Ask HN: Do you invest in the stock market?

#1

Post by mg » Thu, Mar 29, 2012, 10:43 AM UTC

Im curious to know: Which companies are HN users invested in?

And if not: Which companies WOULD you invest in?

Re: Ask HN: Do you invest in the stock market?

#2

Post by Tzunamitom » Thu, Mar 29, 2012, 10:50 AM UTC

ARM Holdings

Re: Ask HN: Do you invest in the stock market?

#3

Post by vellum » Thu, Mar 29, 2012, 11:20 AM UTC

AAPL

Re: Ask HN: Do you invest in the stock market?

#4

Post by benjaminwootton » Thu, Mar 29, 2012, 11:38 AM UTC

vellum wrote: post #3

AAPL

I worry about Apple. They've had a great run, but where can their next $billion market come from?

To an extent, the current share price will be factoring in future growth on the same trajectory as we've observed over the last few years.

Re: Ask HN: Do you invest in the stock market?

#5

Post by ig1 » Thu, Mar 29, 2012, 11:47 AM UTC

vellum wrote: post #3

AAPL

If you work in the tech industry it probably makes sense not to invest in it. If there's a tech crash that damages your employability then you don't want it to damage your investment portfolio as well.

Re: Ask HN: Do you invest in the stock market?

#6

Post by acheron » Thu, Mar 29, 2012, 11:56 AM UTC

Index funds. You can't beat the market consistently. Maybe you can get lucky for awhile, but if you're relying on that, might as well go to Vegas and have more fun at it.

Re: Ask HN: Do you invest in the stock market?

#7

Post by rdl » Thu, Mar 29, 2012, 11:57 AM UTC

ig1 wrote: post #5

vellum wrote: post #3

AAPL

If you work in the tech industry it probably makes sense not to invest in it. If there's a tech crash that damages your employability then you don't want it to damage your investment portfolio as well.

Definitely true for single companies (ie don't hold only your employer's stock...), or for short term.

For a retirement fund, I still think tech gives the best 50 year returns, as a sector.

Re: Ask HN: Do you invest in the stock market?

#8

Post by forrestblount » Thu, Mar 29, 2012, 12:00 PM UTC

benjaminwootton wrote: post #4

vellum wrote: post #3

AAPL

I worry about Apple. They've had a great run, but where can their next $billion market come from? To an extent, the current share price will be factoring in future growth on the same trajectory as we've observed over the last few years.

The question with AAPL is really do you think smartphones and tablets, as product segments unto themselves, have reached market saturation? I think we'll still see massive increases in the sheer number of smartphones and tablets sold, and I think AAPL will manage to retain a significant (not necessarily a majority) market share.

Re: Ask HN: Do you invest in the stock market?

#9

Post by acheron » Thu, Mar 29, 2012, 12:00 PM UTC

vellum wrote: post #3

AAPL

I mentioned index funds somewhere else in the thread; possibly worth noting that if you invest in, e.g., a normal S&P500 fund, then you're de facto investing quite a lot in AAPL since it's going to be weighted by market capitalization.

If that's worrying, you can find "equal weighted" funds, that use the same funds as the index but weight everything equally -- essentially betting against AAPL and XOM in favor of slightly smaller companies. I offer no opinion as to whether that's a good idea or not.

Re: Ask HN: Do you invest in the stock market?

#10

Post by martinrue » Thu, Mar 29, 2012, 12:00 PM UTC

I trade Forex as a hobby. I find it fascinating to learn about an entirely different industry, yet in many ways see similarities with software development.

I've started a blog where I'm going to detail more of my trades and thoughts. To start with, I'm doing a short interview series with established financial traders about their day-to-day work, if anyone is interested: http://trading.martinrue.com