Get Started - About Stock Investment For Retirement

If you are tempted to sell investments when they are down, remind yourself that you are investing for a time far in the future. So why lock in losses when you have time to ride the market back up? Also, if you save regularly and continue to invest during down markets and the market demonstrates the kind of long-term growth that it has historically , you will be adding to your savings during those market dips, or "buying low. In fact, as the chart below shows, what looked like some of the worst times to be in the stock market turned out to be the best times.

The best 5-year return in the US stock market began in May —in the midst of the Great Depression. The next best 5-year period began in July , when the US economy was in one of its worst recessions. An appropriate mix of investments should be based on a person's time horizon, financial situation, and tolerance for risk.

But, as a general rule, those with longer investment horizons have the capacity to take on the risk associated with a significant, broadly diversified exposure to stocks because there is likely time to recover from any short-term losses. Read Viewpoints on Fidelity. How to start investing. Take a look at 4 hypothetical investment mixes, to see how they would have performed over a long period of time. As you can see, the conservative mix has historically provided much less growth than a mix with more stocks—but a lot less volatility as well.

No matter your age—and how far away retirement is—you want to enjoy your retirement years and do the things you want without having to worry about money. To help you achieve that, the historical odds favor a diversified mix of investments with a significant exposure to stocks. So, beware of investing too conservatively. Get used to riding the ups and downs of the market.

For those investing for the long term and saving regularly, a downturn can even help boost savings—because the same amount of money can buy more shares of a stock, stock mutual fund, or ETF at lower prices. Unsure of what to do? Or, consider a target date fund, target risk fund, or managed account, where a professional does the investing for you. Explore how to invest your money and get investing ideas to match your goals.

Learn how to build a mix of investments with our essentials of investing. Get a weekly subscription of our experts' current thinking on the financial markets, investing trends, and personal finance. Please enter a valid name.

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Please Click Here to go to Viewpoints signup page. Plan for the new year. Financial resolutions for retirees. View all Life and Money articles. Download the Fidelity app. Some things to consider before investing in and trading stocks:. Stocks are one of the most heavily-traded markets in the world, with numerous physical and electronic exchanges designed to ensure fast and seamless transactions. Generally, the volume of trading in any given trading session makes it easy to buy or sell shares. There are an enormous amount of stocks to choose from. For example, there is a wide variety of industries represented in stock, as well as shares from companies of differing sizes.

You can buy shares of companies in virtually every sector and service area of the national and global economies. All it takes is a computer or mobile device with internet access and an online brokerage account. Of course, when you think of stocks, you may envision the possibility of returns. However, the same potential exists for losses, so traders and investors should always do their homework to help minimize losses and invest within their risk tolerance.

You can trade and invest in stocks at TD Ameritrade with many different account types. If you intend to take a short position in stocks, you will also need to complete apply for, and be approved for, margin privileges in your account. There's one factor that stands well above the rest when choosing your trading platform, and that's you. From your investment strategy and frequency of trades to things as simple as your preferences, TD Ameritrade offers a number of ways to trade the way you want:. Mobile Trading - Manage accounts, trade stocks and generate ideas with real-time connectivity on your mobile device or smartphone anytime, anywhere.

But how do you actually start? Follow the steps below to learn how to invest in the stock market.

There are several ways to approach stock investing. Choose the option below that best represents your situation:. Generally speaking, to invest in stocks, you need an investment account.

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For the hands-on types, this usually means a brokerage account. For those who would like a little help, opening an account through a robo-advisor is a sensible option. We break down both processes below. An online brokerage account likely offers your quickest and least expensive path to buying stocks, funds and a variety of other investments. Below are two strong options from our analysis of the best online stock brokers: Merrill Edge offers high-quality customer service, robust research and low fees.

Customers of parent company Bank of America will love the seamless, thoughtful integration, with a single login to access both accounts. Robo-advisor services will ask you about your investing goals during the on-boarding process and then build you a portfolio designed to achieve those aims.

This may sound expensive, but the management fees here are generally a fraction of the cost of what a human investment manager would charge.