Stock market

[Ultimate Gohan]

Hello everyone,
My name is R.Soorajkumar and im 18 yrs from India. Iam a 1st year Management student (i.e) BBA, PGDM, MBA. I need an expertise opinions on stock market related queries. Iam not from a business background so im on my own legs in case if i want to kick start my own business. However my ambition is to become a Billionare by the age 30. I know that its pretty difficult but i dont have any other option. Simple logic that swirling through my mind is that only if i become a billionare at a young age i can enjoy my wealth and by the time i reach my 50's or 60's and become a billionare i might have fame but only my children can enjoy the wealth more than me.

So, i was thinking about this for a few months then i read the auto-biography of Warren Buffet. He was n't from a wealthy family but however he is the wealthiest investor in the globe. Thats because he indulged in stock market from an young age with small amount. I had read auto-biography of Narayana Moorthy(CEO of Wipro), Bill gates, Steve jobs and found that they were poor, didn't have proper education. Then only i was confident that if they can become a billionare even i can. So i was kept thinking and one something in my mind flashed i.e if im so desired to become a billionare in another 12 years, i cant wait till i complete my studies. So i decided to start from now itself. I can do internships during my semester holidays but not everyday. So the only option left is to do something from my home.

That's the moment i started to consider about dealing in stock market with less money. So i have asked my professor's advice and i got mixed opinions. Some of them told me im too young to deal with stock market and some gave me advice to keep an eye on stock market related articles and information on newspaper and magazines. My dad told me that it's my wish whether to invest in shares or n't. But said he will give small amount of money to invest but said if i loose it in share market then he wont give me anymore money to invest. As it is only a small amount of money im not afraid to take the shot. But i feel it better be worth it.

I was digging some info on net and found mutual fund is safe for begginers but the returns are not so high. And in stock market there are types of people, they are investors and speculators. Being an investor the risk is low but as well the returns are also low. They invest during depression and sell the shares at boom. Speculators are those who are willing to take risks, they buy and sell the shares immediately. Being a speculator one gets a huge returns but they must keep watch on news and newspapers everyday. So i think if i become a speculator and make proper moves within 3 years i would have gained a lot of money. But its is very difficult to always expect profit as market keeps fluctating.

Anyways my mind is more fluctuating than market. If i postpone my decision i might totally forget about idea once and for all. So i must make a decision now, so im keeping an eye present market and past share market datas. But as im a newbie into this area im not going to straight invest in a company first i have to gain complete knowledge about stock market, future of stock market, companies worth investing in etc.. I have opened a dmat account to do online transactions.

I have stated everything clearly, correct me in case im wrong. I hope this is going to change my future. In future i want to feel proud of my decision instead of regretting it. I need an expertise opinions on how to deal with with stock market, some basic things i need to know before stepping into this, tips, key ways to become successful, pros & cons and which would be an appropriate time to step myself into this and To kickstart now or later into stock market. Your opinions are apprectiated.

Thanks in advance for your information.

[Deleted]

Just don't. Invest the money in books and education before you throw it away on the market.

[Hyve]

People who read these books about rich people such as Warren Buffet or Richard Branson need to look into it a lot more, because most of the time they had a lot of help.

While Warren Buffet didn't, you certainly wont be able to replicate the success he had because it was a different world back then. Richard Branson had a rich mother who kept throwing money at him until he got it right.

The best thing to do is to moonlight and get to know businesses personally. Don't just read books, they not the true story.

[Deleted]

Just don't. Invest the money in books and education before you throw it away on the market.

I have to agree with this. For every smart guy there's 1000 fools.

[Elenion]

I think most people treat stock as sort of a saving account/retire investment and don't go much farther than employee stock plan. (which is for me as well)

If you are you looking into investing large sum of money then you should consider only if you have that much money lying around and have sufficient knowledge and experience to put it to use, even then it can be a risk.

[someotherguy]

Why would you invest your own money? or parent's money?

Start a campaign on kickstarter.com to get money. If you can't raise money there, than you won't be a billionaire in 12 years.
Test waters with that money, and set up blog or something giving stock advise, try to become a manager for other people's money.

Once you practice enough with other people's money, than invest your own - in the mean time you'll make money by investing other people's money as fees.

