Sound like a good fisrt-time investent of $6000?

111 said: "I'm thinking of putting $3000 in CAG and $3000 in PFE (give or take $500 for each) I'm thinking of using PFE for the long term and just cashing in on CAG for a few months in this recession (and it did great after the 03 recession so here's to hoping). Once October rolls (or before depending) around I will probably pull out CAG (unless it is still rising) and put it in some good holiday stock (probably APPL). Does this sound good? One other stock I was considering but am leaning against is KSS (as recommended by Cramer on Mad Money). Views on that instead of one of the two I chose? Any other suggestions are appreciated. THANKS"

rmelv said: "If I had to pick one I would go with PFE because it has a great dividend and the cash to pay it out. Lately CAG and other food stocks have been trading less on recession fears and more on food prices. Check out the etf DBA to see why CAG has been struggling. I am long KFT which has the same problems of CAG but I am also long Mosaic as a hedge because they benefit from high food prices. If you go long CAG realize that it trades off of food prices and hedge it accordingly (unless you think food prices are going lower)."

111 said: "[QUOTE=rmelv;64055]If I had to pick one I would go with PFE because it has a great dividend and the cash to pay it out. Lately CAG and other food stocks have been trading less on recession fears and more on food prices. Check out the etf DBA to see why CAG has been struggling. I am long KFT which has the same problems of CAG but I am also long Mosaic as a hedge because they benefit from high food prices. If you go long CAG realize that it trades off of food prices and hedge it accordingly (unless you think food prices are going lower).[/QUOTE] I'm new to stock. I understand the concept of hedging but don't know how to apply it in this particular situation. How would I? Thanks"

SporeMonger said: "Are you two crazy? You are guessing and hoping so much that it makes me want to short your stocks! What the hell makes you think that a pharma (aka gamble) and food (dime-a-dozen) stock will keep heading up? Is there anything outside of your hope that will make these stocks keep heading up? Think about it! It's not that they wont, but it isn't a sure bet. Watch you risk/reward. Did I make you think yet? ;)"

111 said: "[QUOTE=SporeMonger;64059]Are you two crazy? You are guessing and hoping so much that it makes me want to short your stocks! What the hell makes you think that a pharma (aka gamble) and food (dime-a-dozen) stock will keep heading up? Is there anything outside of your hope that will make these stocks keep heading up? Think about it! It's not that they wont, but it isn't a sure bet. Watch you risk/reward. Did I make you think yet? ;)[/QUOTE] My thinking was food would do great in a recession (and CAG has reached an all time low) and that PFE would raise because of all the baby-boomer's (and drugs are always needed anyway + the stock being a very low price (check it out). What would you suggest? (and give reasons, please)."

Airelon said: "There are literally a million things that could go wrong. All you need is a consecutive drawdown of 2, and you'd be wiped out. I've had consecutive drawdowns of 4 and 5 in a row. Please . . . please . . . . research money management principles if you want to do well at Investing or Trading."

Fundamental Gamma said: "I'm jumping into dry-bulk shippers. DSX is my favorite because of increasing global demand for raw materials, AND recession-resistant consumer descretionaries such as soap, food, toilet paper, etc. Additionally, the sector is so far off its 52 week highs, I can't help but buy a 30% long position tomorrow. Profit growth has been EXPLOSIVE. I like dry-bulkers!!"

111 said: "Could you guys help me with some ideas then?"

Airelon said: "It's not that your have bad picks. (Not sure, I didn't look over them) But good or bad picks isn't what makes or breaks you in the markets. Money Management Principles and Strategies is what will make or break you in the markets. Rule #1 to Money management, is not to risk more than 3% to 5% of your total account equity, on any one trade or investment. That's what rose the alarm bells amongst the veterans here. Talking of risking 50% of your account equity to one trade. The reward would be higher [i]if[/i] it worked out? Yes. It would. But the risk is through the roof. Mathematical theorums literally dictate that if you continually risk 50% of your account equity - you [i]will[/i] end up losing all of your money. If you have 3 bad investments, or 3 bad trades in a row, and you've only risked 3% of your total account equity? It's no big deal. As SporeMonger said, if your risk reward ratio is set properly (I[I]f you risk 1, I generally recommend seeking a reward of at least 2. In other words, if you risk $240 - then you should look for a reward of $4 8 0 [/I]) and you have your other Money Management Principles set correct? Trading becomes much easier, much more of a business and less like a gamble - on whether or not two companies will do well or not."

