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Having a Roth IRA can be beneficial to account holders. However, if an account holder wants to make a withdrawal after they start investing, there are certain rules they have to follow. This TradingSim article will help people determine how they can make IRA withdrawals, even if they have a backdoor IRA. This article will also help Roth IRA owners whether they’re employed with a company or have a small business. This article will also highlight 10 stocks that Roth investors can add to invest with their accounts.

What are the rules for a Roth IRA withdrawal?

With the COVID-19 crisis, many people are having financial difficulties. Many people want to withdraw from their accounts to pay bills or take care of other expenses. When an account holder wants to make a withdrawal from their Roth IRA, they can easily make that choice. Financial expert Andy Robinson noted that account holders can make Roth IRA withdrawals.

“Your money isn’t untouchable. When you contribute to an IRA, your money isn’t locked away in some unattainable place. It’s not as easy to access as your checking account, but it is accessible,” wrote Robinson.

Robinson also noted that there are times that people can make withdrawals.

“I know that experts [say] “Don’t touch your retirement savings,” but there are a lot of exceptions where you can actually use that money if you run into real problems. It’s not locked up forever. Yes, you will have to pay some penalties on it, depending on how you’re using it, but if you need that money, it’s there, and it could be a safety net,” wrote Robinson.

What are the penalties of early Roth withdrawal?

If a person wants to make a Roth withdrawal, there is one benefit. Robinson noted that there are no penalties for early withdrawals.

“It’s also worth noting that if you use a Roth IRA, you can withdraw any contributions from it at any time, penalty-free,” wrote Robinson.

Some financial advisors say not to make Roth withdrawals

While some financial experts say it’s OK to make Roth withdrawals, others disagree. Riley Poppy is a financial planner and owner of Ignite Financial Planning in Seattle. He says that before making Roth withdrawals, account holders should try other options.

“Evaluate a personal loan, depending on what type of interest rate you might build a qualify for,” said Poppy.

Poppy also says that people should also try liquidating other accounts first.

“If you have investment accounts, you should think about liquidating taxable accounts first. traditional IRAs and 401(k)s second, and Roth IRAs last,” said Poppy.

“Consider taking money first from pre-tax accounts or traditional retirement accounts before Roth IRA accounts,” added Poppy..

He said that there’s more flexibility to withdrawals from other accounts.

“You have a little bit more flexibility since you can take out different shares. and you can really control the tax consequences a little bit better,” said Poppy.

SEP IRA — Roth IRA withdrawals can help account holders

Consulting a financial advisor is key to Roth

While Poppy doesn’t recommend Roth IRA withdrawals to his clients, he does see the advantages of Roth IRA withdrawals.

“If taking from a Roth IRA, it can be beneficial since you can access your basis or contribution tax-free without penalties,” said Poppy.

Financial Expert — Financial advisor can help people decide how to make Roth IRA withdrawal

Poppy notes that whatever decision account holders make, they should consult a financial advisor.

“Input from a good CPA and a good financial planner is really helpful. [They can help] you model it out in terms of what the impact long-term will be,” said Poppy.

Poppy said that account holders should consider if they replace the funds they’re withdrawing from Roth IRA’s.

“The key thing to remember is that you are reducing your future retirement income. Do you have a plan to replenish that?” said Poppy.

Can a Roth IRA withdrawal buy a home?

If a person needs extra money, they can use Roth IRA withdrawals to buy a home.

Eric Roberge is the CEO and lead advisor of Beyond Your Hammock, a a fee-only financial planning firm. He noted that Roth withdrawals can be used to purchase a home.

“If you no longer need your Roth IRA money for retirement, then you may be able to tap the account to generate the cash needed for the purchase,” Roberge says.

Jeffrey Levine is a certified public accountant (CPA) and the director of advanced planning with Buckingham Strategic Wealth. He said that if a person can take Roth withdrawals to buy a home with certain requirements.

“As long as your Roth IRA has been established for at least five years, you can use that money penalty-free for a home down payment. as long as it qualifies as a first-time home purchase,” said Levine.