This is going to work a lot better than taking 10k from your dad, and getting couple of percent return for the next 12 years.

btw, I don't know about all the characters you mentioned, but Bill Gates was from a well off family, I believe they were millionaires. He dropped out of Harvard (so I'm not sure what you mean by not having proper education).
Steve Jobs was relentless in getting what he wanted, and he had Steve Wazniak (spelling?) who was very technical. So that was a team effort, and they had perfect timing with small computers finally becoming a possibility.
You might find some genetic-engineering partner now, start a company around that. Depends on how big you grow, that could make you a billion, I hear a bunch of companies are trying that now.

[Ultimate Gohan]

People who read these books about rich people such as Warren Buffet or Richard Branson need to look into it a lot more, because most of the time they had a lot of help.

While Warren Buffet didn't, you certainly wont be able to replicate the success he had because it was a different world back then. Richard Branson had a rich mother who kept throwing money at him until he got it right.

The best thing to do is to moonlight and get to know businesses personally. Don't just read books, they not the true story.

Thanks for your reply. First, i know that Richard Branson was a rich person before he began his business, but i already mentioned that im not from a rich or business background so i got only one shot at a time. Secondly the time when warren buffet was successful was a long time back. But if i replicate the same achievement with a different strategy, i might set a new benchmark for others. And by the time i get old or die history would depict my achievement. And like you said i must know about the business personally that's why im keeping in touch with my professors, corporate people and daily reading newspapers relating to share market to keep my self up to date.

[Raphtheone]

The stock market is a gamble. Only with inside information is it a good investment, and that's illegal. You need a fully developed sense to see where money is about to spawn, get there, wait for it to spawn, eat it, shit it out, and leave before everyone else gets there. Without this sense it's a lottery. You need a vision, and you need to see things others don't, or can't. It's not a question of belief, but one of perception. I've had friends that went all out on what they believed in and wanted to drag me into it, but I never did, and they always failed. Those that did succeed never asked me for my help, they didn't need it. But being the good friends they are, they kept me in the loop, and we had fun discussing it from different angles. You need a passion to do what you do, if you want to succeed. If you do it half-assed, you will get half-assed results.

In the case of stock market, the only real experience I have with it is from a very young age, but the principle should still hold true today if you're short on money. Take a pen and paper (or some website that exist today), and read the newspapers. Pick stocks, how much you want to buy, and then just follow the stocks. When they rise, "sell" them, and "buy" new stocks that you think will bring a profit. Failing this way costs you no money, and you can keep doing this until you get it right, be it a few days or a few years. This is what one of my friends did up until he was 18 (he wanted to be prepared when he finally could deal with stocks), and by the time he was 18, he would have made a metric crapton of money had it not been a pen and paper game. He later turned to real estate after working up the funds though, it was less of a gamble and still bringing in a profit that brought a smile to his face.

If you want to try something that is easier to master but teaches you principles you can take into the stock market, do online poker. Learn math, count cards, calculate probabilities, learn different player styles (markets), learn to anticipate, read people and between the lines where there are no clear lines. It's also about a long-term investment, where you can lose money on bad days, but keeping at it will overall give you a net gain.

I've read books on successful people too, as well as seminars (some of which are some serious cult shit), and the one book about some extremely successful stock guy I don't remember the name of, he said his key to success was that he always sold too early. Don't be that greedy guy wanting to squeeze some extra cents out of that stock before selling.

[Ultimate Gohan]

I have to agree with this. For every smart guy there's 1000 fools.

Sorry but i want to know who is smart & who is fool that you are referring here.

[Palmatum]

my ambition is to become a Billionare by the age 30.

Lol. Stopped reading there. It's relatively easy to make a million, once you have that it's easier to make more. I think you need a reality check and more reasonable goals.

[Deleted]

Sorry but i want to know who is smart & who is fool that you are referring here.

That's the point, you don't hear about these fools because nobody wants to read about their failures. For somebody to become rich off the stock market someone else has to become poor!

[Ultimate Gohan]

I think most people treat stock as sort of a saving account/retire investment and don't go much farther than employee stock plan. (which is for me as well)

If you are you looking into investing large sum of money then you should consider only if you have that much money lying around and have sufficient knowledge and experience to put it to use, even then it can be a risk.