Fundamental Gamma said: "[QUOTE=111;64064]Could you guys help me with some ideas then?[/QUOTE] My strategy is buy high quality stocks at the lowest prices possible. I have my own system to find these stocks. What you may want to do to find high quality stocks is... 1. Learn fundamental analysis. 2. Search ratings sites like morningstar, zacks research, motley fool CAPS, etc. 3. Ask guys like me!! I like DSX... When you find a really high quality stock, you wait for a pullback in the price, and you buy a partial long position. Everytime there is a pullback, buy an additional long position, and keep doing that until you have bought a full position. I never buy a stock all at one. I always split my orders up. It helps to compare a company to its industry and market."

SporeMonger said: "[QUOTE=111;64061]My thinking was food would do great in a recession (and CAG has reached an all time low) and that PFE would raise because of all the baby-boomer's (and drugs are always needed anyway + the stock being a very low price (check it out). What would you suggest? (and give reasons, please).[/QUOTE] CAG could make you as much as 20%-30% at the end of this year! I'm just looking at the technicals and thinking about food being a defensive investment, of course. I have to warn you that CAG doesn't have great financials and isn't being aggressively accumulated by institutional investors. So I can tell you that CAG is a gamble. PFE is a pharmaceutical and they are always a gamble. From pharmaceuticals' competitive pipelines to their speculative lawsuits, pharma has always been only a momo play for me. Just my humble opinion."

111 said: "[QUOTE=Airelon;64066]It's not that your have bad picks. (Not sure, I didn't look over them) But good or bad picks isn't what makes or breaks you in the markets. Money Management Principles and Strategies is what will make or break you in the markets. Rule #1 to Money management, is not to risk more than 3% to 5% of your total account equity, on any one trade or investment. That's what rose the alarm bells amongst the veterans here. Talking of risking 50% of your account equity to one trade. The reward would be higher [i]if[/i] it worked out? Yes. It would. But the risk is through the roof. Mathematical theorums literally dictate that if you continually risk 50% of your account equity - you [i]will[/i] end up losing all of your money. If you have 3 bad investments, or 3 bad trades in a row, and you've only risked 3% of your total account equity? It's no big deal. As SporeMonger said, if your risk reward ratio is set properly (I[I]f you risk 1, I generally recommend seeking a reward of at least 2. In other words, if you risk $240 - then you should look for a reward of $4 8 0 [/I]) and you have your other Money Management Principles set correct? Trading becomes much easier, much more of a business and less like a gamble - on whether or not two companies will do well or not.[/QUOTE] So you are telling me to split the money into 6 or 7 stocks? I can see where your coming from if that is what you are suggesting. My only problem with doing that is that trades are $12.99. What is the point of having $240 in a stock, making $5, and then taking it out? Even if you made $15 (which would mean the stock is doing GREAT, right?), you would barely break even with a high chance of being in the negative because of trade costs. Please clarify."

111 said: "[QUOTE=SporeMonger;64068]CAG could make you as much as 20%-30% at the end of this year! I'm just looking at the technicals and thinking about food being a defensive investment, of course. I have to warn you that CAG doesn't have great financials and isn't being aggressively accumulated by institutional investors. So I can tell you that CAG is a gamble. PFE is a pharmaceutical and they are always a gamble. From pharmaceuticals' competitive pipelines to their speculative lawsuits, pharma has always been only a momo play for me. Just my humble opinion.[/QUOTE] Please give me suggestions then."

Pb3190 said: "Don't forget that $12.99 is both ways, buying and selling will cost you some money. I'm finishing up some work, but when I'm done I'll make a longer post about my thoughts on a good first time investment with 6K to use."

