Best online trading resources, tips etc + Disney stock

[Lizgistix]

I have an account with Merrill and I love their resources for getting information about a particular stock or mutual fund.
As for the Disney stock, I think they might have certificates if you buy from Disney directly through their shareholder site. I looked into that but they wanted a minimum investment, whereas I just wanted a few shares, so I just bought a few shares through Merrill (no trading fees!)

My understanding is Robinhood is for "day trading millennials" (I read that somewhere).
I use the My Stock Portfolio app to see how my stocks are doing and then a second list in the app (not counted towards my portfolio earnings) to see how the 3 major cruise line stocks are doing (out of morbid curiosity).

 

[godisney14]

As a shareholder, anyone else also ever have thoughts that maybe Disney doesn’t ever need to reopen the parks. With the digital transformation, they could be better off continuing to invest in content more than experiences. Content reaches a broader audience across more markets. Experience (parks) have limited audience in comparison.

 

[JimMIA]

My understanding is Robinhood is for "day trading millennials" (I read that somewhere).

I don't know anything about Robinhood other than what I read in the financial press, but the media says those are their target market.

And I know that a lot of the financial chattering class have been expressing worries about so many novice investors getting involved in day-trading.

Here's one article about the SEC action against Robinhood. Robinhood, of course, swears they've done nothing shady.

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/12/17/sec...es-money.html?&qsearchterm=robinhood sec suit

 

[godisney14]

Here’s my opinion on platforms and services from my own experience and having friends work in finance field. It all depends on what one wants to accomplish.

Self-directed:
Day/frequent trading of simple buy/sell orders: Robinhood makes it easy. (Just as PayPal is now making it easy to trade Bitcoin).

Day/frequent trading of more complex orders, including various options: Fidelity

Assisted:
Low balance (ie. not a HNWI): find a good CFP

High balance: Merrill, Goldman, Charles, etc.


If you just want market research, create an account with any big name bank and view their available resources.

 

[FairestOfThemAll37]

You can make money by shorting a stock as well. So if an investor was long on Disney and bought earlier this year, they should be in a positive position. But, if you think the stock will take a correction or downside, you can play that position as well.

Shorting stocks, naked puts and calls can be really risky business. Selling covered options is pretty minimally risky but you also have to have considerable capital to make any significant income.

We’re with Ameriprise as our broker moved there from another firm and followed him.

Index funds like VTSAX and ETFs are good buy and hold options that don’t require a lot of active work or stock picking.

If you’re more interested in individual stocks then stay away from Reddit and YouTube. Way too many gamblers that got lucky or have too much ego and think they have a system even though they lose money.

Value Line has great info and surveys but it’s worth paying for if

 

[DisneYE]

As a shareholder, anyone else also ever have thoughts that maybe Disney doesn’t ever need to reopen the parks. With the digital transformation, they could be better off continuing to invest in content more than experiences. Content reaches a broader audience across more markets. Experience (parks) have limited audience in comparison.

You're right. Disney seems to be doing really well without the experiences side of business.
But I think once the pandemic is tamed (2021) or gone (hopefully in 2022) and they open the parks and ships, their stock price is going to skyrocket.
I'm buying some of shares soon.
Merry Christmas.

 

[JimMIA]

Rather than worrying about a platform, I think most investors should start with basics.

The key is not how much you make, but whether your plan and execution matches your personal needs. And those needs are microscopically individual.

Research a good financial planner and get a thorough evaluation done.

Even though I've been investing for years, we did that when DW retired a few months ago. We spent hours going over income, expenses, savings, non-financial assets, investment goals and risk tolerance. DW has modest objectives and a low risk tolerance -- so her investments are -- and should be -- less aggressive than mine. (That said, as a result of this review, I have also toned things down a touch and I don't think it's cost me much money at all.)

For DW's needs, they recommended an annuity -- which I vetoed...nicely. We rolled her retirement accounts into an IRA instead of putting part of them into an annuity. However, we did think that professional management would be better for her portfolio and we went with that. Our evaluation was with an MBA/CFA here in Coral Gables, but the actual team managing her accounts is in Boston.

That was 7 months ago, and we are very pleased with the results so far. I have a higher return -- but most importantly, her investments are performing as we hoped they would with much less risk.

 

[RamblingMad]

Check out Bogleheads.

Robinhood was the first to provide commission free trading. Now, most brokers off that such as Schwab. You can also trade crypto with Robinhood. Other brokers such as Schwab don't offer it.

Check out the book: The Little Book of Common Sense Investing.

 

[hertamaniac]

Shorting stocks, naked puts and calls can be really risky business. Selling covered options is pretty minimally risky but you also have to have considerable capital to make any significant income.

We’re with Ameriprise as our broker moved there from another firm and followed him.

Index funds like VTSAX and ETFs are good buy and hold options that don’t require a lot of active work or stock picking.

If you’re more interested in individual stocks then stay away from Reddit and YouTube. Way too many gamblers that got lucky or have too much ego and think they have a system even though they lose money.

Value Line has great info and surveys but it’s worth paying for if

I always recommend a stop short limit on new traders of stocks. Generally speaking, a 20-30% stop loss allows some of our investments to mitigate the risk of portfolio negativity. Naturally, a diverse portfolio is always recommended on individual stock purchases across various sectors.

I agree to stay away from various online video platforms; they can easily over inflate their returns with no actual proof their coinciding losses.

I think asking for general investing advice in a forum is a good first step, but there is no way I would use any of the information (including mine) as an end-all. To the OP, the best investments are sometimes the ones you don't share with anyone.

 

[JimMIA]

The other basic fundamental that none of us have mentioned is the difference between paper performance and real performance.

There is no real gain or loss until you sell. Anybody can pick a good stock, but that's only the first step. We all look good at some point in the festivities, but it's the sale that matters most.

Yes, I'd rather see appreciation than decline in my portfolio numbers, but it's important to understand that you can't go to McDonalds with paper gains.

 

[hertamaniac]

You're right. Disney seems to be doing really well without the experiences side of business.
But I think once the pandemic is tamed (2021) or gone (hopefully in 2022) and they open the parks and ships, their stock price is going to skyrocket.
I'm buying some of shares soon.
Merry Christmas.

Perhaps, but remember the debt ratio is climbing (which was expected). It's been hovering above 1.0 for over a year now, so that is something to consider. Shareholder equity is also dropping as per the below chart(s).

https://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/DIS/disney/debt-equity-ratio