“The nice thing about Roth IRA withdrawal is that the contributions you originally make can be withdrawn for anything. at any time without penalty. It’s when you get into the earnings that you run into trouble, ” said Cohen.

While a person can use the funds to buy a home, Cohen notes that “even if you keep contributing to another retirement account, taking money out of a Roth to buy a home incurs opportunity cost”.

Eric Roberge is the CEO and lead advisor of Beyond Your Hammock, a fee-only financial planning firm. He notes that a Roth withdrawal can be detrimental to account holders.

“If you’re using the Roth because that’s the only source of funding you have to make the purchase, that might be a red flag. If you’re stretching yourself financially to buy a house, then buying might not be the best idea,” said Roberge.

Roberge adds that a Roth withdrawal shouldn’t dip into an account holder’s savings.

What is the difference between traditional and Roth IRA withdrawals?

While both traditional and Roth IRA’s are both retirement accounts, there are differences between the withdrawals. In a traditional IRA, there are no penalties to withdrawals unless a person makes the withdrawal before they’re 59 1/2. Mike Piershale is president of Piershale Financial Group. He said that while there are penalties for traditional IRA withdrawal, there are exceptions.

“On a traditional IRA, generally you can’t withdraw until 59 ½, although there are all sorts of exceptions,” said Piershale.

Some of the exceptions include medical expenses and disabilities.

While he doesn’t advocate early withdrawal of Roths, he said waiting too long for a withdrawal is a mistake, too.

“When you retire, often people have what I call this ‘window of opportunity,’ where they have low-income years,” said Piershale.

Piershale said the first years of retirement are a good time to convert funds from a traditional IRA to a Roth. He said that an account holder shouldn’t convert too much or else they will get bumped up to a higher tax bracket.

“Convert just enough to keep you in the same tax bracket,” said Piershale.

With a traditional IRA, an account holder has to make required minimum withdrawals (RMD’s) at 70 1/2. Leslie Thompson is a certified financial planner at Spectrum Management Group. She said that account holders should consider their individual accounts before making withdrawals.

“You have to look at accounts collectively and individually. Each account can have its own distribution amount. [The RMD] is where a lot of mistakes happen,” said Thompson.

Don Chamberlin is the president and CEO of The Chamberlin Group. He advises account holders to make withdrawals when they’re in a low-income tax bracket.

“Because you’re taking money out early, your RMD at age 70 ½ will be less. The lower RMD could then result in lower taxes. That’s a strategy we use quite often because many people have a good portion of their assets in qualified retirement plans,” said Chamberlin.

If older account holders make early withdrawals, Thompson said it may affect Medicare payments.

“It has implications for what you pay for Part B premiums,” said Thompson. “Higher-income people pay more,” added Thompson.

Roth IRA withdrawals have more options for account holders

While traditional IRA holders face penalties, Roth IRA holders don’t face as many penalties. If an account holder had an account longer than five years, have a medical emergency, or are a first-time homebuyer.

CARES Act helps make Roth IRA withdrawals easier

The passage of the CARES (Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security) Act in March enabled account holders to make premature Roth IRA withdrawals. Dara Luber is the senior manager of retirement product at TD Ameritrade. She noted that with the bill’s passage, there are no required minimum withdrawals in 2020.

“One of the biggest provisions of the CARES Act is that there are no required minimum distributions (RMDs) for 2020. If you don’t need to take the money, you won’t have to,” said Luber.

Luber notes that there are penalty-free withdrawals if a person has been affected by coronavirus.

“Normally, you’d need to be at least 59 1/2 to take penalty-free withdrawals from your accounts,” said Luber. “However, under these rules, if you, your spouse, or a member of your family has been impacted by coronavirus, you may be able to take out money without paying that 10% penalty as long as you do it by December 31, 2020.”

Roth IRA withdrawal can benefit account holders

Mat Sorenson is the CEO & Attorney at Directed IRA & Directed Trust Company. He explained the new Roth IRA withdrawal rules.