SporeMonger said: "[QUOTE=111;640]Please give me suggestions then.[/QUOTE] I'm sorry but I won't... I'm trying to find my own way at the moment. Wait a sec... Are asking me what's hot right now? Are you simply looking for tips? Maybe you are asking what is a value right now?"

Fundamental Gamma said: "I found Zecco, which is a commission-free broker. Trading fees are a killer. I don't have lots of money to invest either. With my $1339, I'm doing... 41% - $549 - DSX 38% - $509 - GOOG 21% - $281 - Cash, Gold/silver, bonds, etc. Diversification is good, but its hard when you only have just $1000. I just buy two stocks, and keep the rest in cash. A portfolio formula I follow is this... Age = % held in cash/bonds/etc. 100-age = % held in stocks/REITs/etc."

111 said: "[QUOTE=Fundamental Gamma;64073]I found Zecco, which is a commission-free broker. Trading fees are a killer. I don't have lots of money to invest either. With my $1339, I'm doing... 41% - $549 - DSX 38% - $509 - GOOG 21% - $281 - Cash, Gold/silver, bonds, etc. Diversification is good, but its hard when you only have just $1000. I just buy two stocks, and keep the rest in cash. A portfolio formula I follow is this... Age = % held in cash/bonds/etc. 100-age = % held in stocks/REITs/etc.[/QUOTE] I'm kind of paranoid about scams and the like (that why I was going to use ETrade, it's very well known. Is this place reputable/big. If it is that would help ALOT. Thanks"

Fundamental Gamma said: "[QUOTE=111;64074]I'm kind of paranoid about scams and the like (that why I was going to use ETrade, it's very well known. Is this place reputable/big. If it is that would help ALOT. Thanks[/QUOTE] It's legit;)... The CEO of Zecco was on CNBC's Squawk Box...CLICK BELOW... [url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5T4coOmGdnE[/url]"

Airelon said: "[QUOTE=111;64069]So you are telling me to split the money into 6 or 7 stocks? I can see where your coming from if that is what you are suggesting. My only problem with doing that is that trades are $12.99. What is the point of having $240 in a stock, making $5, and then taking it out? Even if you made $15 (which would mean the stock is doing GREAT, right?), you would barely break even with a high chance of being in the negative because of trade costs. Please clarify.[/QUOTE] Ah. Commissions are the enemy of the low-funded trader. I hear ya. I actually created sub-accounts from my normal trading last October - to demonstrate what the low-funded trader needs to consider. And one of the first things I mentioned back then? Is that commissions are the enemy of the low-funded trader. This is why one has to make sure that the volatility of the stock they are looking at, makes the reward they are looking for, reasonable. Do-able. For example. Let's say you buy a stock, and instead of using position sizing? You use % of your capital. So let's take your one stocks. CAG. It's trading at $22.11 right now. So you buy $240.00 worth of CAG. That means that you get 10 shares. That costs you $15 in commissions. You are looking for CAG to run to what? Well, a good risk reward ratio is 1 risk, to 2 reward, or 1:2. So you'd look to profit TWICE as much as your risk with CAG. Or $420.00 That means, the stock would have to rise $42 in share price, for you to make a risk reward of one to two. That's just dumb. :) Why? Well, as you yourself can probably see - that's not reasonable, giving the volatility of the market. CAG doesn't make those sorts of swings. That's one way to do it. Your total purchase cost. There's another way to do it. More risky if you don't have the emotional discipline to dump it? But very profitable if you have good emotional discipline. You buy 140 shares of CAG, and put a Stop / Loss order in at $1 . 8 0 below your entry. In other words, if the market moves against you $1 . 8 0 ? You get out of CAG. You sell off all 140 shares. But you only lose $240. What's the benefit to this method? You can have a better, and more [i]reasonable[/i] risk / reward ratio. Lets' say that the market moves in your favor $3.60, or to $25.71 That's $504 profit. You then take your profits. $25.71 is very reasonable, and the market could more easily reach that. Mathematics tells us? That the last way I outlined is the best way to go about it, and the way to stay in the game the longest. To be sure, this requires a TON of emotional discipline. The best traders, are the traders that [i]know how to lose[/i]. That know how to admit that they were wrong on their exact entrance, and to dump it for a small loss. The worst traders are those that hold onto a bad stock - thinking "Oh, it'll turn around any time now." I saw this funny picture last summer, you might enjoy. It's scary how accurate it is. :) I highly recommend David Werner's lessons to people over at InformedTrades. Here's one on [URL="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LMlNd2gMVw"]position sizing[/URL]. [CENTER][IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v237/Novus/Finances%20and%20Stocks/TheTradersmentality.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER]"

