A friend suggests that I should take a college course dealing with the subject of the stock market. He says that it might be wise in knowing which stocks to buy in the future since the economy is bad. Considering that I listen to him and if a class like that exist, what would be the proper class to take for this topic?
HOSEA
Comments
There aren’t proper classes for that, there are only introductions or sort of one day lessons about it. But if you want to one day invest for the future, you should read up on Jim Cramer’s MAD MONEY
There isn’t a class you can take on what stocks to buy because no one really knows what is going to happen…oh wait guess you can take classes from psychic Miss Chloe.
The only classes that are available are Finance, and Economics. Finance will give you indicators (formulas) that will help you access a companies position and economics will give you an understanding of how people behave with regards to money.
At my university they actually offer a class titled “Investments”. You actually got to develop your own portfolio. It was a great class. Your typical finance classes usually don’t show you how to research stocks and make investment decisions. They really only show you how to manage capital. They are still good classes however. The Jim Kramer books are okay. They seem to be geared more towards day-traders.
I myself am not in college yet, but I do have valuable advice in regards to information. I have noticed that many investing legends have agreed that college courses on investing haven’t proven extremely beneficial, but that actual on the job training and reading helps the most. Take Peter Lynch, for instance. He said that his college courses basically taught him that sound investments weren’t really good investment at all. He says that his most valuable education was working for Fidelity in the summer as an intern. He worked at Fidelity as a junior analyst, and was able to travel all around the country and to see what investing was really like. And of course, after interning he went on to become the most successful mutual fund manager in history.
I know that college work must be hard and very time consuming however, if you ever have some time I would highly recommend getting several books about investing. Take it from me, not all investing books are worth reading. Some, for instance, only encourage day trading or promise to make you rich in a short amount of time (both of those are very risky and luck is the main factor in success in those areas). However, here are some classic investing books that will enhance your knowledge of investing and how to succeed, even if you aren’t a professional investor:
Learn to Earn, by Peter Lynch
This book is great for beginners. It’s easy to read and has advice from the greatest fund manager himself.
One Up On Wall Street, by Peter Lynch
This is a book that I consider a classic. Written by the same author as Learn to Earn, this book is fun, easy to read, and is filled with numerous examples of companies that Lynch invested in, what he invested in them, and how they turned out. Every investor should read and re-read this book.
***If you read those two books and love Lynch’s books, try Beating the Street.
The Richest Man in Babylon
I forget who the author is, but this book is written in easy to understand old English and gives timeless anecdotes on how to manage your savings and income. You should know that before you begin to invest, your financial condition should be sound.
Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits, by Philip Fisher
This book is a much more difficult book to read, but it’s ideas and opinions are among the best in the world. It’s not terribly long (about 170 pages), and provides insight from Philip Fisher, who’s considered one of the father’s of growth investing.
The Intelligent Investor, by Benjamin Graham
If you’ve heard of Warren Buffett (who I believe is the world’s richest man), then Benjamin Graham is Buffett’s mentor. This book, which may even be harder to read than Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits, is considered by millions of investors to be the greatest book on investing ever written. In this book, Graham talks about how investors can build long-term wealth through value investing, and he also discusses the psychological aspect of investing, which is crucial for success.
If you finally read the above books (hopefully by the time you graduate), then you will know more about investing than most of America. It also never hurts to read the Wall Street Journal, the WSJ is considered to be one the best investing newspapers in existence.
I hope this information helped, and I wish you luck to becoming a successful investor over the ensuing decades.
You can learn alot from Motley CAPS, including Cramer’s batting average.
