imagined stock-market investment of $1,000 made one year ago?

[skyskyjade]

I need to write about an imagine stock-market investment of $1,000 made one year ago. I have to Choose a company that I am familiar with and that seems like it might be a good investment — that is, a company that you think will have rising stock prices. Think about companies that you use or know are popular. Remember, not all companies are public companies. You'll need to check the New York Stock Exchange to find out if you can actually buy shares in this company. In your journal entry, explain why you thought this stock would be a good investment and report on how well you did with your choice, including whether or not you would've done better by selling sooner or going with a different stock.

[Katherine]

I actually have invested in a few companies, so I can probably be of some help.

I own 100 shares each in Disney, Bristol-Meyers Squibb, and Honda Motor Co. My grandparents actually invested for me back in the 90's and now my portfolio is worth about $13,600. That money came about through dividends, which are basically rewards a company gives you for staying invested in them. Most people use the stock market to earn a quick buck, however, and invest in a company, then sell it as soon as the share is worth more than what they bought it for. However this wasn't the case with Facebook; the share value diminished greatly so everyone lost money if they invested in it (frankly, there's nothing to invest in because it's not a company that sells a product unless you count selling user information to advertising companies). Generally the older a company is the steadier it will be. Ford is fairly static but they pay dividends. For your assignment I would go with a technology company like Amazon or Google. Google now owns YouTube so there was a large jump in share value when that happened. Amazon owns a ton of side companies and they are still growing. I noticed my Disney share value increased after they bought rights to Marvel; right now it's my most valuable stock at $56.47. If I sold all hundred shares I'd have $5600 to reinvest or spend like cash. You can learn a lot about the stock market from fool.com, The Motley Fool, which speaks in plain English.