Is it better to invest in mutual funds or individual stocks for a long period of time?

a mutual fund is you paying some one to trade your stocks for you, keep a hugely diversified portfolio, (like 100-200 different stocks) and basically try not to lose your money. Mutual funds try to beat the market, but the problem is they manager gets paid no matter what, if he takes the whole fund to Zero, he still gets his paycheck.

You're far better off doing your homework and buying your own portfolio of 10-15 best of breed stocks. btu that takes commitment, you have to be able to stay on top of financial news that can affect stock price and therefore affect your investment. Cramer reccommends at least an hour per stock per week.

If you really wanna get the best of both approaches, you should go for index funds. the S&P 500 has long been the standard by which the strength of the market is measured. A number of other companies have their own 500 index funds, which allocate investment by how good a performer the company is. if i were looking for a relatively safe investment ( read: NO INVESTMENT IS SAFE. but Riskier = Rewardier) i would set up a portfolio of 5-10 index funds, with a third in 100, a third in 500 and the rest in 1000 funds.

im not really qualified to answer this but if youre investing for long-term then you probably want to be more conservative and diversify your portfolio better, so i would go for the mutual funds.

Mutual Funds have a tendency to be less volatile than individual stocks, however it depends on your overall investment objective & the amount of money you have to invest. A good idea would be to consult a financial planner so that you can discuss your long term goals i.e. retirement, college savings for children, tax defferal etc. A lot of mutual funds themselves acutally put your money into various stock & bond companies for you so you have potienial for growth without as much risk as the individual stock market.

Mutual funds offer a diverse portfolio hence less risk and volatile.For individual stocks the choice is limited by the performance and earnings potential of the company. Mutual funds are better in that respect.

Individual stocks because they can go up on a daily basis and in the long run they can be very beneficial for you.

Mutual funds are also good because they will accrue interest over time and you can still a good sum of money at the end of, let's just say a 10 year term.

The website below will tell you more about this and it's cheap to get started and it works,I've invested close to a hundred and already am having a 50% return with just the stock market. So try it. At $4.00 per share you can't beat that with a stick

It all depends on how much you know. You need to ask yourself this question. Would I trust someone else to pick my vacation and where I should go or would I rather pick my own location and go their.

Just remember all stocks do not just go up in a straight line. some retract and that is why people day trade, to take full advantage of these moves in the markets.

Stocks

The answer varies from person to person. If you have the money, why don't you try it for yourself with small positions in 5-10 stocks, purchased through Scottrade or other low-cost online broker? Some people can't handle it and sell when their stock goes down 3%, or grab a 5% profit impulsively, and others have a talent for it.

I don't have a talent for it but I was determined to learn how. After 10 years I'm getting the hang of it.