Day trading. it'

[dryheat]

Day trading on the stock market is old time. My mom told me the story; She told my dad to invest in the electric co. I don't know what he did but 1929 hammered them. Yes, my dad was old when I showed up. Ya,know, what goes around comes around. One recession after another. I kick myself for not making a million in the stock market, but it just doesn't work. I made a little. But I need 100K. Actually, I need 250K. Actually,I need 250 billion so I can take over the world and then we'd do things my way. And then I'd find out I was cash short. SOB.

[Major Tom]

My well heeled Uncle told me decades ago......"If you can't afford to lose money in the stock market, keep out"!

[bruce]

It all depends. Have done a bit of day trading. Have been in the market when things dropped. Have caught the wave and rode it ... and happily timed things to move out before the next drop. Started out in my student days with $25/month back in 1979. Now, little over 42 years later ... the market has been good for me. Have hit my targets. Seriously considering retiring next summer. My wife has already retired. Smart woman! Me? Probably will do the same this summer. Never thought I would b/c never thought I could. Not bad. Started out with less than $400 to my name, fresh out of college, married, in seminary. FIL cussed me out when we hit the road for seminary... said, "Your nothing but a da... preacher and that's all the he.. you'll ever be." Oh well. He was wrong about a lot of things. Wish him no ill at all. For y part, my wife and I are going to be able to have a decent retirement. And what's more important, we are going to be able to do things for our daughters and for the grandchildren that once would only have been a pipe dream. Invest. Start early, do it regularly and stay with it. Use some common sense and ... be ready when an opportunity arises. God bless you all. Sincerely bruce.

[Vern Humphrey]

For convenience, I go with Fidelity and do a Morning Star search once a year. I invest in the top fund each year.


Fidelity Select Biotechnology Portfolio (FBIOX)

It is not surprising that a technology fund is the top Fidelity performer over the last 10 years. Biotechnology in particular is quite volatile, but can produce far above average returns if stocks are carefully selected. The fund invests in companies that engage in biotechnological products, services, and processes. The fund may also invest in companies that benefit directly from biotechnology in some way.

FBIOX normally invests at least 80% of its assets in these types of companies, and usually invests in common stocks, but may purchase other investments. The stocks tend to be mid-sized growth-oriented companies.

The fund's 10-year annualized return is 21.21%. It outperformed its benchmark indices and more than doubled the performance of the S&P-500 Index. The expense ratio is a low 0.72%. It has earned a four-star rating from Morningstar and ranks in the top 2% of funds in its category. It should be noted that FBIOX charges a 0.75% fee if shares are sold within 30 days of purchase.
My son-in-law, who is a certified genius tells me I've out-performed the indexes for 10 years running, and if I were a professional adviser, I'd be in the top 1%.

A trick I like is trading INSIDE an IRA. If I sell shares OUTSIDE my IRA, I pay Capital Gains taxes. But if I sell INSIDE, and buy replacement shares, there are no taxes. So each year if the top mutual fund has fallen out of top place, I sell it and buy whatever replaced it.

[Merc]

Couple of things to do:

If you are still working, invest the same amount in whatever it is you pick on a monthly basis, no matter what the market is doing. It’s called “dollar cost averaging.”

Invest in a Roth IRA. Pay the income taxes up front and the remaining funds grow and distribute tax free.

If you are retired and over 72.5 years old and currently own a Traditional IRA, consider the future tax sheltering implications by converting a portion of it to a Roth IRA every year. This will also help to lower your MRD (Minimum Required Distribution) from your Traditional IRA. The amount converted to a Roth IRA is considered income which you will pay taxes on.

Reinvest your dividends and interest.

If you are investing in mutual funds, consider ETFs (Exchange Traded Funds). They trade like stocks and are much more flexible than Mutual Funds and offer many different investing options. Mutual fund managers don’t like to see you sell their funds and might suspend you. The Fidelity Technology ETF (FTEC) started in October, 2013 selling for $25/share. Yesterday, it closed at $133.68.

https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/FTEC?p=FTEC

Pay a CPA to do your taxes. The nuances of the tax codes are beyond us.

[dryheat]

Maybe a hit taking place this morning (Dow futures dn 500). Another varient of Covid this time from the Dark Continent.