Sorry but im not planning to use stock market as a saving account. Im looking for a future inside this and i want to make money through stock market to satisfy my passion and desire

[Palmatum]

Sorry but im not planning to use stock market as a saving account. Im looking for a future inside this and i want to make money through stock market to satisfy my passion and desire

Study economics instead of management then.

[ambivalence]

If you want to make large amounts of money in stocks, it involves a large amount of risk. Likely you'll end up losing out. Unless you have an extensive knowledge of the market and its fluctuations, you'll be relying solely on luck. The stock market is one of those places you'd rather be good than lucky.

If you're still not convinced, try out simulator.investopedia.com. It's a free stock market simulator based off the real U.S. market on a 15 minute delay. It gives you startup 'cash' that you can use and/or lose. You'll see that it's not quite as easy as Warren Buffet.

[Ultimate Gohan]

Why would you invest your own money? or parent's money?

Start a campaign on kickstarter.com to get money. If you can't raise money there, than you won't be a billionaire in 12 years.
Test waters with that money, and set up blog or something giving stock advise, try to become a manager for other people's money.

Once you practice enough with other people's money, than invest your own - in the mean time you'll make money by investing other people's money as fees.

This is going to work a lot better than taking 10k from your dad, and getting couple of percent return for the next 12 years.

btw, I don't know about all the characters you mentioned, but Bill Gates was from a well off family, I believe they were millionaires. He dropped out of Harvard (so I'm not sure what you mean by not having proper education).
Steve Jobs was relentless in getting what he wanted, and he had Steve Wazniak (spelling?) who was very technical. So that was a team effort, and they had perfect timing with small computers finally becoming a possibility.
You might find some genetic-engineering partner now, start a company around that. Depends on how big you grow, that could make you a billion, I hear a bunch of companies are trying that now.

Raising funds from public is not easy. First of all i must be the Major shareholder of private company in that case i can issue shares to become public company. In least cases i must run a small business or have an industrial experience, in case i dont have those i atleast require technical expertise but for now im all alone, as a minimum requirement i must have degree presently i dont have one(as im a student). Even im able overcome these hurldles i must attend a lot of public meetings, do ads but im a Student, thats why i already mentioned that i cant even do internship in companies because i have my college. But in case i already run a business and want to expand it, i will obviously try to raise funds from public. In the minds of people one must have reputation to successfully raise funds.

---------- Post added 2012-09-30 at 08:41 PM ----------

The stock market is a gamble. Only with inside information is it a good investment, and that's illegal. You need a fully developed sense to see where money is about to spawn, get there, wait for it to spawn, eat it, shit it out, and leave before everyone else gets there. Without this sense it's a lottery. You need a vision, and you need to see things others don't, or can't. It's not a question of belief, but one of perception. I've had friends that went all out on what they believed in and wanted to drag me into it, but I never did, and they always failed. Those that did succeed never asked me for my help, they didn't need it. But being the good friends they are, they kept me in the loop, and we had fun discussing it from different angles. You need a passion to do what you do, if you want to succeed. If you do it half-assed, you will get half-assed results.

In the case of stock market, the only real experience I have with it is from a very young age, but the principle should still hold true today if you're short on money. Take a pen and paper (or some website that exist today), and read the newspapers. Pick stocks, how much you want to buy, and then just follow the stocks. When they rise, "sell" them, and "buy" new stocks that you think will bring a profit. Failing this way costs you no money, and you can keep doing this until you get it right, be it a few days or a few years. This is what one of my friends did up until he was 18 (he wanted to be prepared when he finally could deal with stocks), and by the time he was 18, he would have made a metric crapton of money had it not been a pen and paper game. He later turned to real estate after working up the funds though, it was less of a gamble and still bringing in a profit that brought a smile to his face.

If you want to try something that is easier to master but teaches you principles you can take into the stock market, do online poker. Learn math, count cards, calculate probabilities, learn different player styles (markets), learn to anticipate, read people and between the lines where there are no clear lines. It's also about a long-term investment, where you can lose money on bad days, but keeping at it will overall give you a net gain.

