So you stocks & bonds gurus out there- please tell me what is the best way to start an investment in Sony shares. Is it at all possible to do this if I already have an account at TRowe?
Oh nothing new, really. I just want to get my ducks in a row early when this Cell stuff hits the market. I only have IRA rollovers setup in mutual funds accounts right now, but I want to try an investment in Sony direct... I have no idea what is the best/appropriate way to go about this.
open a brokerage account. no, first, investigate the available brokerage accounts. i dont know who the players are any more, but a few years ago there were a few names to look over: ameritrade, etrade, datek, others i can't think of. pick one with a small transaction fee (everything else they offer is fluff). fill out the forms, cut them a check, then check out their website. hopefully whichever one you chose has a reaonable easy to navigate website. lookup sony's ticker symbol, and tell them how many shares and how fast to buy em. or you can put in a request to only buy if they hit a certain point. you can also setup a sellout amount (like if it goes too low, sellout, or if it gets really high, sellout). last i checked transaction fees were in the $5-20 range. some companies, iirc, have a direct buy option, where you can get stock directly from them, but i seem to remember that the fees involved weren't better than a general brokerage account. but i haven't played with stocks since the bubble burst, so everything i just said may be out of date.
I'm sorry to hear that, Cake. Hope you ride it out unscathed. (While the callous angle would say, "Feel lucky that you avoided it this long" and "Welcome in with the rest of us unemployed since 2001 or so...", but don't take that too seriously. )
Would you care to tell us what sort of work you do at Sony? Just curious...
I certainly appreciate your insider scoop, though! Do you have any deeper impressions to share as would be indicated by/associated with this corporate restructuring? What do you think this is all about?
Thanks for the starters info, as well, Thuh Freak!
If you want to get in with a single company, I would recommend a Dividend Reinvestment Plan (or DRP, pronounced "drip"). Not sure if you've done these before, but the deal is that you invest money as you are able...it doesn't have to be a certain amount, nor are you required to make regular payments. As your account builds, dividends are directly reinvested into new shares of stocks, or 1/2 shares, or 1/4 shares or whatever, depending on the exact amount you are investing.
Lots of people have a very large percentage of their portfolio into various drips, and it is a very well-respected and efficient (no fees, you deal directly with a company) way to invest in a single company. Here is a more-thorough explanation of DRPs:
Okay, now to your specific situation. The thing about DRPs is they are generally american companies who take your american dollar. Sony, being Japanese, complicates things a touch, but you can still do a drip-style account with them. I found this link:
and that should have ALL the info you need to get started directly investing in Sony. I'm not sure how, or if, this will all be affected by the weak dollar we have now.
A couple of notes, drips are intented, and work best, as long-term investments, and if you're looking for a quick gain, you'd probably be better off just brokering a few shares through etrade.
Not sure if you are interested in investing in this manner, but thought i'd make sure you knew it to be an option!
It is stupid to invest in a company without thoroughly examining their financial statements from at least the past 5 years and coming to the following determination:
If you had the money, would you purchase the entire company at the current stock value?
It is stupid to invest in a company without thoroughly examining their financial statements from at least the past 5 years and coming to the following determination:
If you had the money, would you purchase the entire company at the current stock value?
If yes, then go ahead and make the purchase.
If no, then don't.
Good point. Piling eggs into one basket can be especially problematic, though with a well diversified portfolio, it can be beneficial to take some risks. I wouldn't call Sony a risky investment though.
Good point. Piling eggs into one basket can be especially problematic, though with a well diversified portfolio, it can be beneficial to take some risks. I wouldn't call Sony a risky investment though.
Take risks based on what? For the sake of taking a risk? You are better off gambling in Vegas where you at least know the odds. True longterm investment shouldn't be made on a whim. It should be the result of careful and thorough analysis.
Take risks based on what? For the sake of taking a risk? You are better off gambling in Vegas where you at least know the odds. True longterm investment shouldn't be made on a whim. It should be the result of careful and thorough analysis.
