If you are new to stocks it is really important to determine your goals up front. Are you looking to take control of your 401K retirement account? Do you want to quit your job?
Depending on what you goal is for your investments you might want to trade stocks or you might want to invest in stocks.
Day Trading vs Value Investing
So Day Trading is going to be a shorter term trading period where you are much more active in stocks day to day. You can intraday trade a trade which is buying or selling the same day.
If you hold a trade for more than one day say opening on Monday and then close it on Wednesday then you would be swing trading.
Now how does this differ from value investing? Value investing is going to be a longerterm approach of years. This is the buy it and hold it method which tends to be long biased over the years.
What is long biased? Well that is when you are expecting the stock to go up. Now why would you think that the stocks are going up in general.
Well many companies in the US offer retirement accounts that buy and hold these stocks longterm. So when the mutual funds are buying a stock what’s going to happen when they place a long order. You would expect it go up.
So now you know the simple difference between day trading versus value investing. Maybe you want to know some books that you can read to learn a bit more in depth.
Best Stock Market Books for Beginners
The classic book for someone that wants to be a day trader is Reminiscenses of a Stock Operator. That has classic terms and examples that are relevant even today.
When you are learning a sport you need to have a good coach. Brett Sternberger is a an amazing pyschologist and person and his words in The Daily Trading Coach have helped numerous traders evaluate themselves.
If you want to learn trade using the darkpool. The Dark Pool Secrets book has helped to change my trading by Stefanie Kammerman and as a result we are working together in the Training Pit teaching people to trade.
An amazing book for someone brand new to longer term trading is Michele Schneider’s book Plant your Money Tree where you learn about the market view and different sectors. You can review the market and how it could impact bigger decisions such as a career pic for your child in College.
Another Series of books that helps educate active day traders is Market Wizards series by Jack Schwager. The tips and techniques that experienced traders share in interviews.
An amazing book that is great for longer term investment trading is Brian Shannon’s Technical Analysis Using Multiple Timeframes Brian is amazing and his development of Anchor VWAP is an incredible tool that will blow your mind for longer term trading.
How to get into stock investing
So now that you know the differences between trading and investing what is the next step to investing.
You might have a 401k already which you could ask if it is possible to self direct. I am not a financial advisor, but you could ask them if you are not able to self direct it to transfer or roll it over to Fidelity.
Fidelity will allow you to trade in a 401K. There are likely other brokerages that are available out there if you ask.
You can also open a regular account with a broker, it does depend on where you are in the world with regulations which brokers you can use.
Stock Brokers For Beginners
If you are looking for a great broker that offers lots of tools an training, Think or Swim is great with all the tools they offer.
Interactive Brokers is a bit more of a technical broker, but they offer the best commisions at the time of writing this post. There software is a bit confusing and technical at first, but then you get the hang of it.
For the active day traders another great broker is CenterPoint securities. Center Point is really good for those that like to short stocks, especially the harder to find stocks with lower floats.
If you are someone that knows about trading options, which in my opinion you should learn after learning about trading stocks. Tasty Works is amazing for those in the US. Tom Sosnoff developed Think or Swim and sold it and later developed Tasty Works.
More brokers for the USÂ
Here you can find the top brokers:
What is the right time to Invest?
Again that comes back to your question of timeframe for holding the stock.
Are you looking for longer term timeframe? If you are potentially considering a longer term time frame with anticipation that you think the stock will go up a couple of pennies on your entry might not make a difference in the big picture.
If you are looking for shorter timeframe of day trading , then the entry and exit of your trades make a huge difference.
The best times of day for day trading tend to be after the chop of open has picked a direction for the day and the stock meets a criteria for entry whether long or short.
The best times to enter a swing trade tend to be in the last 15 min of the day. Simply little slogan.
It it ends strong go long and if it looks like it’s time to abort then go short.
I will cover what I mean by that slogan in another post.
It is also very important to manage your risk properly as well. The best thing to map out before you get into a trade is your entry and exit strategy.
Acting in haste and emotion will likely end up in a losing trade.
Ready to Start Learning
I have created a couple of online videos to help you in your journey. Ones that I wished were out when I started my day trading journey.Â
I have also partnered as an educator in The Training Pit that was created to help people learn from zero knowledge or to reset your training.Â
I hope this post has helped you learn a bit more about trading and investing. As you can tell helping people is very fulfilling and the whole reason why this blog began in 2015. I will be sure to write more how to in the area to help you in your journey.