I've read books on successful people too, as well as seminars (some of which are some serious cult shit), and the one book about some extremely successful stock guy I don't remember the name of, he said his key to success was that he always sold too early. Don't be that greedy guy wanting to squeeze some extra cents out of that stock before selling.

Thanks for your opinion. Your opinion seems to be useful but however i would like to express the things that i wish to say. Gambling in stock market is not a easy thing. If u call buying and selling shares is gamble it isn't, its luck. Even the biggest players of the stock market doesn't know what will be shares price tomorrow they can speculate using available details. You cant get inside information i.e price of a particular stock tommorrow. Only in case of scam or fraud the company is committed it works as planned. It is not that successful people never asks others help, they are successful because they have an open mind to recieve others opinions. I totally agree with your last 2 stanzas. As you have stated being greedy in share market will only let you down.

---------- Post added 2012-09-30 at 08:50 PM ----------

Lol. Stopped reading there. It's relatively easy to make a million, once you have that it's easier to make more. I think you need a reality check and more reasonable goals.

"If somebody can do it, you can do it
If nobody can do it then you must do it". I didnt say this its a famous quote.

I know that my ambition is big but not unreasonable. Then you can ask me "why im asking it online". Its because i need to get a clear focus on my vision and not to abandon it. Anyways thanks for your opinion.

---------- Post added 2012-09-30 at 08:54 PM ----------

That's the point, you don't hear about these fools because nobody wants to read about their failures. For somebody to become rich off the stock market someone else has to become poor!

In stock market "One man's gain is other man's loss". This is not only in stock market, it is also applicable in real life. If I gain something either directly or indirectly i made someone to lose. This is known as Gain loss cycle.

---------- Post added 2012-09-30 at 08:55 PM ----------

Study economics instead of management then.

Economics & National economic planning is a part of my Management program.

---------- Post added 2012-09-30 at 08:58 PM ----------

If you want to make large amounts of money in stocks, it involves a large amount of risk. Likely you'll end up losing out. Unless you have an extensive knowledge of the market and its fluctuations, you'll be relying solely on luck. The stock market is one of those places you'd rather be good than lucky.

If you're still not convinced, try out simulator.investopedia.com. It's a free stock market simulator based off the real U.S. market on a 15 minute delay. It gives you startup 'cash' that you can use and/or lose. You'll see that it's not quite as easy as Warren Buffet.

Thanks for your opinion. Even with a lot of knowledge about shares people had incured losses in stock market. Without any knowledge also some have clicked it with sheer luck. One thing i read on Warren buffet's autobiography is that he himself stated that he use to flip a coin to make decisions in stock market.

[goodwrench]

Invest, but only when you are 100% sure you know what you are doing. I started investing at a young age, and it has paid off. Being as young as I am I will take risks, but I have averaged 12% a year since I started. I will easily have 45 million in the bank when I retire and a defined benefit pension that is 90% of my salary. I would recommend listening to someone like Dave Ramsey to get started : http://www.daveramsey.com/home/ and go from there.

[Ultimate Gohan]

Invest, but only when you are 100% sure you know what you are doing. I started investing at a young age, and it has paid off. Being as young as I am I will take risks, but I have averaged 12% a year since I started. I will easily have 45 million in the bank when I retire and a defined benefit pension that is 90% of my salary. I would recommend listening to someone like Dave Ramsey to get started : http://www.daveramsey.com/home/ and go from there.

Thanks for your comment.

[HisaeDalv]

1B by 30 is not realistic(probability close to 0%), gates for example had access to computer because of his parent in a time period where almost nobody had access to them.Gates also pretty much stole the idea from someone else and marketed it at the right time.

Billionaire seldom earned their fortune through the stock market directly(except maybe soros) instead they earned their money by running a successful business/product.Gates,Jobs,IKEA guy,that mining lady in australia,Mark zuckberg,larry elisson etc all earned their fortune from running a business.
playing the stock market is not a way to become "billionaire" unless you already have capital that came from somewhere else to begin with.

If you want to be super rich then create a successful product/firm and the money will come by itself.
still if you want to go into finance then I suggest A random walk down wall street is a pretty good book to start.

[Dacien]

Damn you guys know a lot!

[Vokal]

I think you need a reality check and more reasonable goals.

Listen to this man.