Long Term Stock Investments

[Pound4Pound]

Planning to start putting a percentage of my paycheck into an investment account in order to purchase long term stocks, basically an investment that will deliver a return higher than my savings account. I’m maxing out my 401K, just looking to consistently invest in a stable, low risk stock for the long term and adopt Warren Buffetts philosophy of getting rich slowly.

Any advice/suggestions? Looking at companies such as Amazon, Google, Waste Management...companies with a future for growth. I’ve researched companies like Coca Cola and GM but I feel as if their upside is minimal. Apppreciate any and all thoughts.

[Bamaman]

You might need to do some serious reading on the internet. One man's perfect stock is not perfect for another.

[200xp]

If it were me, and I was going the slow and steady route, I would not purchase individual stocks. I would consider a few options, One would be an index fund. Two, a mutual fund that is comprised of large cap stocks that pay dividends, then have those dividend payments re-invested back into the same mutual fund. I currently have such a mutual fund. By reinvesting the dividend payments you can accelerate the compound interest factor. Three, an ETF. Purchasing an ETF allows you to have a diversified portfolio without having to purchase all the stocks separately....my two cents worth of info.

[CatFan]

X2 on the index or sector fund. Reinvest your dividends and it doesn't make a huge difference whether the stock has growth potential or not.

[Bsktball55]

I've had good luck with Vanguard funds. Not going to get rich quick, but have been getting close to 10% on one of them over the last three years.

[Bassin08]

I too would put that money in a Vanguard index fund. It has low expenses and will cover an entire sector. If I was younger I would put it in the fund that tracks the S&P 500. I wish I would have known this years ago. I left a lot on the table by buying mutual funds with high expense ratios.

[NitroZ7]

For individual stocks to get rich slow you can do a dividend growth portfolio where the dividends may be low now but increase over time or you can do a higher yield one where the dividends are higher now but grow slower. You can mix these as well. There are mutual funds and ETFs out there that serve this function so that you don’t have to build a whole portfolio yourself.

[Pound4Pound]

Thank you all for the insight, I had not researched Vangurd Index funds but after your recommendation they seem to be a better option.

[481VSangler]

The "3 fund portfolio" method might be worth a read. I have my account with Fidelity and am happy with their platform for what I'm doing, which is basically just throwing what I can into index funds and playing around with individual stocks occasionally. Fidelity has some zero expense/no minimum funds now too.

[duncankopprichardson]

I subscribe to a stock picking service through the motley fool. They consistently out-perform the major indexes.

[NitroZ7]

Two of the better Vanguard ETF's are VIG (Vangard Dividend Growth) and VYM(Vanguard High Yield). They also have mutual funds that correspond to these I believe. The VIG has very high quality stocks because their screening process requires that companies have paid dividends for a certain number of years and that they have been increasing them. This tends to result in the composition being very high quality for the most part.

[dvl2700]

I have transferred all my money from my former employer to Vanguard. Then I subscribed to Dan Wiener's Independent Vanguard Adviser newsletter. Excellent advise, and I manage it myself saving some money. (other than the cost of the subscription). My wife is going to also go with Vanguard but let them handle all the choices and re-balancing when she retires for a small fee.
I do want to take some money and do individual stocks as I like to play and it would be my gambling money. My practice with a fake portfolio on Investopedia turned out good, but I understand it is different when it is your own money.

[96 Champ]

Talk to a investor, get a mix of stocks, bonds, ETF, and funds, maybe get in a Roth IRA

[dvl2700]

I have a Vanguard account which I self managed for several years using the Vanguard Independent Investor newsletter recommendations. VERY GOOD. Wife wanted it to be managed by their adviser's so doing that now. Have some money set aside to play the market with individual stocks (my gambling money). Not sure I am gambling with 3M, Waste Management, Microsoft. Co worker purchased a new car with gains from his Marijuana stocks. He is a LEO to boot. LOL.