Learn how to invest in stocks, including choosing a brokerage account and researching investments.
How to Invest in Stocks: The Basics
Investing in stocks means buying ownership shares in public companies. These small stocks are called company stocks, and by investing in these stocks, you hope that the company will grow and grow over time.
When this happens, your shares may become more valuable and other investors may be willing to buy them for you rather than the price you paid for them. This means you can make a profit if you decide to sell them.
Investing in the stock market is a long game. A good rule of thumb is to have a well-diversified portfolio and stay invested even in the ups and downs of the market.
How do I start investing in stocks?
One of the best ways for beginners to learn how to invest in stocks is to deposit funds into an online investment account, which can then be used to invest in stocks or equity funds.
Many brokerage accounts allow you to start investing as little as a single share. Some brokers also offer paper trading where you can learn how to buy and sell using a stock market simulator before investing real money.
Investir en actions en six étapes
1. Décidez comment vous souhaitez investir en bourse
Il existe plusieurs façons d’investir en actions. Choisissez l’option ci-dessous qui représente le mieux la manière dont vous souhaitez investir et votre utilité dans le choix des actions dans lesquelles investir.
A. « Je veux choisir moi-même des actions et des fonds d’actions. » En savoir plus; Cet article explique ce que les investisseurs actuels doivent savoir, notamment comment choisir le compte adapté à leurs besoins et comment comparer les investissements en actions.
B. « Je veux qu’un expert me guide tout au long du processus. » Vous pourriez être un candidat idéal pour un robo-advisor, un service qui offre une gestion d’investissement à faible coût. Presque toutes les grandes sociétés de courtage et de nombreux conseillers indépendants proposent ces services, qui investiront pour vous en fonction de vos objectifs spécifiques.
C. “I want to start investing in my employer’s 401(k).” This is one of the most common ways for beginners to start investing.
In many ways, it teaches new investors some best investing practices: make small contributions regularly, focus on the long-term, and take a hands-on approach. Most 401(k)s offer limited stock fund options but no access to individual stocks.
2. Sélectionnez un compte d'investissement
Once you have your preferences, you can search for investment accounts. For hands-on types, this usually means a brokerage account. Opening an account with a robo-advisor is a viable option for those who need a little help. We break down these two processes below.
Point important : les courtiers et les robo-advisors vous permettent d'ouvrir un compte avec très peu d'argent.
Variante à faire soi-même : ouvrir un compte-titres
Un compte de courtage en ligne peut être le moyen le plus rapide et le plus abordable d’acheter des actions, des fonds et divers autres investissements. Vous pouvez ouvrir un compte de retraite individuel, également appelé IRA, auprès d'un courtier ou un compte de courtier imposable si vous disposez déjà d'une épargne-retraite suffisante dans un plan 401(k) d'employeur ou un autre plan.
If you need to dig deeper, we have a guide to opening a brokerage account. You should evaluate brokers based on factors such as cost, investment options, and investor research and tools.
Variante passive : ouverture d'un compte robo-advisor
Les conseillers-robots offrent les avantages de l'investissement en actions, mais n'exigent pas de leurs propriétaires qu'ils effectuent les tâches nécessaires pour choisir des investissements individuels. Les services de robo-advisor offrent une gestion complète des investissements : ces sociétés vous interrogent sur vos objectifs d'investissement lors du processus d'intégration, puis vous construisent un portefeuille conçu pour atteindre ces objectifs.
Cela peut sembler cher, mais les frais de gestion ici sont généralement une fraction de ce que facture un gestionnaire d'investissement humain : la plupart des robo-advisors facturent environ 0,25% du solde de votre compte. Oui, vous pouvez également obtenir un IRA auprès d’un robot-conseiller si vous le souhaitez.
Note that while robo-advisors are relatively inexpensive, read the fine print and choose your provider carefully.
Some providers require a certain percentage of accounts to be held in cash. Providers typically pay very low interest on cash positions, which can significantly impact performance and lead to suboptimal allocations to investors. These required cash distribution positions sometimes exceed 10%.
If you decide to open an account with a robo-adviser, you probably don’t need to read this article again – the rest is for DIYers.
3. Comprendre la différence entre investir dans des actions et des fonds
Do you go the DIY route? do not worry. Investing in stocks doesn’t have to be complicated. For most people, investing in the stock market means choosing between these two investment types:
Equity funds or exchange-traded funds. Mutual funds allow you to buy small fractions of many different stocks in one transaction. Index funds and ETFs are a type of mutual fund that tracks an index; for example, an S&P 500 index fund tracks the index by buying shares of the companies it contains.