rmelv said: "You guys are being a little hard on him, probably for his own good, but let's try to help him out. You are definitely right to not want to own too many stocks because commissions will eat away at your money. You can get decently diversified with 4-5 stocks. Now, you were also on the right track by looking for dividends. Most brokers allow you to do a dividend reinvestment plan which allows you to reinvest your dividends with no commission. Since you are new I will give you an example of a dividend portfolio. Please don't this portfolio as gospel, just as an idea of a diversified dividend portfolio. ED 5.5% - Electric Utility (recession) USB 5.25% - Bank GE 3.62% - Conglomerate PCU 5.5% - Metal Mining (inflation protection) MO 4.11% - Cigarettes (recession) If you really think we are headed for a bad recession you could swap out GE for PFE. It's hard starting out because you don't know the menu of stocks that well to choose from. The stocks I really like are the ones in my signature."

Airelon said: "Not sure if I was included in the 'you guys', but I wasn't trying to be hard on him. Just help him. It's not about the hottest stock picks. It's about money management. Money Management is the trading holy grail of trading. I've known traders who were only right 50% of the time, and were hundreds of times more profitable than guys who were right 8 0 % of the time. Why? Money management principles. Risk Analysis. Reward Analysis (as it relates to the risk). Drawdown. Accuracy rates. Performance Analysis. Strategies. Those are the principles, once understood, that help you make money in this business. Personally? If we're going to talk abut "picks"? I for myself that think CAG is a great buy at 22.31"

newinvestor123 said: "Zecco is reputable. I used them for a few months earlier last year, and for someone who only needs to make a few trades a month, they're fine. Don't think that you need to sign up with E-Trade or ScottTrade or whomever because they are "premium" brokers. Fact is, once you get your stock, it's yours, whether you got it through Schwab or Zecco. Some offer better services than others, but for the small guys, those big commissions aren't even close to worth it. Stick with the cheaper brokers like Zecco (free, I think), Sharebuilder (a few bucks a trade), Tradeking ($5/trade), or Interactive Brokers ($1/trade)."

Airelon said: "Ok, respectfully, I do have to disagree on the Zecco route, from a customer service standpoint. Commissions aren't everything. And Zecco proves that point. That bait and switch they pulled from June to October? Man, that just screams poor understanding of your market, and poor business practices. While they are not a 'scam' in the sense that they [i]are[/i] an actual brokerage? Their business practices, namely - a bait and switch - caused me to take my business elsewhere and close my account with them. In 12 years of Trading. With Full Service Brokers like Great Pacific, Ira Epstein, Scottrade, Sharebuilder, Xpresstrade and now optionsXpress? I have [i]never[/i] had my chain yanked around, like when I was at Zecco. It is the only company, I have [i]ever[/i] reported to the Better Business Bureau. Last time I was there ([I]it may have risen slightly due to cases being closed[/I]) their BBB rating was in the toilet."

newinvestor123 said: "Yep, it doesn't look like Zecco's customer service has improved much since I used them. I guess that's the price you pay for free trades..."

111 said: "(Sorry for not using the right terms etc right now). If I buy something and set a limit so that it gets pulled out if the stock hits a low, does that cost money in itself? Or do I just lose the money I normally would have if it goes down, say $1 a share? Just to clarify things, would I be better of doing a big $3000 stock while setting a drop-out limit or by doing 5 or 6 smaller stocks with zecco (as that would be the only way for small trades). Thanks so much for the help so far."

