3 answers
Rodell
Student
Durham, North Carolina
1
Question
Asked
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How do you start off in the stock-trading field?
How out of college would I start on the path of doing stocks and trading?
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3 answers
Katherine Avery
Run a music studio and teach private music lessons; teach college-level religion classes
350
Answers
Spanish Fork, Utah
Updated
Katherine’s Answer
Just in terms of setting yourself up successfully for having something invested, make sure you've got 3-12 months' worth of expenses saved in cash in like a high-yield savings account (Wealthfront currently has a very good interest rate for their Cash Account); then make sure you only invest what you could afford to lose; but people basically say subtract your age from the number 120 and that's the percentage of the money that you can afford to invest that you should go ahead and put in stocks each year. Some people say you should just get a mutual fund in the S&P 500 (just go and open a Roth IRA if you have enough earned income in a year to allow you to contribute to a Roth, or open a brokerage account otherwise, and then contribute cash to your account, either the Roth or the brokerage account, and when the cash is in the account, then buy a mutual fund with it). Other people say you should read up on what Warren Buffett is investing in and put the same percentages of your available investing money into the same things he's putting his money into, in those same percentages--your scale will initially be miles smaller than his scale, but it can work well.
There's a book by Joel Greenblatt called The Little Book that Still Beats the Market that also explains a good general way to consider investing. If that book says you should basically plan to rebalance your portfolio once a year, Warren Buffett often rebalances his once a quarter or so, so just be aware that you can do something like that. But doing what the book says has, over time, made plenty of people happy with their investing strategy.
If you just regularly search for and read articles about Buffett or investing or particular companies that you are thinking of investing in, etc., your web browser will more often start to suggest relevant articles to you and that can also be helpful as you just generally go through your own education about investing by reading over time.
This video is also good for some general guidelines about financial health, and other videos on the same channel, but in this video, there's a fun chart starting about 51:49 that can show you about what you'd want to try to earn/have as a net worth or income for each age of your life, and that can be helpful for figuring out some things you want to do with your money.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBnRzH6ksCo
There's a book by Joel Greenblatt called The Little Book that Still Beats the Market that also explains a good general way to consider investing. If that book says you should basically plan to rebalance your portfolio once a year, Warren Buffett often rebalances his once a quarter or so, so just be aware that you can do something like that. But doing what the book says has, over time, made plenty of people happy with their investing strategy.
If you just regularly search for and read articles about Buffett or investing or particular companies that you are thinking of investing in, etc., your web browser will more often start to suggest relevant articles to you and that can also be helpful as you just generally go through your own education about investing by reading over time.
This video is also good for some general guidelines about financial health, and other videos on the same channel, but in this video, there's a fun chart starting about 51:49 that can show you about what you'd want to try to earn/have as a net worth or income for each age of your life, and that can be helpful for figuring out some things you want to do with your money.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBnRzH6ksCo
Desiree Juby
Training and Development
11
Answers
Charlotte, North Carolina
Updated
Desiree’s Answer
Hello Rodell,
There are a couple of steps you can take to land a career in stocks or trading.
1. Begin investing yourself. There are many companies that offer free brokerage accounts where you can begin trading with a small amount of money. If you work, you might want to consider opening a ROTH IRA account as well. If your company offers a 401(K) try to put at least the amount of money from your paycheck that your company will match. This personal experience with investing is a good starting point for learning about the industry.
2. Although obtaining securities license through FINRA (a regulatory organization for the industry) requires sponsorship by the company you work for (known as a broker-dealer), the public can study for and take what is called the SIE (Securities Industry Essentials) exam. Go to www.finra.org to learn more about this. Passing this exam will make you more marketable for obtaining a position in the financial services industry.
3. Work with your college to obtain an internship with a financial services company. If you perform well, they may offer you a position at the company after graduation.
4. Be prepared that you may need to move to a city that has a large financial services presence with trading jobs. Some cities that have a large presence are Charlotte, NC, New York City, Boston, Phoenix, Tampa FL area.
5. Create a list of companies that you'd like to target for future employment and learn about them and find people you can network with at these organizations; networking can often lead to job opportunities.
Good luck on your future endeavors!
There are a couple of steps you can take to land a career in stocks or trading.
1. Begin investing yourself. There are many companies that offer free brokerage accounts where you can begin trading with a small amount of money. If you work, you might want to consider opening a ROTH IRA account as well. If your company offers a 401(K) try to put at least the amount of money from your paycheck that your company will match. This personal experience with investing is a good starting point for learning about the industry.
2. Although obtaining securities license through FINRA (a regulatory organization for the industry) requires sponsorship by the company you work for (known as a broker-dealer), the public can study for and take what is called the SIE (Securities Industry Essentials) exam. Go to www.finra.org to learn more about this. Passing this exam will make you more marketable for obtaining a position in the financial services industry.
3. Work with your college to obtain an internship with a financial services company. If you perform well, they may offer you a position at the company after graduation.
4. Be prepared that you may need to move to a city that has a large financial services presence with trading jobs. Some cities that have a large presence are Charlotte, NC, New York City, Boston, Phoenix, Tampa FL area.
5. Create a list of companies that you'd like to target for future employment and learn about them and find people you can network with at these organizations; networking can often lead to job opportunities.
Good luck on your future endeavors!
Grete Gaigalas
Compliance and Risk Analyst
12
Answers
Austin, Texas
Updated
Grete’s Answer
This is a great question Rodell! If you're looking to get into stock-trading and potentially developing a career path after, I would suggest working for a brokerage firm! I interned at a brokerage firm, and this opened many doors and learning experiences. If day trading may be a passion of yours, there are many free training courses available through brokerage websites, YouTube, and online group communities to join to learn the ins and outs of the stock trading world! I hope this helps, wishing you all the best!