In this edition of "
Ask a
Fool," analyst
Austin Smith answers the question "Where do I start? How do I choose and purchase a stock?" He defers to the proven
Peter Lynch model of buying what you know, which means investing in companies that you personally understand and that have relatively transparent business models. For beginning investors, some popular stocks with easy-to-comprehend business drivers include McDonald's (
NYSE:
MCD),
Starbucks (
Nasdaq:
SBUX), and Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO).
Once you've identified a stock you're committed to, the next step is to open a brokerage account.
Austin provides some popular companies as examples. You'll need your stock's ticker
symbol, which can be found easily with a
Google search, or by typing the company name into the search box at
http://www.fool.com. Decide on the number of shares you'd like to buy, and then simply call your broker or use their online
interface to place a trade.
To compare online brokerages side-by-side and to learn more about what's involved with opening an account, visit
Fool.com's "How to Invest" hub: http://bit.ly/17nlnx6
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Do you have a question about stocks, investing, a specific company, managing your money, or any other aspect of the financial world? Simply email AskAFool@fool.com and we'll do our best to get it answered!
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Visit us on the web at http://www.fool.com.
Subscribe to
The Motley Fool's
YouTube Channel:
http://www.youtube.com/TheMotleyFool
Inside The Motley Fool:
Check out our
Culture Blog!
http://culture.fool.com
Join our
Facebook community:
https://www.facebook.com/themotleyfool
Follow The Motley Fool on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/themotleyfool
- published: 22 May 2012
- views: 48557