Rbreb13 said: "[QUOTE=111;64119](Sorry for not using the right terms etc right now). If I buy something and set a limit so that it gets pulled out if the stock hits a low, does that cost money in itself? Or do I just lose the money I normally would have if it goes down, say $1 a share? Just to clarify things, would I be better of doing a big $3000 stock while setting a drop-out limit or by doing 5 or 6 smaller stocks with zecco (as that would be the only way for small trades). Thanks so much for the help so far.[/QUOTE]To start with: QUIT thinking in terms of dollars when thinking about the market. [B]Think percentages![/B] If a stock goes up/down 10% it doesn't matter if its a $5 stock or a $100 stock. The percentage gain/loss is the same on your principal."

111 said: "[QUOTE=Rbreb13;64130]To start with: QUIT thinking in terms of dollars when thinking about the market. [B]Think percentages![/B] If a stock goes up/down 10% it doesn't matter if its a $5 stock or a $100 stock. The percentage gain/loss is the same on your principal.[/QUOTE] Sorry, the newb in me is really coming out"

111 said: "Just an update.... I think I've given up on the idea of pfe and cag. I've been searching alot and these are some I'm currently monitering (I think I'm gonna take the plunge on some of them Saturday). rexx, star, pdc, pcu"

Rbreb13 said: "REXX, looks like its way overvalued. A forward P/E of 147 is really high. Its already made a significant move upwards. Approaching overbought status. I would wait until after earnings at least 2/25. Even then the chart looks really toppy right now. STAR, Recent IPO, not enough real data to judge but its right at its IPO open price right now. It needs to break the $16 resistance and hold before I'd jump. PDC, Potential takeover target. Has had a nice pop the last week with oil going up. When/if oil comes back down so will PDC. PCU, Nice sector, nice stock, good dividend. Chart is starting to get toppy though. Why do you like these stocks? Give us some reasons why you want to own them. What kind of timeframe are you going to hold these for? Do you have an entry/exit strategy? REXX, PDC, and PCU are already on the move up and may begin to peter out soon. I like to buy before runs and not when they're about to end. Oh and BTW. The markets are closed on Saturday."

111 said: "[QUOTE=Rbreb13;641]REXX, looks like its way overvalued. A forward P/E of 147 is really high. Its already made a significant move upwards. Approaching overbought status. I would wait until after earnings at least 2/25. Even then the chart looks really toppy right now. STAR, Recent IPO, not enough real data to judge but its right at its IPO open price right now. It needs to break the $16 resistance and hold before I'd jump. PDC, Potential takeover target. Has had a nice pop the last week with oil going up. When/if oil comes back down so will PDC. PCU, Nice sector, nice stock, good dividend. Chart is starting to get toppy though. Why do you like these stocks? Give us some reasons why you want to own them. What kind of timeframe are you going to hold these for? Do you have an entry/exit strategy? REXX, PDC, and PCU are already on the move up and may begin to peter out soon. I like to buy before runs and not when they're about to end. Oh and BTW. The markets are closed on Saturday.[/QUOTE] I was thinking of one of the high stocks as a few day investment. I am thinking they will keep going up for a short while. If I do get one, as soon as there is a single drop I would pull out (because from understanding once something gets as high as that, the only thing to happen is straight down). PDC would be a medium range stock, maybe a few months worth (oil is going to go up pretty soon or atleast I think it will in the near future). That would come out once the oil price reaches a premium. So I got a short length stock, a medium length, and am still looking for something to invest in longterm (btw, I'm thinking of $750 or so in the short length, $1500 in PDC, and $1500 in either a long-time investment or something else). (oh, and I guess I have a little more time to analyze the market before I take the plunge) Any thoughts/suggestions? EDIT: I'm thinking of trying a penny stock also. I would only put around $200 in that though, since I'm just starting out and those easily burn you."

