Does anyone here have tips on buying stocks mutual funds etc... I'm not talking 401k ira's etc... investments I'm talking "private" investments. What companies/websites are better?
I know I should have a diversified portfolio, that is how my 401K's are set up

POT market. buy in sell before Trump crushes the dream.

What's a POT market? lol I got it now. You mean marijuana market.

boy I feel smart right now

I am fine with fidelity. I like low cost index funds ETF's

I am not too sophisticated but I like this one...like buying the whole SP 500. Very low fees too.

https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/SPY/

Buy low, sell high

Here's a tip: if you have debt, pay it off before considering other investments.

You may want to check out DRIP stocks. Dividend ReInvestment Plan

For mutual funds I will suggest Vangaurd.

What's your tolerance for risk?

I play the charts. Fundamentals are important, but being able to read a chart, and knowing when to pull the trigger is huge.

I relate it to baseball- Most people want to win the game by hitting a homerun or 2 and calling it good- finding the next Apple, Google or Microsoft. Too bad most homerun sluggers lead the league in strikeouts as well.

I play by trying to hit a ton of singles (get em on, move em up, move em in)- find stocks that are undervalued, buy them low, sell them on green and move on to the next one. Constantly taking profit off the table when it's there.

It's not for everyone and the learning curve can be brutal.

Lebowski I used fidelity with my last employer for 401k. I liked them at the time.
Lebowski, that makes it simile.
Pass-thru our debts are almost gone. I'm excited. Not planning on buying $1000+ worth. Just a share or few here and there. I know not a big money ticket out the gate.
Bob, what symbol is the vanguard your talking about? Part of my 401k was vested in vanguard and can't remember the symbol.
RKG I would say moderate. Like that analogy. Base hits win games.

Adam: I second Vanguard funds as a place to look into.

https://investor.vanguard.com/mutual-funds/

I use Scott Trade for my private stocks and have been real happy with it. I started direct depositing $25 a month several years ago, but am now up to $100 a month. I mostly invest in blue chips, but do take some risk from time to time with good research.

Get a solid foundation with a utilities drip fund as someone suggested. after you are solid, then you can play the riskier games.

I can make you a millionaire overnight. 100% guaranteed!!! Open a Scottrade account put a bunch of money into it and then do the exact opposite of what I do! If I invested in oil, Gas would be 5 cents a gallon the next day. If I invested in gold, someone would figure out a way to make it the next day. Yup, if you short sell anything I invest in, your money worries will be over.

When it comes to mutual funds why would you be excluding 401Ks or 403bs from what you call private firms or companies or funds? A fund is a fund it is how you set it up.
There may be some thoughts in looking at more longer term in a 401K if you are planning to buy and sell or move funds or accounts around a lot. If that be your case then mutual funds are less likely to be fast growers than stocks as they are managed to be more stable for the most part unless you invest in some of the funds that manage high risk or IPOs etc. One of the advantages of investing in non managed funds is that you don't have a manager buying and selling stocks inside the fund and those capital gains distribution taxes are paid by you, but then if growth is your goal you may want to pay the tax. Another way to do that is to invest your managed funds in your deferred funds and you won't pay any of those taxes until you start to withdraw and invest your non deferred funds in the non managed accounts and not pay tax until later or as much on an annual basis. It is not fun at times to pay considerable capital gains distribution tax for a given year even when the market had a negative return.

Bryce

I use Scottrade-soon to be Ameritrade.
I have been very lucky, but I got into trading for myself just after Obama took office and the growth since then has been GREAT. This has continued under trump.
I buy solid companies, most of which pay a decent dividend. I got tired of the low CD rates and, as they matured, put the money into stocks. It's grown over 300% in less than 9 years.

There will likely be a correction in the next year or so, so I'm looking for somewhere a little safer to park some of the money. I'll trade some growth for the security and buy back in when things get a bit cheaper. I haven't bought much in the last year or so.

Solid companies, with a decent yield, has worked for me so far-but what goes up must come down-I just hope it doesn't come down too hard.

Buy low cost index funds and plan on staying in them for the long term. They have very low fees which is important because they add up over time. I would try and bypass a financial advisor. They will be taking a cut and now the republican congress recently passed a bill that does not require the advisor to advise you to your best interest. It can be for their own interest.

I buy directly into the funds through my bank, USAA.

Oh and when the next bubble crashes our economy like the housing bubble did stay in and buy more because the recovery is where it is at. I bought heavily in the crash of 2008 and the market recovered 30% in the first couple years. That adds up.

Are you diversified? Bitcoin!!!!

I like and invest in financials