I love hearing feedback from you. It makes my trading more personal and I like to hear how I can help you. If you would like to be in Training Pit with me sign up here or if you want one on one training you can email me jane@thedarkpools.com You can contact me here or Twitter (@ItsAirplaneJane), Instagram (missairplanejane), LinkedIn and Facebook (@sugarairplanejane) or YouTube
The tool I use for scanning and alerting is Trade Ideas who offer an always free trading room. You can receive 5% off with Promo code CARPEPROFIT15 all caps when you sign up here for your first year or month
Trade Ideas will be offering the quarterly full access test drive of their software their software in Nov 2019 for the cost of data fees $9.Â
Another amazing software is Trendspider that has a new innovative rain drop candlestick that shows the volume for the morning session and afternoon session as far as the weight of it in price action. You can try them for free for 7 days here and receive 20% off with MTS20
My book is available at Amazon FMJ Trust Transition Trade: How Successful Traders Said It, Did It, and Lived It . As well as  Barnes and Noble, Indigo, Chapters,and more.
For my charts I use tradingview.com which offer free charting and paid services.
Also Stocks To Trade that has a 2 week $7 trial
This blog is for informational and educational purposes. I am not a registered securities broker-dealer or an investment adviser. The information here is not intended as securities brokerage, investment or as an offer or solicitation of an offer to sell or buy, or as an endorsement, recommendation or sponsorship of any security or fund.
Â
Hello Jane, I must say that this article is very helpful and informative. I plan to retire from my 9-5 job and I think that there is no better investment than stocks. Honestly, I am a beginner in these things so your help would be very appreciated. I must read your text once again as some things are not understandable for me, thank you so much for sharing, I will definitely contact you for more instructions.
Thank you Daniel. It is a great way to generate additional or your sole source of income. As a day trader or swing trader you have the freedom to work from anywhere and to also work a flexible schedule.
Thanks for putting up this post, you seem to have some level of experience in using stock exchange and broking in general. Not like a know alot but a friend has told me recently that he wants to go into the field iand I know heel need all the help he can get do I’m going to share your post with him
Thank you Henderson. Yes everyone has to start somewhere and there is no greater pleasure than being able to help someone help themself
I really appreciate you writing about this, as its going to help a lot of novice like me out there to be able to make precise decision on investing in the stock market, as stock investing doesn’t happen in a vacuum, it operates in a world swirling with issues and events that affect your stocks. I’ll consider think and swim as you have said here. I just hope the training will awesome.
I also work in the Training Pit trading room where we help people with zero knowledge get started.
Wow, great article for us beginners! I’ve just started to get into how to trade on the stock market, and I see I have a lot to learn. Would love if it was a little more in-depth and showed some examples for us newbies.
For beginners, which option would be better to dip our toes in? I was thinking day trading, but it sounds like you have to know what you are doing first so that you can know when to sell at the right time. But value investing sounds like it would take a long time to see if your investment was right or wrong.
Jason, the first step with either one is education. The more you educate yourself the better success rate you will have. Day trading is more about timing and longer term investing is more of fundamentals rathaler than solely technical analysis. I will be publishing more and I also work in a teaching room called the Training Pit.
Oh boy! I got into the stock market back in 2017 and had some small successes but did not know enough about it that I sold too many times and actually lost about $13 in a really great stock market time. I wish I had this website back then but now I am a little scared to get back in. I feel like its a gamble and am not sure where I stand on this with my morals either. I think I have to do some soul searching but if I ever do then this site will be great to start in.
Chris it. Sounds like you experienced the pyschological side of trading back then. The biggest hurdle a trader has is themselves. You are correct once you get your mindset right then your future trading should be better.
Thanks Jane. I wasn’t even aware that there was a difference between investing and trading. My uncle is into some sort of stop saying I don’t know if he does investing or Trading but he does pretty well financially. I am going to keep coming back to your website because I want to learn about stocks. Once my online business gets going and I have a good income stream then I think I want to put a portion of my money into doing stocks so that I can increase it even more. That way I could eventually get a lot of Financial Security which I think would be nice. Your articles explain everything very well and actually helped me learn stuff and understand it. The main reason I never tried to learn about it was that I didn’t have a lot of money.
Charles, I am happy to hear that the post was easy to understand. Just remember that every bit of knowledge you start to study now will add up for when you are ready to start. In the mean time you can paper trade. I will do a post all about it.
Hi Jane, I enjoyed reading your post. I new to trading and trying to pick up on the stock terminology and charts has been hard for me. I have a stash account that I invest in for long term and I also have a Robin hood account that I want to use to do some day trades on. I been stuck on figuring out how much to invest, when to invest and which method to start in. I have did tons of webinars on different stock trading methods but it has done nothing but confuse me more. I am a visual learner and I usually like to see things perform step by step to gain a better understanding of it. Would say that your trainings and book could help me to better understand the terminology and how to read charts?