Fundamental Gamma said: "[QUOTE=Airelon;64091]Ok, respectfully, I do have to disagree on the Zecco route, from a customer service standpoint. Commissions aren't everything. And Zecco proves that point. That bait and switch they pulled from June to October? Man, that just screams poor understanding of your market, and poor business practices. While they are not a 'scam' in the sense that they [i]are[/i] an actual brokerage? Their business practices, namely - a bait and switch - caused me to take my business elsewhere and close my account with them. In 12 years of Trading. With Full Service Brokers like Great Pacific, Ira Epstein, Scottrade, Sharebuilder, Xpresstrade and now optionsXpress? I have [i]never[/i] had my chain yanked around, like when I was at Zecco. It is the only company, I have [i]ever[/i] reported to the Better Business Bureau. Last time I was there ([I]it may have risen slightly due to cases being closed[/I]) their BBB rating was in the toilet.[/QUOTE] I'm interested. Can you be more specific about your experience? I have also had problems using my account, and I have had to call the customer service hotline more than 5 times for various reasons. I still like the $0 trades because I am a very low volume investor."

scottlarock said: "hmmm duplicate"

111 said: "Two things. One is WOW, I've learned so much from this thread and put to rest so many possible mistakes. All the stocks I've named in this thread so far (and luckily havn't bougth), namely REXX, STAR, PCU, PDC, PFE, and CAG are horible choices (by alot of research today). I'm learning alot more about how to analyze the market and make smart choices. One example.... In two months data, if TNB went up after a decline, there would be atleast a few days of rise, never a fall directly after. I know it's not a definite up, but the odds are pointing that way. I'm thinking that would be something to play for a few days on Monday (or does the market open on Sunday?). HAL is one to watch, it might be worth it in 3 or so months time. I might jump on DY if it shows a couple days of rises (its already plummeted and looks to be leveling out) Just a few (hopefully right) examples of what I've been learning. I've also learned alot of signs on stocks to completely avoid because of certain factors. Second, I really want to use Zecco because of free trades, but is it absolutely horrible or is it decent? If it isn't good, please tell me the cheapest good one ( I've heard of a few $1 a trade of $5 dollar a trade places)Thanks so much:)"

scottlarock said: "I use zecco, I've done a few trades with them and had no problems. Other than that I put in an order for SDS at 48.40 one day and it never fulfilled even though it closed at 48.40 that day. That can happen with any broker though. Umm, yes commissions will eat you alive and so much so that it probably isn't worth diversifying yourself if you don't have a lot of money. For instance if you have $5000 and you want to diversify. You'll buy 10 different companies. That's $500 per company. If your charge is $10 per trade. You can go ahead and kiss 4.5% of your money good buy! You can't use Interactive brokers (1 per trade) if you are a small timer. I think you have to have a deposit of 5 or 6k PLUS they charge you a minimum of $10 per month (if you don't make $10 in trade per month they still take $10). So you go there, you buy your 10 stocks. You sit on those stocks for a 2 years. You can kiss $240 in "minimums" good bye and $10 for the 10 different trades and then $10 when you go to sell them. Oh and I'm nearly as negative on CAG and PFE as the rest of the people here. I think both of them are pretty nice. HOWEVER, 98% of all stocks drop if the whole market drops. So, I continue to sit on the sidelines. Also, there were some reports out recently that people at walgreens were opting for generic replacements and there was some big news about Costco and some drug membership program they have where they'll look up the cheapest priced equivalent drug for you. So, that is NOT a good thing for PFE. PFE has not had any drug breakthroughs recently either. With the healthcare problems they are more risky too. However, I challenge anyone here to find a stock that has no downfalls right now. CAG just being a stock that has mostly moved sideways for many years. In 2000 CAG was a $16 stock. Basically it is $20-27 stock the last 6 years. You can probably only count on it paying you the dividend over the next few years and you MIGHT lose 10-20%. I suspect that if the overall market goes down 20%, CAG will probably go down 10-15%. PFE has traded no lower than $20 a share the last 5 or 6 years and has been as high as 38ish. The div is at 5.7%. Not a bad div and they'll probably keep being able to pay that."

