Finance 101: Where to Start Investing

In the pages of this newsletter, I often cover complex, esoteric concepts foreign to most retail investors. My goal is to use my unique knowledge gained over a career in high finance to break these topics down, simplify them, and help retail investors use them to beat the markets. But experienced investors aren’t the only ones reading my articles. Some folks out there are wondering where to start investing at all…

So today I want to take some time to talk to those just getting started with their investment journey… and those who haven’t started yet at all. Because investing is the only way to gain financial independence. And without financial independence, you’ll never really be free.

Where to Start Investing: Retirement Accounts

The first thing I always make sure to cover when helping new investors figure out where to start investing is the different kinds of investing accounts they have as options. Traditional brokerage accounts are easy to open and easy to fund. There’s no limit to how much you can put into them or what products (stocks, bonds, options, futures) you can invest in. But when it comes time to take your profits, those accounts are taxed. And technically, they’re double-taxed since you pay taxes on the money before it goes in and then once it comes out.

So I always encourage folks to start investing in a tax-advantaged retirement account. For many people, this is their company-sponsored 401(k) or IRA. With both the 401(k) and the traditional IRA, you put money into the market before paying taxes on it. But that means, when you make a profit in those accounts, you pay taxes on the gains. There’s a better way to do it, though. And it’s called a Roth IRA. If you qualify for one, which most of you will, you get to put money into the account after you’ve paid income taxes on it. But then later on, when you’re cashing out your profits, you don’t have to pay any taxes at all. And since the only two sure things in life are death and tax hikes, I advise folks to pay the lower taxes now and avoid those high taxes later on. So, in my opinion, a Roth IRA is where to start investing.

Where to Start Investing: Financial Instruments

The next thing we always cover when I’m helping folks figure out where to start investing is the various types of financial instruments they have to invest in. In a 401(k) and in many traditional IRAs, you’re limited to instruments known as mutual funds. These are baskets of stocks that track a particular market index or industry. You can invest in one that tracks the S&P 500 or one that tracks the U.S. energy market. You can buy one that tracks soybeans. Or one that tracks lithium miners. They’re a simple way for novice investors to get exposure to a diverse basket of investments. But they charge management fees. And often those fees are so high that they’ll eat into your profits in a meaningful way. So I always encourage beginning investors to avoid those mutual funds. And I tell them that where to start investing is in exchange-traded funds, or ETFs.

You see, ETFs are very similar to mutual funds. They also consist of baskets of investments that track particular indexes or markets. There are ETFs that focus on only oil companies, ones that focus only on commodity prices, ETFs that focus on matching the S&P 500… Really, if you can think up an investment, there’s likely already an ETF available for you to diversify your investments in that market. They typically charge far lower fees than mutual funds, with some of the low-fee funds taking less than one-tenth of 1% for managing the fund. And they’re where to get started investing if you’re just getting started investing. They let you invest in trends without having to research individual companies. Not sure if Nvidia has more steam left but want to invest in the growth of AI? Buy an ETF that focuses on the AI market and you’ll get exposure to Nvidia and a host of other AI stocks that will let you profit from the industry without betting it all on one company.

Where to Start Investing: Getting the Help You Need

And finally, when we’re talking with newbies about where to start investing, we always make sure to make them comfortable with asking for help. No man is an island, and no successful investor does it alone. Warren Buffett has a whole team helping him make his investment decisions. And you should too. So when you’re wondering where to start investing and you’ve already followed my first two tips, the third step (and maybe the most important) is to find people who know more than you do and learn from them. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. It’s actually the real reason I left Wall Street to focus on Main Street. I want to help you learn where to start investing and I want to help you grow into a professional investor who can live off your profits.

So when we’re talking about where to start investing, the third tip I like to cover is the incredible resources you already have available to you as a beginning investor. Obviously, you’ve already uncovered one: Wealth Daily and our team of highly experienced financial professionals. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the financial value we offer here. We’ve also got communities of like-minded investors like The Wealth Advisory community. That’s where I share more in-depth knowledge and analysis of financial trends and individual investments with tens of thousands of retail investors. In fact, our track record is so good I’ve had a few folks from my old investment banking days become members, too. This is advice that hedge funds pay for. I’ve gone through the list and identified about 10 of them. So when it comes to where to start investing, Wealth Daily is a great resource, but The Wealth Advisory is what smart money is buying.

Plus, you’ll get access to a host of incredible investments my team and I have personally vetted just for you. You’ll even get the chance to lock in a massive income stream we recently uncovered that’s essentially funded by the ever-growing U.S. military budget.

Where to Start Investing: The Bottom Line

The bottom line here is that when it comes to where to start investing, you’ve already found it. Wealth Daily is an incredible resource for investors of every level of experience. From the folks who’ve never made a trade in their lives to the hedge funds that can’t wait to get my tips, everyone can benefit from the wealth of financial knowledge we share here every day.

But if you’re ready to take the next step and really get immersed in the world of high profits and stock trading, then you should join our community, lock in that lucrative income stream we just uncovered, and dig deep into the treasure trove of reports, updates, and feature recommendations you’ll get access to.

And, of course, keep coming back to Wealth Daily every day to stay on top of the latest market-moving news and the investment trends that will drive market profits for years to come.

Have a great weekend!

To your wealth,

Jason Williams

@TheReal_JayDubs

Angel Research on Youtube

After graduating Cum Laude in finance and economics, Jason designed and analyzed complex projects for the U.S. Army. He made the jump to the private sector as an investment banking analyst at Morgan Stanley, where he eventually led his own team responsible for billions of dollars in daily trading. Jason left Wall Street to found his own investment office and now shares the strategies he used and the network he built with you. Jason is the founder of Main Street Ventures, a pre-IPO investment newsletter; the founder of Future Giants, a nano cap investing service; and authors The Wealth Advisory income stock newsletter. He is also the managing editor of Wealth Daily. To learn more about Jason, click here.

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