14 Year Old Help In Investing ?

Can someone give me an idea of what to invest in ? I try to " Study " about investing in my free time. Should i invest in bonds, stocks, or CD's or what... I tried to invest in a stock company about 6 months ago, but i lost the $500 i put in it : ( ( but i was happy that i stuck to my decision.. The main ? is that what would be a good investment for me i would like to take not that much risk, but if there are some with risk i would do them ?

This is just my opinion here, I know you'll get different responses, so you will have to finally decide for yourself where to invest.

Still, since you asked, if you are doing this to get a good return, but also to learn about investing for the future (you never said that but that sounds right to me) I'd suggest sticking with stocks. They are riskier than bonds or cd's (or Mutual funds - another good choice) but they also return alot better. Since you are very young I'd consider this a learning experience and stick with stocks - do them right and you'll never want (or quite frankly need) to invest anywhere else but investing "right" in stocks will take years to figure out.

As to which stocks to invest in, look for something that is a good value but hopefully also a growing company (though value is probably more important). You said you lost your 1st investment in stocks which tells me you probably did something very risky (losing some money in stocks is common - losing everything means it was risky). So, make sure the company you invest in (as best you can tell) is in no danger of going bankrupt, and is ethically very sound (they don't have to be saints, but at the first mention of "accounting irregularities" its probably time to take whatever money is left and get out of there).

Try to find companies with a good PE (hopefully under 20) and good PS for their industry group (look those up if you need). Also look for good growth, and consistent growth (if a companies sales or earnings grew 200% last quarter due to an aquisition or one time event, that may be fine short term but is probably already factored into the price).

Finally even though you don't have that much money and you want to minimize commissions as much as possible, you still may want to invest in a few companies if possible. If its to hard to invest in several, just pick the best one you can. Also, be aware that even if you do everything right and get a good company you may need to wait a pretty long time (maybe even years) before your investment pays off. Thats just the nature of the game, but pick the right company and with patience (and a bit of luck) you'll do very well.

Good luck.

By the way, if you go this route, why not post here the name of the company you are thinking of buying before you buy it. There are lots of smart guys on here who would be happy to check the company and tell you what they think.

And another thing (I just can't stop "talking" can I). Read alot about this if you decide to go this route, but one of the first booka I'd suggest reading is called "The little blue book that beats the market".

If you are 14, it is probably best to invest in equities. That said, there are so many different choices in the equity market to choose from. The decision should be based on what the money is going to be used for. If you think you will use it in the next couple of year to buy a car or when you are in college, I would simply buy an equity mutual fund. You cant go wrong with Fidelity or Janus or Vanguard and TRowe Price. Make sure you pick an equity fund and not a sector fund.

If you plan on holding this long-term, then you can look at individual stocks. However, if you have little experience in selecting and analyzing stocks, its best to leave it to the professionals and buy a mutual fund.

ETFs are another good way to own equities cheaply. Ishares has some good ones but again, keep it broad. Don't buy an ETF that is only invested in one sector or country. A Russell 1000 or 3000 ETF might be a good choice.

I don't believe that you were able to invest, you are too young. No minor can be entered in any contracts until the age of 18. You can buy Government bonds, open savings accounts or buy valuables that no require contracts.

Use the professionals they do know what their doing. Primerica gives the best rates that I have found and I only buy safe stocks and have made more with the safe stocks than the high risk they will explain everything to you and at your age you will be able to retire at the age of 40 very rich and you can also be trained free by them when you turn 18 to become part of their sales team. See link below.

If you are only 14 yrs old, you will not be allowed to invest in the stock market on your own. Don't you have a parent or an adult that you can ask for help?
There are paper trading accounts that you can open, which will mimic a real account. (These can be found on many brokerage sites.)
Also, please be very careful on-line...only being 14 and advertising that you may have money...there are a lot of scams on the Internet.
I admire your drive and ambition. I am a full time trader and love the markets. It is nice to see a young person interested.
Enjoy and be careful.

Invest in mutual funds, they are much safer than stocks

You should know the meaning of mutual funds, before you choose to invest in mutual funds. These funds are a type of security that can be traded on the stock market, allowing shareholders to buy and sell shares in the funds. The revenue generated by purchase of shares is used by mutual fund manager to buy more shares of specific stocks, bonds, and other market securities and money market instruments.

Since the prices of the stocks, bonds, and other securities held by the mutual fund vary, the value of the fund changes. The average value of every share of the mutual fund is fixed daily based on the total value of the underlying securities held by the fund.