Hey /biz/ I am 22 years old and i was thinking after working

>>1236768
create a virtual portfolio for a year.
treat it as real money.
if one year from now you'r good to know, take the 40dollars you've been putting away each month+interest and start real with already an "acceptable" amount

>>1236776
you only get maybe 40 years to invest before retirement. Dont waste one of them papertrading

>>1236768
mutual funds are a scam, put your money in a low cost index fund. If the guy at the credit union wants to set you up for an mfund I guarantee he's getting a cut for each referral.

Also don't invest $40 a month unless you're using a brokerage-free trader like robin hood.

>>1236794
>mutual funds are a scam, put your money in a low cost index fund
An index fund IS a mutual fund. If you're going to give advice, at least learn the basics yourself first.

>>1237848
An index fund is an ETF, not a mutual fund you dumbass. Maybe try taking your own advice or graduating undergrad before giving advice in the first place.

> Mutual Funds
> 2016

These products were mediocre in the 70's and 80's when it cost you a few $100 to place a trade. Vs a broker who could do it for $20.
complete trash once everyone in the universe owned a personal computer in the 90's.

Today with low cost providers, literally everywhere. There is no point, in paying someone to do it for you. Especially since 90% of mutual funds do not do better than the index. Less still if you if include multiple years.

Very few beat individual investors with leverage.
Seriously index futures are a godsend to the individual

There are two main strategies for your investment time. Passive and Active.
You don't even have enough capital to even be able to make this determination for yourself just yet.
So saving is your primary goal right now. A decent starter account is 25k but 30k is optimal to really learn the ropes.

So get stacking in the investment account. You're gonna want either a vanguard index fund probably 30% bond instruments 70% equity instruments while growing to the 30k mark.
You might also want to check out wealthfront. Probably the best Robo investor platform out there.

Once you've got 30k check out tastytrade.com and see if active investing is up your alley.

and don't take our word for it.
http://portfoliocheckup.com/
use this to see the fees of the mutual fund the CU was offering.
These things are insanely lucrative to sell to gullible idiots who want to "invest."
"I have here a magic box that prints money if you feed it money, but whatever you do don't look in the box"
The stock market isn't some mystical place. Its just valuable paper being moved around. at the end of the day its only a few different types and the different iterations they take. Most people can get 90% of it in under 1 month.

>>1238039
>The stock market isn't some mystical place.
>Most people can get 90% of it in under 1 month
you sound like you know what you're doing, so i trust your words.
but pls, can you give some advice on books/guides/websites one should read to accomplish this 90%understanding in <1month

>>1237867
>An index fund is an ETF
Oh really? Then what's VFINX? Hmm....it's an index fund and not an ETF.

I guess that makes you a giant dumbass faggot. Please never post here again.

>>1238150
>"sound like you know what you're doing"
>the guy doesn't know that index funds are mutual funds
No wonder /biz/ is so poor. You can't even tell good advice from half-truths.