Playing the stock market

work2bfree · 09-14-2007, 04:25 AM

My boyfriend is into playing the stocks. He currently is working for a company that is trying to establish a hedge fund. There has been problems due to lack of feed money, which he says, should already be available. He explained to me why this group did not have any available. I don't understand the interest in stocks. It is almost like playing the lottery. My boyfriend tells me that many successful people into developing or into the stock market have either a masters or PhD in either math or physics, so I am assuming that there is some kind of formulas or algorithms involved in playing the stocks. I don't understand the interest; he loves it. I think I'd prefer playing the lotter because if I lose, I have only lost $1.00 or $2.00, not hundreds of thousands of dollars or even millions. I can't even imagine that!

natacha · 09-24-2007, 08:22 PM

I tried some day-trading before and lost a lot of money.
I guess you have to know what you are doing to play with the stock market.
But whatever you do, stay away from the penny stocks. Even though you can make a lot of money with a little increase in these stocks, you can also make a huge loss with a very small decrease. It just works out that you will loose more with these stocks than you will gain.
I learnt my lesson the hard way.

work2bfree · 09-26-2007, 02:23 AM

Thanks Natacha. To tell you the truth, other than my 401K, I know absolutely nothing about the stock market. My boyfriend has an MBA and has been involved with the stock market for about 20 years now, so he has learned a lot and he reads and studies the stock market a lot. He is currently trying to get more involved in Hedge Funds. It's all greek to me, I'd like to learn one day, when things settle down a bit. Thanks for the tip on the penny stocks. I didn't know. One would think that something so cheap would be cost you little. I would have lost a lot on that one too. Live and Learn, I guess.

ablaye · 10-27-2007, 03:05 AM

Playing the stock market is very risky business.
You have to know what you are doing, how long to hold a stock, when to dump it, learn not to be greedy and have to stomach to handle losses.
I have tried it also but have not been very successful at it.

Natacha's advice is right on the money. Stay away from penny stocks. The risks outweight the benefits.

work2bfree · 11-02-2007, 02:18 AM

Yes, my only participant in the stock market is through my 401K. My boyfriend has some investments in companies that he has done research on. He says they are doing very well, but these are long term investments. He knows, better than most, what is considered a good buy or not such a good buy. I haven't a clue.