If you are just learning how to invest, odds are you have struggled with where to put your first dollars. I would advise you to not worry about looking where to put your money right away but rather observe the market for awhile.
There are a few ways you can do this. Perhaps the most interactive way is to play one of those free stock market games which are out there on the internet. However, for a lot of people, they can’t just take it seriously since it is not real money, so they don’t get much out of it.
Another option instead is to invest into big, blue-chip, stable companies which aren’t going to go out of business any time soon. This would be companies like Walmart, Exxon-Mobil, McDonald’s, Johnson & Johnson, and the like.
Note that big tech companies like Apple are very volatile – do not let their size fool you. Even if it is one of the largest companies, Apple was no where near its size just 5 years ago. Tech companies can crash and burn overnight and are not recommended for newbies.
The thing is that new investors love to invest into technology because these companies create the products these people own and love, but the truth is that it’s not very stable.
The reason for this is that these companies often rise and fall on the whims of not only the consumer but on their proprietary product. Microsoft was the biggest tech company thanks to its trademark windows software, but given that not many new computers are being sold, their company value is way down.
On the other hand, smart phones have become very popular, as have tablets, which has allwowed Apple’s stock price to go up so much. However, Android smart phones have really chipped into the iPhone’s market share, and as a result we really don’t know just how long the iPhone can remain stable for. While for now the iPad has really been a home run for Apple, it’s too hard to say if they will be popular in 5 years.
Just stick to the big companies as a newbie and then move into smaller niche markets once you actually know what you are doing.
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