“The new law increases the dollar amount you can loan yourself from your own 401(k) from $50,000 to $100,000 and also creates a penalty-free early distribution rule whereby IRA or 401(k) account owners under age 59-and-a-half can take a penalty-free retirement account distribution of up to $100,000,” wrote Sorenson.

Financial expert Michelle Singletary noted that people can repay the loan withdrawals within three years.

“You can repay all or a portion of the distribution within three years, and the repayments will not be counted toward the annual contribution limits”, said Singletary.

In the bill, seniors over 72 are also exempt from required minimum distributions.

“Additionally, the waiver covers the first RMD, which individuals may have delayed from 2019 until April 1, according to a summary of the Act’s provisions by Fidelity Investments,” noted Singletary.

Relaxed limits on Roth withdrawals are key in COVID-19 era

Financial expert Bill Biscoff noted that there are also no limits on how the COVID-19 related IRA withdrawal is used as well.

“In effect, the [CARES ACT] allows you to borrow up to $100,000 from your IRA(s) and repay the amount(s) any time up to three years later with no federal income tax consequences. And there are no limitations on what you can use [coronavirus-related distribution] funds for during the three-year period,” said Bischoff.

The “CARES Act” relaxes the rules on tapping retirement accounts, but only up to a $100,000 cap. If you take more than that, you’ll be subject to the old familiar tax and penalty rules.

If you have a Roth IRA, you have already paid income tax on that money, so any withdrawal won’t be subject to taxes now. In other words: get “post-tax” money before you tap into any “pre-tax” money.

Financial expert Suze Orman says Roth IRA withdrawals may not be wise

While many people may want to make Roth IRA withdrawals for extra money, financial analyst Suze Orman advises against that decision.

“If you take the money out, you’re racking in a 20-some percent loss right now, and you’re going to pay income taxes on that money, which will be another 20% or so,” said Orman.

Saving money with Roth IRA withdrawals is crucial

Orman advises Roth IRA holders not to take the Roth funds out before the stock market rebounds.

“If you take that money out and spend it, if you’re not frugal, if you’re just still living your lifestyle on some level, you will miss the best opportunity and the best time to have your money in the market that there’s ever been in about 10 years,” added Orman.

Top 10 Stocks for Roth IRA investors

1. Apple

While Orman argues that the stock market will rebound, here are 10 stocks that can be a good investment for Roth IRA’s. Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) stock should rise after the launch of its latest iPhone.

Analyst Jim Suva, senior tech analyst at Citi, is bullish on Apple stock.

“If we look at year to date, the stock has done extremely well. In fact, it has outperformed the Nasdaq, the S&P 500, the broader markets, it has rallied. … Simply put, Apple during this pandemic is generating a tremendous amount of cash flow. They’re inventing, they’re coming out with new products and … they’re hiring. A lot of industries are laying off people and doing furloughs and reductions of … hours of workers, we’re actually seeing that Apple is hiring,” said Suva.

“That means they’re coming out of the pandemic stronger and importantly, the products that you’re showing that Apple announced are going to be ready and on the shelves and available in large quantities for the holiday shopping season and that’s very important,” added Suva.

Joanna Stern is the personal technology columnist at The Wall Street Journal. She notes that the latest iPhone will help Apple reach more consumers and raise its stock.

Apple’s new products will help stock rise

“What is the benefit for normal consumers? Where are they going to feel the faster speeds? And regardless of if everything works perfectly, right, we’ve got good hardware, good network and you can get 5G all the time, what do you use the faster speeds for on your phone? Where is the answer to that question is the big thing. [CEO Tim] Cook did point out downloads,” said Stern.

“Certainly downloading video, downloading music, that’s going to be faster. They also did a lot of gaming demos where you can see things instantly rendering and talking about how this would be faster than your home Wi-Fi. That’s another good thing for some consumers, certainly, but the killer app, which is what this is all about, we don’t know yet and this is why Apple is betting and that’s why … the carriers need Apple to bet because it’s all about the new era,” added Stern.

