Expert: Dr. Joseph de Beauchamp - 12/31/2004

Question
I am 21 and have been into investing and saving from a young age. I currently have 3 CD's, a couple savings accounts, and started an IRA when I was 18. I would like to get into a little more agresive investing though through stocks. Do you have any suggestions on what stocks would be good to get started in and how I would go by doing this. I am looking to just get my feet wet and DO NOT want to invest thousands, and would like to try some "safer stocks." I have got advise that Diney, Walgreens, and Walmart were great stocks to invest in. Are these companies worth looking into? Thanks.

Answer
I would not recommend stocks for you. Go to http://wfnn.info and look to the left on some mutual funds. It is a free site to learn about some long term recommendations. A large fund with international portfolio is much better to spread the risk. You can ask for the current holdings of the fund and learn about the individual positions in the fund. Many funds allow you to invest as little as $25 and have over 100 stocks within them.

Dr. Joe de Beauchamp