an article that inspired me to start investing and stocks looked to be the best thing, so here I am. I am using sharebuilder.com to purchase my stocks and I am trying to invest every extra cent that I have. My stocks will be my retirement fund, and also I would like to leave them to my 2 year old son. So hopefully he can have what he wants in his life. I picked my stocks based on historical performance, brand names that I liked, and what I invision future technology to be. I am trying for a semi safe aggressive style of investing, if there is such a thing. Currently in my portfolio I have 13 stocks 2 mutual funds. They are only like a week old, but some seem to be fairing better than others. My main question here is for my investing strategy. I want to make the most I can off of my investments. So next time I invest money, next week, how should I invest it among my stocks? Should I put more into the struggling stocks to buy them at a lower rate and hope for a rebound, ex. Disney. Or should I put more into my stable money makers. I am leaning toward a 50/50 split of my funds, half into struggling stocks and half into winners. Any pointers from your own experiences, not from books, would be greatly appreciated. Thanks. Anthony."

Heather said: "Hello and welcome Anthony, It sounds like you have an excellent idea. Now its a matter of choice the type of stocks that you buy. I think you're planning on holding these a long time and buying small amounts, so the value approach should be helpful. If you can find some depressed prices right now, and you hold for a long time, you may be able to do quite well!"

gottr said: "Thanks, I currently hold 3 stocks that seem to be losers, Disney, Microsoft and Dreamworks. Also, Walmart is up and down. Any suggestions on whether or not to buy these at the discounted rates. I dont think I can go wrong with Disney and Microsoft over the long term. I am on the fence about Dreamworks. Any suggestions?"

HappyHarry said: "Hello, My favorite company for the last 5 years and the next 5 years is [url=http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=CHS]Chico's[/url], a company which operates over 400 speciality women's retail stores. Their business is consistent and enormously profitable. I really think it's a good one to buy into. I think Dreamworks might be worth hanging on to, as well."

BarbBQ said: "hiya! i have always loved dreamworks movies. what were the reasons that you bought them in the first place?"

gottr said: "I bought them because I love the movies they make. Not the best reason I guess, but a reason none the less. Thanks for the tip on Chico's, that was my father's nickname when I was growing up, Chico. I decided to try and pick up some value stocks. I also wanted to add some more depth to my portfolio, I own alot of tech stuff. I decided to pick up another health care company and a energy company. I bought more of my radio company and picked up 2 new tech stocks. I am a tech junky, it is after the future. I am very unhappy with Disney's performance, but I expect over time that they will rebound. Extremely happy with Apple though : ) Anybody else own stock that they like alot and wouldnt mind sharing with me. I want to know your favorite stock. I would like to add it to my portfolio and expand into other sectors. Any suggestions? Thanks. Oh, my favorite stock is DNA."

HappyHarry said: "Another favorite: another luxury retailer: [url=http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=COH]COH[/url], Coach makes very expensive women's handbags and they make a ton of money doing it. Another great company with excellent growth and a well-respected management team. I also like UNH for healthcare. BTW, picking companies with products you like is the best way to pick stocks. If you love the product, be sure other people will also."

gottr said: "[QUOTE]BTW, picking companies with products you like is the best way to pick stocks. If you love the product, be sure other people will also.[/QUOTE] Learn something new everyday. I cant believe I missed Coach, every girl I know loves their bags. [QUOTE]Coach makes very expensive women's handbags and they make a ton of money doing it.[/QUOTE] Yeah, I think they are borderline collectibles. Ya know who else has a product like that, Yankee Candles. They have a huge fan following. I was browsing Ebay one day and people were selling older Yankee candles for higher prices than new ones. Similar to collectables. Not to mention new candles are already expensive. I was curious and looked for Yankees ticker symbol as I was typing this, YCC. Might be something to look at."

HappyHarry said: "Yes I'm a fan of Yankee candle too. The costs for making candles are pretty low and customer loyalty is high. Also, check out [url=http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bc?s=HOV&t=1d]HOV[/url] Hovnanian is at over $6 per share and home sales are still going gangbusters."

gottr said: "Thanks for the tip. Home sales and real estate are going crazy (take it from someone who is house shopping)."

AlfredSokol said: "You might also want to check out Fair Isaac (FIC) creator of the famous "My Fico' score for housing lenders. There business is booming and is very high margin."