Krish Sankar is the senior research analyst at Cowen. He said 5G could give Apple stock a boost.

“I would say in terms of the overall event a lot of the specs are largely in line with what the supply chain had been telegraphing for a long time. I thought the price point was very attractive although there was some speculation of the pricing late last week, so largely overall I’d say in-line event. … We did a survey where we found a lot of respondents will be willing to upgrade their smartphones because of 5G. We just think that actually this 5G could be a longer, stronger cycle,” said Sankar.

Apple is a great stock to add to Roth IRA investments.

2. Amazon

In addition to Apple, Amazon has boomed in the wake of COVID-19. Mizuho analyst James Lee said Amazon is a buy because of consistent sales.

“From our proprietary checks using Searchmetrics, U.S. search traffic maintained a consistent growth rate compared to 2Q20 at 14% [year-over-year],” Lee wrote in a note to clients. “With conversion rates rising during the pandemic, we believe that 3Q20 is tracking ahead of consensus revenue growth of 32% YoY, or 8 points of deceleration compared to 2Q20, partially due to the rescheduling of Prime Day this year, ” said Lee.

Amazon stock is a top choice for Roth IRA withdrawal replacements

Lee said the rise in online shopping will help Amazon this holiday season as well.

“By pulling some demand forward, the company is able to smooth out the peak in demand somewhat as it spreads it across a longer period, and exert less pressure on its fulfillment network, while still recognizing all the revenues in the fourth quarter. This is all the more important that with Covid-19 and the need for social distancing, consumers are likely to avoid the rush on physical stores, which typically starts around Black Friday weekend, and instead turn to online to satisfy their shopping needs,” said Lee.

Amazon is a key stock to add to a Roth IRA investment.

3. Netflix

Another stock that’s benefitted from COVID-19 is Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX). As more people quarantined, they watched the streaming service more than ever.

Steve Chiavarone is a portfolio manager, equity strategist, and vice president at Federated Hermes. He noted that Netflix is performing well because movie theatres are suffering as the coronavirus keeps people home.

“Cinemas are just a really tough space,” said Chiavarone.

NFLX - Flat for the day — Netflix is a top buy to supplement Roth IRA withdrawal

Chiavarone notes that Netflix stock is a growth stock that has staying power.

“The trend towards streaming is certainly in place,” he said. “We’ve seen a lot of the studios change their agreements where you’re now going to have a shorter period of exclusivity in the cinemas before getting programs onto streaming channels. I think in general the space is well-positioned. I think Netflix is the leader in that space and I think the secular trend is at their back,” said Chiavarone.

Jeffrey Wlodarczak is a financial analyst that is also bullish on Netflix stock.

“NFLX offers consumers an increasingly compelling unique entertainment experience on virtually any device, w/o commercials at a still relatively low cost. The company appears to operate in a virtuous cycle, as the larger their subscriber base grows (and their average revenue per user increases) the more they can spend on original content, which increases the potential target market for their service (and reduces existing subscriber churn) + enhances their ability to take future price increases (they are due for an increase as early as Jan 2021) and dramatically increases barriers to entry”, said Wlodarczak.

If an account holder wants to supplement their Roth IRA withdrawal, they can choose Netflix stock.

4. Zoom

Another stock that is a top pick for Roth IRA’s is Zoom (NASDAQ:ZM). The videoconferencing company is a ubiquitous presence since people have to work and attend school from home. BTIG analyst Matthew VanVliet says Zoom is a buy.

Zoom stock is a top stock to supplement Roth IRAs

“Overall the growth of the company has been unprecedented but as it expands well beyond a video-conferencing tool into a core human interaction platform forever augmenting how multi-modal interactions evolve into the future, the growth trajectory appears to only slow slightly,” said VanVliet.

“While much of the legacy environment is simply treading water, Zoom is pushing the envelope on product innovation and what the future of work / re-opening will actually look like rather than trying to form-fit existing tech to previous issues, which we believe will help Zoom emerge as the leading video platform that is pervasive across the entire IT landscape,” said VanVliet.

