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Should I Buy Apple Stock?

C

christall109

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Hello all,

I really want to buy Apple stock since it looks like a really stable long-term (1year) investment.

I'm 17 and I don't know how about buying this stock. Should I go through a broker or is there an etrader? Also does anyone know what the options are and the minimum number of stock I can buy?

Any helpful tips would be awsome. Thanks
 
christall109 said:
Hello all,

I really want to buy Apple stock since it looks like a really stable long-term (1year) investment.

I'm 17 and I don't know how about buying this stock. Should I go through a broker or is there an etrader? Also does anyone know what the options are and the minimum number of stock I can buy?

Any helpful tips would be awsome. Thanks
Click to expand...


One year isn't long-term, not even close. If you want to make a sudden killing, forget it - it's doubtful you'll be able to pick a stock on the verge of popping, and even then, you need to purchase enough to amplify the gain. Buy small and grow. Don't even think about selling until you want to retire.

It was a terrific buy in 98-99 ($9.50, adjusted for split), now your gains will likely be more incremental.

You can go through a number of e-brokers (I use Buy and Hold -- https://www.buyandhold.com), and am perfectly happy. If you're a small investor, look for whoever's gonna let you do small trades the cheapest.

Minimum buy order these days with most online brokers is $20 or so, not a share minimum.

My rule is to buy on a regular schedule, regardless of the price. Except when it drops, then buy more! Use long-term cost averaging to your advantage, unless you just won the lottery.
 
One year isn't really all that "long-term".

Nobody can really predict what will happen, but the analysts seem to think it'll do well.

Check with eTrade on account minimums. I have an account there myself, but I'm not sure what those policies are. Also, there might be an age minimum for on-line trading.

Usually, you can buy whatever quantity you wish, though it's common to buy in even multiples of 10. I don't think there would be any limitations with a large company like AAPL.
 
rdowns said:
How much do you have to invest?
How much can you afford to lose?
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Excellent questions.

A much better way to invest your money considering how much you have to invest (I'm assuming less than $3-4k) and how long you want it invested (1 year) would be a CD from your local bank. They get better interest rates than savings accounts and are made for specific periods of time. Plus there is no risk, unlike the stock market.
 
kuebby said:
Excellent questions.

A much better way to invest your money considering how much you have to invest (I'm assuming less than $3-4k) and how long you want it invested (1 year) would be a CD from your local bank. They get better interest rates than savings accounts and are made for specific periods of time. Plus there is no risk, unlike the stock market.
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I second this idea. CD is a gurantee as long as you don't withdraw money from it for certain amount of period.
 
capital one has a high yield money market at 5% with $100 min and no fees. perfect for someone like yourself that wants to put some cash aside and make money on it.
 
To make a lot of money in the stock at this point, because it's so high, you'd have to buy a lot of shares.

If you only have 1500$ to invest, that will be around ~15 shares. If it goes up a buck...then you don't win that much. You would have to pay most of it as commission to sell it!

It really depends on how much you want to invest.
 
queshy said:
To make a lot of money in the stock at this point, because it's so high, you'd have to buy a lot of shares.

If you only have 1500$ to invest, that will be around ~15 shares. If it goes up a buck...then you don't win that much. You would have to pay most of it as commission to sell it!

It really depends on how much you want to invest.
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Totally agree! You need volume to make $$

Play it safe kid and learn how to invest before you lose your money.
 
Hoo03 said:
I second this idea. CD is a gurantee as long as you don't withdraw money from it for certain amount of period.
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3rd. And being 17, this is LIFE talking to you directly:

DO NOT CHARGE ANYTHING ONTO A CREDIT CARD THAT YOU CANNOT PAY OFF WITHIN 30 DAYS.

I know too many college aged kids that have dug themselves into a miserable hole they really can't get out of (sometimes painfully, sometimes by sadly begging their folks for money- painful and embarassing either way)

be smarter than those older people and DO NOT get yourself into any kind of debt.

THE BEST WAY TO MAKE MONEY... IS TO NOT LET IT OUT OF YOUR HANDS IN THE FIRST PLACE. Let your money work for you. Don't work for your money. You can't do that if you haven't held onto it.

