Hello All, I hate to clog up the boards with a general request like this but I've been paper trading some time now and I am finally ready to take the plunge into real trading. Unfortunately though, due to me being a college student, I can only put up at most a couple $1000 to invest initially. Do you guys have any advice/tips for an individual starting out so low? Thanks for your time and help! John
know that you will probably lose it. and when it happens dont be surprised or distraught. (seriously i cant think of anything else to say that will truly make a diff )
Nothing wrong with investing at this point. I started with $1k and $100/mo. in two different mutual funds. Pick two or three stocks that pay dividends and hang on for a while. Add a small amount of cash each month so your cash builds up. While this is going on you can continue to paper trade, real time simulator preferably. At some point you'll have enough cash to trade more aggressively. Actually you may want to skip this last part. The first thing is really good by itself.
I think Baggerlord is good inspiration for those with accounts below 25k. The main problem with accounts under 25k is the Pattern Daytrading Rule. It says if you buy and sell in one day 4 times in a 5 day period you are a pattern day trader and must have 25k in your account. They'll freeze the account for 90 days to give you an opportunity to deposit the 25k. I believe trading the index futures after much study is best for those interested in daytrading because you can buy and sell to your heart's content. Look up Baggerlord's posts.
hey, i started with less than 1000.00 but this was before the PDT rules. options and or forex are a viable option for you. best wishes, surfer