Best Stock Investment in 2010 & Beyond

The best stock investment in 2010 and beyond could be a penny stock. But that’s pure speculation. The best stock investment available to any stock investor offers investment opportunities previously not available to every-day people. And its profit potential knows no boundaries.

Millions of American investors own just one form of stock investment: equity mutual funds that are offered by investment companies. There’s only one real shortcoming with these funds. Most mutual fund companies limit your choices to the conventional: a variety of domestic and international equity (stock) funds, and perhaps a few specialty funds. This limits your investment opportunities.

On the other hand, your chance of finding the best stock investment in 2010 by sifting through the thousands of issues listed on the major exchanges is nil. It simply won’t happen even if you’re cheating - not in one lifetime, anyway. The thing that makes investing so interesting to me is that no matter what happens in the economy, somebody gets rich by being in the right place at the right time.

The problem for most people in the past was that even if they had a great incite, they did not have enough money or know how to invest and make money from it. There was no easy economical way to place your bet. Now there is, in the form of a stock investment called an ETF (exchange traded fund). These are simply baskets of securities that trade like any other stock on an exchange. Now the small investor is on a level playing field, because the variety of these funds offered is extensive and still growing.

As they say, there are always investment opportunities somewhere. Now you know how to participate. Let’s look at some examples, starting with the recent past. Gold went to a record high in 2009 and might continue to climb if the dollar falls further. You could have simply made a stock investment before gold prices soared by buying an ETF. When the stock market got crushed in 2008 and early 2009 you could have been one of the few who MADE big money by simply owning an inverse ETF that goes up when stock prices fall.

Now let’s look into the future. If you think that the government’s actions in dealing with the financial crisis will result in higher inflation and interest rates… how can you protect yourself and profit at the same time? There are ETFs out there that amount to a bet on interest rates; and some that go up when the price of basic materials like copper, aluminum and steel go up.

How can you profit when real estate or oil prices surge? A simple stock investment, whether for $500 or $5 million, in the right exchange traded fund and you’re in. The list of investment opportunities goes on and on. Now you can invest in a broad array of alternative investments not readily available to you before. And you can put together a TRULY BALANCED portfolio through your brokerage account over the internet.

Go to your brokerage account, or another investment site, or Google “ETF”. Spend some time getting familiar with the list of exchange traded funds available. If you have an investment idea, you’ll probably find a fund that will accommodate you. Especially if things in the economy get dicey in the not-too-distant future, the best stock investment in 2010 and beyond will likely be on this list. Now even the small investor knows no boundaries.

A retired financial planner, James Leitz has an MBA (finance) and 35 years of investing experience. For 20 years he advised individual investors, working directly with them helping them to reach their financial goals.

Jim is the author of a complete investor guide, Invest Informed, designed for average investors or would-be investors of all levels of financial background and experience. To learn more about investments and investing and his new financial guide go to http://www.investinformed.com.

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Mistakes to Avoid When Trading Penny Stocks

Penny stocks are highly attractive to many investors. This is because they are cheap to buy and open the doors for many people who could not invest in standard and more expensive stocks and shares.

But you can make a lot of mistakes if you’re not careful. The low price of penny stocks can make it more tempting to invest in one or more stocks without doing your research first. Research is vitally important because you need to know whether you are investing in a good or bad quality company. Penny stocks do not appear on the main stock exchange and the companies may well be less established as a result. Don’t risk investing in anything until you have done your homework on it first.

Watch your sources of information too. There are lots of websites online that give out free tips and advice on which stocks to buy and which ones to sell. Always ask yourself why another person should recommend something to you for free. Trust your own instincts and knowledge more. This comes back to doing your own research once again - you can’t get out of this aspect of trading penny stocks if you really want to stand a chance of making a profit.

Another mistake is to think that profiting from penny shares is easy. You might just pick a good company that is about to enjoy massive success - but it doesn’t happen every day by any standard. Never assume that trading in penny shares will make you your fortune - you could lose a lot of cash through thinking it is easy.

You should also make sure you don’t rely on a broker to help you pick your stocks. Your own decisions, instincts and research take precedence over everything else, so make sure you remember this.

But perhaps one of the most crucial mistakes you could make is to invest money you cannot afford to lose. This can be disastrous. Always remember that penny shares are risky propositions. You can just as easily lose every penny you invest as you can make money. So before you buy into any particular company, make sure you are happy with kissing goodbye to that money should something disastrous happen. Save for a while to build up a pot you don’t mind losing if need be - but don’t bet your last bean on trading penny stocks.

Next, check out our list of free penny stock picks that have made huge gains. Your #1 spot for good stock picks.

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