Ask a trusted old person about the statements above if you're not completely sure. TRUST NO ONE WITH YOUR MONEY. YOU control it, so don't let it go.

Partnerships: NO
fast, easy, quick money: NO
investments through non-institutions: NO

Always think long-term. And acquire wealth in the form of compound interest... not useless things that don't hold their value. "Living the good life" is great. Then, after a while, take a look at what you have for your money... NOTHING.

good luck, starting at 17 is a good idea, but play it SLOW and SAFE
 
christall109 said:
Hello all,

I really want to buy Apple stock since it looks like a really stable long-term (1year) investment.

I'm 17 and I don't know how about buying this stock. Should I go through a broker or is there an etrader? Also does anyone know what the options are and the minimum number of stock I can buy?

Any helpful tips would be awsome. Thanks
Click to expand...

I'd buy berkshire hathaway A if I were you. Ticker is BRKA. Stable for sure.

Maybe pick up 100 of them?


On a more serious note, I consider myself a young investor. I bought 80 shares of Apple when I was in college for 24 bucks a piece. They went up, then split, then they are at what they are at now. Find a product you love, and buy it. Find something that's at a 52 week low and see if you like the company. Apple is at a high so that's not a smart decision. Also, I use Etrade. Just depends on how much money you have to spend. You might have a trust fund or something, but in that case, you'd have someone handling your money.
Either way, BRKA. remember it.
 
some really bad advice in this thread!

CD's? They are for little old ladies, not a 17 yr old kid with decades till retirement.

Apple to return incremental gains? It is up 100% this year and so is my portfolio! I dont call that incremental.

$1000 is not too little to start with. There is no reason he cant turn that into millions by the time he is 30.

Apple will continue to be a great investment for some time. But DO NOT buy it just because I said so. You need to educate yourself and know when to get in and out of stocks.

My advice? Educate yourself. Buy book on fundamental and especially technical analysis. Subscribe to Investors Business Daily. Read it daily.

Warning: You will lose money, especially when you first start out. Your principal IS at risk in the stock market. Never invest money you cant afford to lose. But if done properly, your gains will far out pace your loses.
 
more advice

Listen to Marketplace Money on NPR – 10am Saturdays here in MN. Think of individual stocks as a form of gambling that you can consistently win at if you really pay attention.

To get rich, or at least comfortable, spend less than you earn and save the difference. Never have any credit card debt. Start a Roth IRA, and put money into it in the form of one of the stock index mutual funds. It’s boring, and it works.

Buying some individual stocks is fun, and if you approach it as entertainment it can be very satisfying. So should you buy some AAPL now? It’s high – but then, it may well go higher. As a company, it’s clearly doing well, and will continue to, so it’s reasonable to buy some. But I’ll be surprised if it keeps going up at the rate it is now. And there’s risk – if, for example, Steve Jobs dies or gets sent to jail, the stock would drop rapidly. And it might drop for mysterious reasons that don’t really make sense. So don’t put important money, like your college tuition savings, into a single stock. That’s what the index funds are for.

The point of the game is to buy a stock that isn’t doing so well now, but will do well soon. Buy low, sell high. Apple, IBM, Google are all pretty high. Microsoft isn’t doing well now…..
 
I should have bought Google when it went public. I don't know if i would have actually had a shot at it being a small private investor, but $80 - $600... nice little profit there.
 
If you have to ask, you probably should not be doing it. AAPL is far from stable. It's on a major tear right now, but setbacks of 10-20% are always a possibility. It takes more than a little nerve to be an AAPL investor.
 
dangerfish said:
snip
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This isn't a 17 year old saying he wants to put something away until he retires.

This is someone looking for a 1 year return. Age doesn't really matter in this case.

No matter how you slice it, anything can happen with even the most stable stocks (heck, even an index fund) in a 12 month period. There's no way putting the kid's money in AAPL is a good idea if he's looking to sell in a year unless he's prepared to lose a lot of it.

Sure, it may double in the next year, but it can just as easily go in the other direction...
 
Hoo03 said:
I second this idea. CD is a gurantee as long as you don't withdraw money from it for certain amount of period.
Click to expand...

Most CDs these days have lower rates than a lot of the online savings account that still allow you limited access to your money. I would go with an online savings account at 5-6% interest unless you are willing to lose your investment.
 
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