Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Portfolio Basics For The Beginner Investor

Arguably the hardest step in investing is the first step. Investors who are just starting out face a sometimes bewildering array of choices, a deluge of advice and the dread that if they make a mistake, they will lose everything.

It does not have to be that difficult, though. By following a few general guidelines, investors can make their initial forays into the market. Consider sample, or model, portfolio allocations. These give investors a rough outline of how to apportion their money, however much money they may have.

Large What?
Terms like "large cap" and "value" are vague, but they also tend to mean what you think they should mean. Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT), for instance, is a very large company that has a P/E below the market average and a higher-than-average dividend yield. Not surprisingly, it is considered a large-cap value stock. On the other hand, Apple (Nasdaq:AAPL) is even larger but is growing faster and has richer multiples - making it a large-cap growth stock.

For the complete piece, please go to:
http://financialedge.investopedia.com/financial-edge/0810/Portfolio-Basics-For-The-Beginner-Investor.aspx

A quick note from the author - It cannot be a good sign when you are so busy that you do not remember writing something less than one week previously...

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