When you invest in a fund, you also own a small stake in each of these companies. You can combine multiple funds to create a diversified portfolio. Note that equity funds are also sometimes called equity funds.
individual stocks. If you’re looking for a specific company, you can buy a stock or several to dive into the waters of stock trading. Building a diversified portfolio of many individual stocks is possible, but requires a lot of investment and research.
As you go down this path, keep in mind that individual stocks go up and down. When you research a company and decide to invest in it, when you start to get nervous on a bad day, think about why you chose the company in the first place.
L’avantage des fonds d’actions est qu’ils sont intrinsèquement diversifiés, ce qui réduit votre risque. Pour la grande majorité des investisseurs, en particulier ceux qui investissent leur épargne-retraite, un portefeuille composé principalement de fonds communs de placement est le choix évident.
Cependant, il est peu probable que les fonds communs de placement ressemblent à certaines actions individuelles. L’avantage d’une action unique est que des choix intelligents peuvent conduire à d’excellents rendements, mais les chances qu’une action unique vous rende riche sont très minces.
4. Établissez un budget pour vos investissements en bourse
Les nouveaux investisseurs ont généralement deux questions à cette étape du processus :
How much money do I need to invest in stocks? The amount required to buy one share of stock depends on the price of the stock. (Stock prices range from a few dollars to a few thousand dollars.)
If you want mutual funds and are on a tight budget, then an exchange-traded fund (ETF) may be your best bet. Mutual funds typically have a minimum amount of $1,000 or more, but ETFs trade like stocks, which means you buy them at the stock price—under $100 in some cases).
How much should I invest in stocks? If you are investing through a fund, did we mention that this is the preference of most financial advisors? — You can allocate a sizable portion of your portfolio to equity funds, especially if you have a long investment horizon.
A 30-year-old retirement investor might have 80% of his portfolio invested in mutual funds; the rest will go into pension funds. Individual stocks are another matter. A general rule of thumb is to limit these to a small portion of your portfolio.
5. Concentrez-vous sur l'investissement à long terme
L’investissement en bourse s’est avéré être l’un des meilleurs moyens de créer de la richesse à long terme. Depuis des décennies, le marché boursier rapporte en moyenne environ 10% par an. Mais gardez à l’esprit qu’il ne s’agit que d’une moyenne pour le marché dans son ensemble : certaines années augmenteront, d’autres diminueront et les rendements des actions individuelles varieront.
The stock market is a great investment for long-term investors, day after day and year after year; it’s the long-term average they’re looking for.
After you start investing in stocks or mutual funds, the best thing you can do is perhaps the hardest: don’t look at them. Unless you’re trying to overcome obstacles and succeed in day trading, it’s best to avoid the habit of compulsively checking your stock performance multiple times a day.
6. Gérez votre portefeuille d'actions
While being jittery about daily volatility won’t have much of an impact on your portfolio or your own health, you certainly need to review your stocks or other investments from time to time.
Lorsque vous suivez les étapes ci-dessus pour acheter des fonds communs de placement et des actions individuelles, vous devez revoir votre portefeuille tous les quelques années pour vous assurer qu’il correspond toujours à vos objectifs d’investissement.
A few things to keep in mind: As you approach retirement, you may want to convert some of your stock investments into more conservative fixed-income investments. If your portfolio is overweight in one industry or industry, consider buying stocks or funds in another industry for more diversification.
Finally, pay attention to geographic diversity. Vanguard recommends that international stocks make up 40% of the stocks in your portfolio. You can buy international equity funds to gain this exposure.
Best stocks for beginners
The stock picking process can be overwhelming, especially for beginners. After all, thousands of stocks are listed on major U.S. stock exchanges.
Investing in stocks is full of complicated strategies and methods, but all that some of the most successful investors do is stick to stock market fundamentals.
That usually means spending the majority of your investment portfolio — Warren Buffett famously said that a low-cost S&P 500 index fund is the best investment most Americans can make — And only if you believe in the long-term potential growth of the company.
The S&P 500 is an index of approximately 500 of the largest publicly traded companies in the United States. Over the past 50 years, its average annual return has more or less matched the broader market — about 10%.
Conclusion on investing in stocks
Learning how to invest in stocks can be daunting for beginners, but it’s really just figuring out which investment method you want to use, what type of account makes sense for you, and how much you should invest in stocks.
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