newinvestor123 said: "[QUOTE=111;64191]Two things. One is WOW, I've learned so much from this thread and put to rest so many possible mistakes. All the stocks I've named in this thread so far (and luckily havn't bougth), namely REXX, STAR, PCU, PDC, PFE, and CAG are horible choices (by alot of research today). I'm learning alot more about how to analyze the market and make smart choices. One example.... In two months data, if TNB went up after a decline, there would be atleast a few days of rise, never a fall directly after. I know it's not a definite up, but the odds are pointing that way. I'm thinking that would be something to play for a few days on Monday (or does the market open on Sunday?). HAL is one to watch, it might be worth it in 3 or so months time. I might jump on DY if it shows a couple days of rises (its already plummeted and looks to be leveling out) Just a few (hopefully right) examples of what I've been learning. I've also learned alot of signs on stocks to completely avoid because of certain factors. Second, I really want to use Zecco because of free trades, but is it absolutely horrible or is it decent? If it isn't good, please tell me the cheapest good one ( I've heard of a few $1 a trade of $5 dollar a trade places)Thanks so much:)[/QUOTE] Zecco has shortcomings, but if all you're going to do is buy a few stocks and sit on them, it'll be fine for you. Interactive Brokers does charge a $10 fee if you don't trade ten or more stocks (@$1/trade), but their minimum account balance is $2500, not $5k. They're fine for the "small timer," as long as you have $2500. However, scott's right about the $240 thing, and if you're just going to sit on your stocks for two years, I recommend Zecco. Alternatively, if you don't mind paying the $5 commissions, Tradeking is a pretty good broker. I used them for about six months from late 06 to early 07, and I didn't have any problems with them."

scottlarock said: "[QUOTE=newinvestor123;64193]Zecco has shortcomings, but if all you're going to do is buy a few stocks and sit on them, it'll be fine for you. Interactive Brokers does charge a $10 fee if you don't trade ten or more stocks (@$1/trade), but their minimum account balance is $2500, not $5k. They're fine for the "small timer," as long as you have $2500. However, scott's right about the $240 thing, and if you're just going to sit on your stocks for two years, I recommend Zecco. Alternatively, if you don't mind paying the $5 commissions, Tradeking is a pretty good broker. I used them for about six months from late 06 to early 07, and I didn't have any problems with them.[/QUOTE] NI, I'm rather certain their minimum to open an account is 5 or 6k. I would guess that sharebuilder is pretty good too ($4/ share I think). I think they were bought out or have some partnership with ING, so I'd imagine their customer service is fairly good. Or will be fairly good with time. Zecco seems ok, but if you have any problems with your account you will probably wish you had paid for your trades instead ;) I'm guessing their customer service is subpar. Though they DID claim that the reason they were changing all their fee structures was so that they could hire more CS agents and provide better service. If you do decide to go with zecco (not NewInvestor but anyone else) , they have some deal where if you sign up based on the recommendation of someone else that person can get $50. They aren't nice and give both parties the the bonus, but I'm nice ;) Though I will have to pay taxes on the $50 :\ So you can just email me through SI and I'll get ya the link."

newinvestor123 said: "Whoops, I was wrong - If you're under 21, the minimum balance is $3k, and if not, it's $10k. [url]http://www.interactivebrokers.com/en/accounts/fees/minimumDeposits.php?ib_entity=llc[/url]"

scottlarock said: "They must have increased it...Cause when I setup that account a few months ago it was 5 or 6k"

Fundamental Gamma said: "I have used sharebuilder, tradeking, and zecco. I love Zecco's trade costs, but don't like the some of the issues with them. Sharebuilder and tradeking, I never had a problem with, but they have commissions."

