[Guzzo]

Recently i've been wanting to get into some long term investing. Right now im still in college and will be starting off fairly small. I came across this article today on MSN.com. http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com...00.aspx?page=1
What do you guys think of this strategy? Lets assume im going to invest 100$ a month. Should i look into going this route or would you suggest going with another strategy. Thanks!

[jasaunders]

Decent article.

Here is one last week from Ben Stein which compliments it.
http://finance.yahoo.com/expert/arti...BPortymqq7YWsA

[buynick]

I recommending opening a Roth IRA. I have one with oppenheimer that didn't require a minimum, just an annual fee of $15. I put mine on an auto withdraw from my account each month. The key is to get in, now!

[Gaulkin]

If you want to make the most of your $100 dollars a month i would invest in microcap and penny stocks. This is considered short term i realize but 100 dollars isnt going to get you much in the long run. Remember your young and you can take higher risks so why not take advantage of them?

[akula]

Originally Posted by Guzzo

Should i look into going this route or would you suggest going with another strategy. Thanks!

No you shouldn't. The strategy you've read about is mathematically guaranteed to be your best strategy. It's not my opinion. It's a scientific fact.

To recap:

- be a passive investor, invest in a portfolio of index funds
- shelter these investments in a tax effective structure (such as a roth IRA)
- use dollar cost averaging to make regular investment contributions
- leverage your investment with margin loans

Do these four things and your results will outperform all active market investors (save for random errors).

For more information, read the 12 steps.

Alternatives:

Wanna be an active investor? Think you can pick penny stocks/derivatives/funds etc? Be smart, follow the turtles.

[jasaunders]

As some advice, watch out for fees and commissions eating up your investments. If you are investing in stocks and ETF's, most commissions will be around $8 a trade or so, but maybe as little as $4 a trade depending on who you use. If you are investing $100, this is still 4%. What you may want to consider doing, is putting away your money in a high yield savings acount monthly, and then quarterly move your money into the market. If you invest $300 quarterly, you will be reducing your fees, while still making good investments. That $4/month adds up pretty quickly wheh compounded over the time you are investing.

[crackah]

Investing is great. Im currently investing in "penny stocks" in australia and im making alright money. Its all learning atm. Im up a bit, and its great to learn.

[Sporkman]

Originally Posted by akula

- be a passive investor, invest in a portfolio of index funds

Vanguard has a good selection of index funds, with very low fees last I checked.