Danielle, my book is all about female traders and an interview style book and their individual journies in trading. The Training Pit would likely help you with charting and understaning the technical analysis through videos and being able to ask questions live. We do at least one training meeting each business day.
This is one of the simplest explanation of trading terms that I have come across. I now get the picture of how the trading works.I have always wanted to be a stock broker and I think I will go for the Think and Swim Book. I hope I will get all the tools I need to begin from this book.
I am also looking forward to grasping what the slogan means. For now, I think I have a clue on what to do next.
This is such a thorough post. Thank you for taking your time to present such useful insights.
Carol, just a reminder Think or Swim is a broker, not a book. Thank you for the feedback
As beginners we want to see what is all this about and of course we are going to do it.. We are hungry to learn and excited about it. This post is very helpful in many ways, but the books recommendations are invaluable. I also watch Dan Lok’s videos for more bussiness tips and how a rich person thinks
Thanj you Alan I will look into Dan’s videos
I always enjoyed investing in stocks and other stuff. I started 4 years ago and I have to tell you it is one of my favorite things to do when I am home and hanging out. I am a single father so my daughter and I like to bet if something will go up or down in the next hour or 2. usually I will only do it if I feel like it is going to go up. lol. but it keeps her happy and that is all that matters. Plus I get to make some extra money when I am doing it. Awesome site and you have good content,
Awesome Steve. I’m looking forward to teaching my little ones all about it once they are old enough to understand 2 and 5 now so they have a ways to go.
This is some good information because I’ve always wanted to learn about trading stocks and I never knew anything about it.
It pays to read an informative article such as yours to learn how it is done.
I am definitely a beginner when it comes to stock trading.
There’s a boatload of information here and many books and videos.
It might take me longer to learn than the average person but you never know. I hope you’re there for contact support!
Rob I am definitely here to help others. The feedback of hearing how other’s have learned how to help themselves is priceless.
Good info here. Fidelity is a great company to do business with (not affiliated with them, but no people who have done business with them). When I first started trading, I got my feet wet by using Robinhood, and even now I still use them. I highly recommend them for absolute beginners who want to trade.
Thanks for the resources! I have a friend who has been suggesting I check out day trading for a while now but I’ve found it difficult for someone like me to find a way to start learning. I look forward to going through the materials you’ve suggested. It’s great to see someone willing to share the knowledge they’ve gained along the way!
Thank you Rob, The best part of helping others is hearing the success stories they have created by having the right tools at their finger tips.
I found this article really informative as a first step in this area. I have a 401K from my job and have been interested in long term strategies in that area. I have always liked the idea of trying to day trade but lack the information to actually jump in. The links to additional resources are quite helpful and I plan on looking into them further.
Larina, great to hear that you found it useful. A big step is the education part as the market is willing to take anyones money, so best to educated it what is going on.
The stock market, definitely a land of opportunity, but by no means a land for the faint of heart.
It can be used to start a hobby, a long term investment plan or a weekly business where you entrench yourself.
I like the way you have broken down the different types and terms of investment that can be undertaken on the stock market Airplane Jane.
The reading options you have outlined to assist your learning could prove to be invaluable tools, and I am keen to try the Dark Pool Secrets book when I have a chance.
Shane in reading the darkpools book you will probably join the Training Pit too where we teach people that want to learn to trade some with zero knowledge of stocks.
Thanks for the feedback
The investment includes buying stocks that make you a part of the company as owners, that is why when a company makes money, you make money. So this blog helps me to understand some important pointers on hoe yo get into stock investing, the difference between value investing and day trading. it’s quite amazing to understand what is the right time to invest and understand where to get brokers. I am into investing but in real estate. Normal investing for our future retirement includes 401 K and another with a B, Social Security and mutual funds are not really lucrative in investing part, The rule is the higher the risk the higher the yield but for ordinary people, l would rather settle to traditional investment plans. such as mutual funds. Great job, it gives me great insights and understanding. Way to go.
Thank you Jane for the great tips. I can understand some stock trading thanks to your article. I am actually not a trader or investor yet, but I still want to research about stock trading for my future reference. There are many highly successful people in the stock trading world, but I’m still a bit afraid to start it. It feels like gambling, and I’m a risk avoider. Can you provide me a tips to ease the fear of starting stock trading? Thank you for your answer.
Start learning and go from there. The more you know the better chance your fear will slowly dissappear.
This is an interesting mix of methods to trade stocks. I’m assuming your recommendations will help to form a foundation for beginners in the word of the mysterious stock trading opportunities. You’ve done an excellent job of describing the differences between the various types of trading methods and some reasons for approaching each method.
The options trading you mentioned briefly seem interesting to me as I know there are also different types of methods there as well. I am familiar to a limited extent with the sink or swim methodology having an account at one of the large brokerages where they tend to promote the idea.