I was just referring to general higher risk, higher return type stocks such as startups or biotech companies or other companies that will be undergoing a lot of change. Yes, investing in these should be accompannied with a bunch of research and should really only be done in a diversified portfolio. These woiuld also be short-term investments, I wasn't suggesting to put your retirement money in risky stocks.
I was just referring to general higher risk, higher return type stocks such as startups or biotech companies or other companies that will be undergoing a lot of change. Yes, investing in these should be accompannied with a bunch of research and should really only be done in a diversified portfolio. These woiuld also be short-term investments, I wasn't suggesting to put your retirement money in risky stocks.
Short term investing is gambling on the movement of the stock and not its true value.
Is it at all possible to do this if I already have an account at TRowe?
Comments
Originally posted by kraig911
whats the inside scoop?
Oh nothing new, really. I just want to get my ducks in a row early when this Cell stuff hits the market. I only have IRA rollovers setup in mutual funds accounts right now, but I want to try an investment in Sony direct... I have no idea what is the best/appropriate way to go about this.
So much so that I could lose my job.
Would you care to tell us what sort of work you do at Sony? Just curious...
I certainly appreciate your insider scoop, though! Do you have any deeper impressions to share as would be indicated by/associated with this corporate restructuring? What do you think this is all about?
Thanks for the starters info, as well, Thuh Freak!
Lots of people have a very large percentage of their portfolio into various drips, and it is a very well-respected and efficient (no fees, you deal directly with a company) way to invest in a single company. Here is a more-thorough explanation of DRPs:
http://www.fool.com/school/Drips.htm
Okay, now to your specific situation. The thing about DRPs is they are generally american companies who take your american dollar. Sony, being Japanese, complicates things a touch, but you can still do a drip-style account with them. I found this link:
http://www.fool.com/dripport/1999/dripport990526.htm
and that should have ALL the info you need to get started directly investing in Sony. I'm not sure how, or if, this will all be affected by the weak dollar we have now.
A couple of notes, drips are intented, and work best, as long-term investments, and if you're looking for a quick gain, you'd probably be better off just brokering a few shares through etrade.
Not sure if you are interested in investing in this manner, but thought i'd make sure you knew it to be an option!
Oh, and good luck!
If you had the money, would you purchase the entire company at the current stock value?
If yes, then go ahead and make the purchase.
If no, then don't.
Originally posted by BR
It is stupid to invest in a company without thoroughly examining their financial statements from at least the past 5 years and coming to the following determination:
If you had the money, would you purchase the entire company at the current stock value?
If yes, then go ahead and make the purchase.
If no, then don't.
Good point. Piling eggs into one basket can be especially problematic, though with a well diversified portfolio, it can be beneficial to take some risks. I wouldn't call Sony a risky investment though.
Originally posted by progmac
Good point. Piling eggs into one basket can be especially problematic, though with a well diversified portfolio, it can be beneficial to take some risks. I wouldn't call Sony a risky investment though.
Take risks based on what? For the sake of taking a risk? You are better off gambling in Vegas where you at least know the odds. True longterm investment shouldn't be made on a whim. It should be the result of careful and thorough analysis.
Originally posted by BR
Take risks based on what? For the sake of taking a risk? You are better off gambling in Vegas where you at least know the odds. True longterm investment shouldn't be made on a whim. It should be the result of careful and thorough analysis.
I was just referring to general higher risk, higher return type stocks such as startups or biotech companies or other companies that will be undergoing a lot of change. Yes, investing in these should be accompannied with a bunch of research and should really only be done in a diversified portfolio. These woiuld also be short-term investments, I wasn't suggesting to put your retirement money in risky stocks.
Originally posted by progmac
I was just referring to general higher risk, higher return type stocks such as startups or biotech companies or other companies that will be undergoing a lot of change. Yes, investing in these should be accompannied with a bunch of research and should really only be done in a diversified portfolio. These woiuld also be short-term investments, I wasn't suggesting to put your retirement money in risky stocks.
Short term investing is gambling on the movement of the stock and not its true value.