What's the best advice you have for someone investing in the stock market?

Standard investment advice is that you should invest in a diversified mix of stocks, bonds, and money market funds. If you are like most people you will invest part of your money aggressively in stocks, and part conservatively in money market funds and bond funds. However, some young people will go all stocks, and some very conservative people will go all money markets. The links below have on-line questionnaires which will give you an idea of how to do "Asset Allocation," determining how much to put in each type of investment. You want to buy a diversified portfolio of stocks as individual stocks are too risky. Highly knowledgeable people can buy a properly balanced portfolio, but most folks have a difficult time balancing things on their own. They will misbalance their portfolio by buying all small stocks or all growth stocks, or some other misbalanced assortment of stocks. Back in 2000, Some people bought all Internet stocks; they got burnt when they all crashed together. You have to diversify across industries. Unless you know what you are doing, it is best to buy mutual funds that will diversify for you. Buy no-load, low cost funds. Mutual funds should have expense ratios of less than 0.5%. If your company offers a 401K plan at work, try to invest the most you can. The money grows tax free, and some companies will match your contribution. Investing in a mutual fund IRA is also a good idea. If you have children, you may want to consider a 529 plan or other college savings plan that grows tax free. I like index funds. Because of their broad diversification, you are less likely to have a dramatic drop in value. They also have the lowest expenses. For stock funds, I would suggest putting ~70-80% of your money in the Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund. and ~20-30% in a foreign stock index fund. The Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Fund is good for a bond fund. The Vanguard Target Retirement funds can be good all-in-one stock and bond funds for an IRA. However, there are many different opinions out there on what the best mutual funds are. Read the links below and form your own opinion. If you have high-interest debt, like credit cards, it is best to pay this off first before trying most of the investment ideas above. You should also have 3-6 months of salary saved up as an emergency fund in a bank or money market fund before trying more risky investments. I will warn you that there is a tremendous amount of stock investing books and websites that teach stock investing strategies that don't work. Particularly bad are people that teach "technical analysis" systems that sound impressive, but don't work. Believing advice you get on Yahoo answers can be risky, so read these websites for further information. If you find it too confusing, contact a professional financial advisor. They will charge you significant commissions, however.

The best advice depends at least partially on your goals. But here are some suggestions: Do your homework. Look at tips, even from Yahoo Answers, but don't invest blindly. Look at the company's financial performance and what they sell. This is a true story - someone on Y!A asked the other day about stock in an "energy company" and when I looked into it I learned that company used to sell men's cosmetics as their main business! I suggest you watch CNBC as much as you can. I like Mad Money and Fast Money. But the advice about following tips should certainly be kept in mind, especially for Mad Money. Think longer term. If a stock is hot at the moment and it is a great company, only go in 1/3 or 1/2 now and save a little for when there is a pullback, then put the rest in. I have to say this can backfire, it did for me recently with F and AAPL. They have not pulled back, even on days when the market is off. Always trade during regular hours - in after market the volatility is much higher and you could end up over-paying for a stock by a lot. Also, you can sometimes get a deal with a limit order. I once bought Trump at something like $12 when it was in the $13.50 range because someone filled my limit order. I sold it the next day and made 10% on a lousy stock.

Automate the process of investing by using 401(k) accounts and other retirement accounts (in which contributions are automatically made). Don't try to get rich quick, because that means taking a lot of risk that could make you poor quick. To take an analogy from baseball, the batters with the highest averages hit a lot of singles and doubles. Aim for average returns and you'll incur only moderate risks. Over the long run, you'll probably do well. Keep it simple. Make sure you understand your investments. Avoid complicated financial products; you might get a nasty surprise. Be persistent about saving and investing. When it comes to building wealth, quitters aren't winners.

Phase into a position if I had £100,000 to invest right now, I would put 20k into the mkt at FTSE 5600 then had 20k more at 5100 say, 20k more at 4700 and then 20k more at 4300 etc etc, wherever you want. If you only get 40'000 away between 5100 and 5600 and next year the mkt is 8000 so be it, better than lumping in 100k at 5600 and it being at 3200

This is not something that can be answered in a couple of sentences. Avoid tips, make sure you know WHY you are buying, remember the market is trying to discount the future-most of the known facts have been factored into the current share price. Read, read, read as much as you can

hi htere strategy is simple: analyze, do some home work and then invest diversify your investment..buy low sell high...always have some knowledge and then analyze the pros and cons and then do the rest

Know your risk tolerance and manage your risk. And stay far far away from CNBC. Or else you will probably be changing your portfolio on every whim they come up with.

The best way to invest money in stock market is to trade Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs). This is because ETFs spread risks across other stocks, pay dividends, are less noisy, not very prone to rumors and manipulations. Most ETFs options are spread at workable intervals for spread strategies, and above all, ETFs trades are easily predictable by using the broad market indices

My advice is always the same: Invest where comfortable, when comfortable, and with all the knowledge you can accumulate---both before placing your bet and during the time you hold your positions. And avoid placing your fate into the hands of proxies! It is a mistake, in my opinion, to hide behind sector funds---ETFs and the like are mere proxies for would-be investors looking to outperform paltry returns from savings bonds and money market accounts...while hoping to avoid the pitfalls of under performing mutual funds. All Wall Street investment vehicles operate on one singe basis calling for purchasing and eventually selling individual stocks. Every mutual fund holds a number of stocks, ditto the ETF. If the investor is willing to trust him/herself by learning about especially interesting stock picks and factors likely to influence performance within, opportunities truly do surface. When I study lists of stock picks under (my) consideration, I don't think of it as accumulating information about each company's stock. Rather, it's a process of personal growth by which I continue to amplify my range of awarenesses. I've got to see myself understanding each company, not merely able to spit out numbers and facts because I studied the fundamentals. The information has to become part of me whether I choose to tell "the story" or decide to add, thin or liquidate a position. A successful portfolio is a reflection of the investor's personal growth. When I stop growing, life stops. Len