The only concern I have is for someone who is not very familiar with trading principles who may want to utilize their 401k as a source of funds. This can be a very risky endeavor and I would be more comfortable suggesting that anyone who steps into trading for the first time, whether day or swing trading, to use discretionary funds to start off.
Thanks for the intriguing article and the references as well.
Tim for sure there are risks in trading and one getting into trading must know that. There are risks in trading any and all securities instruments.
Hello; How to invest in stock for beginners. Beginners here would mean someone who had never traded in stacks? or one who had never won? OK whichever, is there a specific amount of money that is needed to begin trading?
I figure out that there is no guarantee to succeed when trading; but I want to succeed! No trader would want a promissory note until the close of trade.
The best way then is to get a good coach before I start to invest.OK.
DorcasW
Dorcas, the best is to learn while you build up your capital. If you are in the us the best is an account of 30k. If you dont have that keep grinding away. You can start smaller it is just more tough. There are never guarantees in trading, it all comes down to knowledge and discipline on trading. Its best to educate yourself. Everyone has to start somewhere.
Awesome book recommendations for anyone looking to get started in the art of stock trading. I would honestly love to start trading within my 401(k) simply because I’m really starting to lack faith in the dollar and to a greater extent, social security. I would be looking to invest long-term, especially taking a risk on buying stock in companies that might be just entering the market and see how they fare later on; as well as investing 10% of my plan in gold as well. Kind of spreading the love and not putting all my eggs in one basket.
Todd diversifying in long term trading definitely minimizes risk as long as you choose stocks in different sectors. Ig you choose newer stocks entering into the say crypto field and out money in 5 of them its still risky. So different arenas is good as well as different stocks.
Interesting and helpful ! This is a really detaiked post on stock and investment. Partaking in this kind of platform requires a whole lot if knowledge and idea which I think is fully loaded in this well structured post. I wish to start a new line in investing in stocks and I think this is the best any beginner can put a million dollar on. I’m grateful for this committed vibe to educate we beginners to become masters.kudos !
Thanks Willy. Happy to help and answer your questions along the way.
Hi Jane. Wow!! I wish this sort of information had of been around when I was a lot younger. I was very interested in the stock market when I was at high school. In a business class I took our teacher gave each of us an imaginary $5000 to trade on the stockmarket. We had one month to see how we went. Ever step we took and each share we bought or sold had to be recorded. In our day it was simply called ‘Short term trading’. In the end the goal was to see who would make the most money. Well, the era I was in was the boom years of the early seventies. Without me realizing , the mining boom was about to hit in Australia. By sheer luck, and because I’ve always been a bit of a gambler, I placed my shares in some really cheap mining stock. Most of them were around five cents a share. Well they all went through the roof. I can’t remember the names now but one went from 5 cents to $200 . I became wealthy instantly, if only it had of been real dollars. Your training in this field is incredible and I must purchase one of the books that you have highlighted. Thank you for this very informative article. Jim
Jim yes that timing was a luck trade for sure as going all in on one stock is super risky. Awesome to hear I rekindled a flame in the interest of trading.
Hi Jane 🙂
Just a few weeks ago, I borrowed one investing book from the local public library. The title name is “investing like a shark”. Basic, the author shares his opinion and his years experience in short-term investing. His strategy is quite simple. He takes the shark as an example. Shark is very realistic. They hunt, eat, have sex and then sleep. Once they sense the danger, they swim away.
When it comes to beginner investing, personally, I think it’s a good starting for partly short-term investing like that. However, for a complete beginner… doing DAILY INVESTING… would be very stressful and overwhelming!!! Those active daily traders… are good for Wall Street only… For some individual small investors like us… it won’t be easy for sure. Even the book “investing like a shark” is published in 2008, the author still sticks on his 50 days frame. In his opinion, daily trading in the stock market is so risky and stressful.
I have a question for you: do you have a broker account for YOUR DAILY INVESTING? If you do, can you share what it’s good about? Does it have some small fees for each transaction no matter it’s success transactions or failure? Is it free to sign up? how you can load the fund into the online broker account?
Yes Day trading or intraday trading can be stressful. Everyone has to figure out their own personal risk and stress levels to succeed in the trading world.
Great information, I have heard of day trading but I haven’t done much research on this subject for some time.
I have always had an interest in investing and have done reading on it with an interest in growing knowledgeable enough to start making money with it but my wife talked me out of the idea.
I have found a wealth of great information from your post and definitely look forward to engaging in your work further, it sparked up an old flame for interest in this subject and am eager to learn more about it, thanks.
Happy to help inspire you to learn more. Thats why Im here.