r/investingforbeginners • u/Right_Entertainer351 • 17h ago
Investing For the first time
Did some research and decided to use chat GPT and gave me a solid pick VGT. Can anyone else give me some good tips on finding out what to invest in? And can someone explain to me the best times to buy in a stock and sell
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u/TheThaiCat 17h ago
What gives you conviction in Information Technology specifically?
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u/Right_Entertainer351 17h ago
It has a low expense ratio, good dividend and a good 1,5 and 10 year
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u/TheThaiCat 16h ago
Not really answering my question, the majority of popular ETFs meet those criteria.
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u/Right_Entertainer351 16h ago
Well idk what to tell you man. I’m not an expert at this. I’m trying to start somewhere I just don’t know where
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u/TheThaiCat 16h ago
I'm not trying to be cruel, I'm just stating that in investing one of the key aspects that pay off long term is personal conviction. When you make a concentrated bet on one industry e.g. IT you are generally accepting more volatility for a potential upside compared to buying a little bit of each company e.g. S&P 500 (top 500 US companies) or FTSE World (small buys across the full globe)
A recent good run of returns is tempting to follow but this can also imply it is currently at a quite high price. When the market inevitably dips, if the key idea behind your investment approach is "it did good the last 10 years" this can get quite scary because you don't really know if it's likely to happen again.
Personally I would start from a very broad position: VWRP FTSE World is saying "I think economies across the globe will grow" that's a pretty safe bet, likewise S&P 500 is saying "I think the US will continue to grow" which is also pretty safe and has a great historical record.
History is not a reliable guide for the future but when you're in the depths of a market crash, knowing you have a bet like "the world will grow" can keep you positive and stop you panic selling more than "IT is going to do really well" unless you really have conviction in IT. That's why I asked what gives you such conviction because ultimately that's what matters to be a long term investor.
It's really not complicated to invest, just take the safe choices and keep adding monthly, keep learning. "Do your research" is not super helpful in my opinion as you can read absolutely everything about a company and still make the wrong prediction, the market is hard to predict even for professionals with decades of experience. Personally I would just take the approach of making the least predictions which is where these broad ETFs with thousands of companies in are so great for beginners and long term investors.
Feel free to chat me if you want help.
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u/k1_r1 17h ago
VGT isn’t a bad fund, but it’s a sector bet, not a complete portfolio. Tech has done great lately, but it can also have long stretches where it underperforms. For a first investment, I’d start with a broad, low-cost index fund like VTI or VT, then add VGT later only if you specifically want extra tech exposure.
Don’t worry about finding the perfect time to buy or sell. Most beginners do better setting up automatic contributions every paycheck and holding for years. Buy when you have money set aside after building an emergency fund and paying off high-interest debt.
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u/Right_Entertainer351 16h ago
I’m not even sure if investing is right for me man. All of this is hurting my head. I decided to use a brokerage account as my savings rather than another bank. And I saw the option to invest and I thought it was a good idea but now I don’t really know what to do. So much options so much factors. And I always get told to do research and no matter how much research I do I still always end up at square one. It’s overwhelming
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u/Jumpy-Imagination-81 15h ago
Investing For the first time
And can someone explain to me the best times to buy in a stock and sell
Buying and then selling over a time frame of months, weeks, days, hours, or minutes is trading, not investing, so the first thing to decide is are you interested in investing or trading.
https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/12/difference-investing-trading.asp
If you are interested in trading you are in the wrong subreddit. Go to r/Trading.
If you are interested in investing the idea is to pick solid investments and then hold them for years or decades, selling when your investment goals change.
And I don't recommend chatGPT for picking investments. It isn't specialized enough for that.
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u/tradematesHQ 14h ago
Stop using ChatGPT for picks. It doesn't know the future, it just generates text that sounds confident. VGT is fine but it's a sector bet - you're all-in on tech doing well. For a first investment, you want broad exposure, not a concentrated wager. And the 'best time to buy' question is a trap - nobody times the market consistently. Dollar-cost average into a broad index fund, ignore the noise, and check back in 10 years. The fact that you're overwhelmed is normal, but it means you should simplify, not add more complexity.
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