We update our list of the best stocks to buy each month using Finder’s proprietary algorithm. This list of the best stocks to buy now is a starting point for your own research and should not be taken as advice to buy any particular stock.
| Logo | Stock name and ticker | Stock description | YTD return | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | NVIDIA Corp (NVDA) | NVDA is a leading American technology company known for its graphics processing units (GPUs) and AI computing solutions. | 182.86% | |
 | PulteGroup Inc (PHM) | PHM is a prominent U.S. home construction company engaged in building and selling homes and communities nationwide. | 62.40% | |
 | Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) | Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) is a multinational technology company known for its software, hardware, and cloud computing products and services. | 43.17% | |
 | Assurant Inc (AIZ) | AIZ is a global provider of risk management products and services, specializing in insurance, extended warranties, and related protection services. | 31.07% | |
 | Diamondback Energy Inc (FANG) | FANG is an independent oil and natural gas company, primarily focused on exploration, development, and production in the United States. | 19.44% | |
 | Iron Mountain Inc (IRM) | IRM is a data management and information storage company, providing services like document storage, data protection, and secure shredding. | 18.52% | |
 | Walmart Inc (WMT) | WMT is a multinational retail corporation, one of the world’s largest, offering a wide range of products and services. | 15.32% | |
 | Visa Inc (V) | V is a global payments technology company known for its credit and debit card services, facilitating electronic financial transactions. | 14.63% | |
 | Targa Resources Corp (TRGP) | TRGP is a midstream energy company engaged in the gathering, processing, and transportation of natural gas and natural gas liquids. | 14.30% | |
 | Jacobs Solutions Inc (J) | J provides consulting, technical, scientific, and project delivery services for the government and private sectors in the United States and around the world. | 9.69% |
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A good way to get a good idea of the stock market as a whole is to look at the performance of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), which is the largest stock exchange in the world. It features over 2,800 stocks from some of the most valuable companies in the world including Apple, Tesla, Amazon, and Microsoft. Many of the most famous stock market indexes, such as the Dow Jones, NYSE Composite and S&P 500, track stocks listed on the NYSE.
You effectively want to find the stocks that have been mis-priced, before the market realizes that it’s mis-priced. There are a few ways to get an idea of which stocks are undervalued, which ones are overvalued and which ones are just right. Here are some of the strategies:
You’re in a good position to find the best stocks to buy if you’ve got a good idea of which stocks are trending, what some of the experts are saying and which sectors are doing well (or not doing well). As well as Finder, there are some good financial news sites such as Bloomberg and the Financial Times. These can help you stay on top of the latest trends and expert views.
Social media and forums, like Reddit and Twitter have been a good source of financial insight — but you should ensure that you trust the accounts you’re following. Look out for people with knowledge and experience in the subject.
Once you know which stocks are trending, find out why. There’s almost always a reason behind why people are talking about a specific stock — sometimes it’s really obvious, for example every time Apple releases a new product, something happens to its stock price. Other times, the answer might take a little digging.
Looking at news sites can be really helpful here. You can set news alerts or actively search for company names to find out what’s going on. Many stock trading apps offer stock watchlists and price alerts to help you find the stocks you want.
Traders who keep an eye on the news might be classed as “momentum investors” – people who like to capitalize on the continuance of a trend.
There are a couple of different types of analysis available for you to try, and in some cases, someone else can do it for you.
Both technical and fundamental analysts are hoping to find a stock which is underpriced by the wider market. If they’re confident in their assessment, they can find what they believe is a cheap stock to buy, and make a gain as the price rises.
But you don’t need to be a professional analyst to try it out. The GameStop frenzy in early 2021 showed that even the retail investor can give the institutional investors a run for their money. If you’re new to investing or trading and want to give it a shot – go for it. We’ve included some more detail below about the types of analysis.
Remember the golden rules: don’t invest more than you can afford to lose, and remember that your investments can go down as well as up.
Total beginners may want to consider picking a trading platform which manages all the investments for you, typically called robo-advisors, or take a look at index funds (a literal index of all the biggest companies in a given industry, country or region). These are considered a less risky way to start investing, as an index fund bundles together 100s or even 1000s of strong companies, diversifying the risk between them and making the failure of one less of a problem for the person doing the investing.
But if you’re dead set on diving straight into the deep end, the golden rule is to not invest more than you’re willing to lose. An individual stock can drop 10%, 20%, or 50%, or could crash to zero, so imagine that happening with the money you’re investing before you put any money in. A good rule of thumb: if a 20% crash will give you sleepless nights, you’re too heavily invested.
ETFs that track stock market indices, like the FTSE100 or S&P500, and blue chip stocks could be good beginner stocks, but that doesn’t mean they’re completely safe. If you create a diversified portfolio with some exchange traded funds, some blue chip stocks and those with good market cap and recent growth, then you can still add some riskier ones into the mix if you’re feeling brave.
Remember, there are absolutely no guarantees with any stock or investing strategy. So make sure you’re doing your research into a stock, regardless of how established the company is.
What Matt thinks about the best stocks to buy for beginners
Beginners may benefit the most by investing in a handful of stocks of companies they know and whose products they are familiar with. That said, beginners may want to build the core of their portfolio with broad market index funds to get the most diversification without requiring the market expertise needed for picking individual stocks.
— Matt Miczulski, Editor, Investments.
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