If you would be so kind...investing, the essentials.
 

First let me introduce myself,
I am an upcoming undergraduate sophmore in UCI majoring in business economics. I work extremely hard at whatever I'm interested in. I have essentially supported myself throughout my freshman year playing poker. I would say I put in at least 20 hours a week throughout the entire year. This should show you that once I put my mind into something, I will devote all my energy to it. I am very disciplined and tend to start what I finish. Therefore, whatever advice you give me here, I will put it to full use.

I have no history in investing. I have never bought a stock before and have no clue what hedging or any other business terminology means. Essentially, I am a total noob in stocks and investing. What I plan to do is putting some serious hours for poker during this summer while studying stocks and the art of investing. I plan on going to borders about every other day and soaking up everything I can. By the time summer ends, I want to be adept at choosing the right stocks.

Throughout sophmore year, I plan on dabbling my feet in buying stocks. I want to experiment and build a somewhat strong portfolio. Hopefully, poker will be good to me this coming summer and I will have a hefty amount of money to invest. I probably won't be risking too much (I'm thinking 25% of my bankroll) in stocks but I am definately going to give it a stab.

Basically, by the end of college, I want to have an strong diversified portfolio that will give me enough returns to support myself without a job (I don't know how feasible this is, but I'm going to live very modestly, i.e apartment, used car etc etc.) This will hopefully take off some pressure for me to find a job as quickly as possible and actually have time to find a career I will really enjoy or open up a business with a partner.

What I ask from you guys is simple recommendations of books, magazines, and forums to read. I'm not asking for lectures (although that will be much appreciated) because I know I should be doing the research myself. Perhaps a list of essential concepts I need to know. All in all, I just need someone to point me to the right direction.

Thank you in advance,

Nick Oh

Oh yeah, I would also like a reality check. If it seems like I'm being too naive, it's because I am. I am under the impression that anyone can beat the stock market for around 10% roi, but if I'm daydreaming here, please do tell. I know I am not one of the brightest and would say I'm just above average in intelligence (because I know through experience that the average, well at least the average u.s citizen is not too bright.

Re: If you would be so kind...investing, the essentials.
 

Read the stickies at the top of the forum. Lots of good links and threads.

Re: If you would be so kind...investing, the essentials.
 

Your dedication sounds good, but I would change your horizon from one summer to 3-5 years before you expect any sort of "returns". Add more to this number if a)you don't plan on doing it 24/7 and/or b)there are intelligence issues.

If you are truly as interested in business / investing as you think, don't listen to any recommendations. Your goal would be to get through EVERY semi-popular book on the topic, so it really doesn't matter where you start. If you don't understand something in a book, ask a question here or research it online. If you don't understand anything(i.e. if Alchemy of Finance happened to be your 1st book), leave it for later.

Success will depend on whether you can fully fall in love with it, much like in poker. If you have temperamental dedication to go along with that, it will boost your chances further.

Re: If you would be so kind...investing, the essentials.
 

[ QUOTE ]
Basically, by the end of college, I want to have an strong diversified portfolio that will give me enough returns to support myself without a job (I don't know how feasible this is, but I'm going to live very modestly, i.e apartment, used car etc etc.)

[/ QUOTE ]

Probably not even remotely feasible. You want to find a way to be retired by the time you graduate college... yeah, not going to happen.

Re: If you would be so kind...investing, the essentials.
 

[ QUOTE ]
Oh yeah, I would also like a reality check. If it seems like I'm being too naive, it's because I am. I am under the impression that anyone can beat the stock market for around 10% roi, but if I'm daydreaming here, please do tell.

[/ QUOTE ]

No offense, but you do sound naive and your plan is not feasible. Almost no one can consistently beat the market, especially by 10%.

Here are some tips:

1. Don't get overconfident. Regardless of your views on the efficiency of the market, the market is full of noise and is extremely difficult to beat.

2. Don't trust people. There are a lot of swindling and stupid people who will tell you how to invest correctly.

If I were you, I would invest the money in index funds. They are more sensible than individual stocks - they have the same returns but much lower volatility. If you really do want to try individual stocks, I would paper trade at first, and then never trade more than what you can afford to lose. Individual stocks are risky - losing a huge chunk or even all of your money is possible. Be cautious.

Here's a forum full of helpful people, including some well-renowned authors: diehards.org/forum/index.php