Tips for investing please.

[Subexistence]

How would tax reform change the domestic vs international situation

[wa3more]

who knows. If i knew that answer , i would be writing this on a beach in the bahamas.

I think the OP should just do what most said here and utilize an index.  OP can try to beat the market or be the market. Can't beat the market. Warren Buffett extended challenge to hedge funds 10 years ago that the S&P index would beat any fund and loser would donate 1m to charity. He had one taker. The fund lost by wide margin.

OP should keep it simple. Don't listen to the noise and most people are their own worst enemy by making things difficult.

[Anonymous]

Have you considered trying the robinhood app?

[Anonymous]

Hi FatDan!  Thanks for the suggestion.  I had not heard about the RH app.  Here is a review of it for folks like me who don't know much about it:

https://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/investing/robinhood-review/

It sounds like it really is designed for people who want to do frequent trading.  That likely is not our OP, since he's new to investing, and even highly experienced investors often limit their trading to once a year (say) when they rebalance. 

It also seems like its strength is for someone who needs his smartPhone to be his principal way of managing his investments.

But for frequent traders using smartphones it sounds like it is really good, according to the review.

[Subexistence]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Have you considered trying the robinhood app?

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I'll consider it for individual stocks occasionally.