newguy87 said: "I'm a fairly new investor too and I've been reading this forum for awhile. I'd say learn from the advice some of the posters on this board give, they're pretty smart people who know what they're talking about. With that said I figure I'll add my 2 cents. First I'd say you have to determine for yourself is the money you're using for trading (short term in and out) or long term investing. Also are you looking for income or growth etc.... With regards to PFE I'm gonna take a slight contrarian view from some of the others in this thread. First the negatives though. If you're looking for huge growth, PFE isn't the place for it. It's the #1 pharma and is massive in size so has difficulty developing growth just for that reason alone. Management I'd say is average at best and they're gonna have difficulty replacing the biggest drug in the world Lipitor (about 12 billion sales, comes off patent about 2011). They'll be using a whole lot of smaller drugs and aquisitions to make up for it. Generics are always gonna be a bain of the pharma industry and dems are coming into power so that may be a headwind too. Nonetheless, there are still many people who see the pharma sector as a safehaven, especially in times of recession. Now if you're looking for income (say if you're a retiree or just wanted a nice yield) I'd say PFE is a pretty good stock to own around these levels. It's trading around the low 20's which is near multiyear lows and now has about 5.7% yield. It could go a little lower but I don't expect it too much more but also don't look for any big breakouts to the upside or anything either, not gonna happen with PFE. It's sitting on a ton of cash for acquisitions and dividend payouts and I believe has raised the dividend for 25 years or so. Not sure if they've raised it every year but the trend has been up and it's not been cut in that time. I'm sure the company realizes that it's not a growth stock and that the dividend is what attracts investors and they will look to keep it healthy and growing in the future. I'm not an expert but that's my 2 cents and example of some of what I'd look at in choosing a stock. Depending on what you're goals are, a particular stock can be good for you or it can be bad for you. Just as an aside for stocks/ETFs I've owned or looked at in the recent past. You'll notice strong commodity flavor to them, although now I think commodities may be getting short term toppy. For now I'm mostly out of the market despite that recent bailout plan for AMBAC. FCX, RIO, MT, MON, DBA, MOO, NE, DSX, BTU, JOYG, TIE, JEC"

scottlarock said: "[QUOTE=newguy87;64222] With regards to PFE I'm gonna take a slight contrarian view from some of the others in this thread. First the negatives though. If you're looking for huge growth, PFE isn't the place for it. It's the #1 pharma and is massive in size so has difficulty developing growth just for that reason alone. Management I'd say is average at best and they're gonna have difficulty replacing the biggest drug in the world Lipitor (about 12 billion sales, comes off patent about 2011). They'll be using a whole lot of smaller drugs and aquisitions to make up for it. Generics are always gonna be a bain of the pharma industry and dems are coming into power so that may be a headwind too. [/QUOTE] Hey! Didn't I already say all this? You sure this was YOUR 2 cents and not MY 1.5 cents and your .5 cents? ha ha ha ;)"

newguy87 said: "I didn't read every post in the thread but I did see yours and yes there was some overlap of ideas. You weren't as negative as others and that's why I said "contrarian" to SOME posters and didn't say EVERYONE else. You mentioned the divy,generics and share price but I felt I went into a little more detail. Things like the ton of cash being their sitting on (specificallly from recent consumer products sale to JNJ), how a companies size can hurt growth (he's new like me may not realize that), how long the divy has been in place, their strategy for replacing Lipitor with new smaller drugs (exubera, chantix in 1-3 billion range), my confidence in management, how a stock can be good or bad depending on goals etc... Think what you like, if you'd like to take full 2 cents credit for my post be my guest. They're a lot of smarter guys than me on this board and you may be one of them. To me this is a place for people to share ideas and thoughts, even us newbies in our own little way. For arguments sake say my post overlapped yours 100%. If I was a third party reading the thread then I could come in and think to myself, you know there may be some merit to what they say and it's not a lone dissenting voice. It would reinforce the earlier opinion. I'm not looking to take credit or say look at me and my ideas, if you want it all you can have it. :) I'm just trying to learn and contribute. :)"

scottlarock said: "hey I'm just jerkin' your chain! You said everything I wanted to say but in a much more detailed/better way!"

newguy87 said: "That's cool, I wasn't sure if you were attacking or being sarcastic. I saw the smiley but can't always tell true intent on message boards, so I felt the need to defend myself a little. All's good. :)"