Zoom will grow as a Roth IRA withdrawal supplement

BofA Securities analyst Nikolay Beliov wrote in a note to clients that he believes that Zoom will continue to grow with new products.

“We believe Zoom’s increasing relevance and continued good execution translate into both near-term and long-term upside ,” wrote Beliov in a note to clients.

“Furthermore, new product releases and enhanced capabilities signal Zoom’s ambition to become a more holistic collaboration and workflow platform, vs a video and [unified communications as a service] solution,” added Beliov.

D.A. Davidson’s Rishi Jaluria also wrote to clients that Zoom stock is a good addition to Roth IRAs to supplement withdrawals.

“Our main takeaway was although [Zoom] has had strong traction in COVID-19, it is still underpenetrated and faces a massive market opportunity with runway for sustained growth post-COVID-19,” wrote Jaluria.

Zoom is a strong stock to supplement Roth IRA withdrawals.

5. Google

Google parent Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) is performing well during the COVID-19 crisis. Ensemble Capital rates Google stock as a buy.

“After rallying by over 20% in July and August, Google’s share price pulled back sharply in September during the market wide correction. We believe that Google’s shares remain undervalued and that while the pandemic has hurt business performance in 2020, that the core value of Google Search, YouTube and their other properties such Google Maps has not been permanently impaired in any way and in fact the post-COVID world likely depends even more heavily on Google’s digital tools,” said Ensemble Capital.

Google stock is a robust stock for Roth IRA holders who want to invest in tech.

6. Microsoft

Another tech stock that is doing well during COVID-19 is Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT). Microsoft had performed well because of its cloud technology. Jefferies analyst Brent Thill said that Microsoft is going to continue to rise because of its digital innovation.

“We were overwhelmed by the number of announcements and innovation at Microsoft’s digital event Ignite with some of the most noteworthy product announcements around Teams, communication, and security,” wrote Thill in a note to clients. Thill said he expects Microsoft will hit a price target of 240.

Mizuho Securities analyst Gregg Moskowitz said Microsoft is a strong stock and a good Roth IRA investment in the future.

“We view Microsoft as a diversified business with excellent visibility and these product enhancements should help sustain near double-digit revenue growth for the foreseeable future,” said Moskowitz.

Microsoft stock top for Roth IRA withdrawal supplement

Moskowitz also wrote that cloud technology will help the stock grow.

“Looking forward, we continue to believe Microsoft is positioning for even greater success in cloud,” said Moskowitz.

William Blair analyst Jason Ader also thinks that Microsoft is a buy.

“Microsoft sits in the enviable position of being able to capitalize on salient secular trends such as digital transformation, cloud migration, and DevOps,” said Ader.

Microsoft is a strong stock for Roth IRA withdrawal supplements.

7. Gilead

Gilead(NYSE: GLD) is a pharma stock that is helping people through this coronavirus crisis. Gilead’s COVID-19 treatment remedesivir has been touted as a top treatment that President Trump used during his bout with coronavirus. While remdesivir has not been proven to reduce mortality, it has been proven to reduce hospital visits for coronavirus patients. Raymond James analyst Steven Seedhouse noted that Gilead has some potential for growth.

Gilead stock a key stock for Roth IRA withdrawal supplement

“The updated data continue to suggest RDV provides only incremental benefit to some hospitalized patients but no clear mortality benefit. Recall the original corresponding NEJM publication for this trial pointed to a potential (but not yet stat sig) mortality benefit at day 14 that appeared driven really only by patients with baseline ordinal score of 5 (hospitalized, requiring any supplemental oxygen),” said Seedhouse.

With Gilead’s promising remedesivir treatment, the stock could be beneficial to Roth IRA holders.

8. Pfizer

In addition to Gilead, Pfizer (NYSE: GLD) is another pharma stock that is outperforming during the coronavirus pandemic. With a COVID-19 vaccine imminent, RBC Capital analyst Randall Stanicky rates Pfizer stock as a buy.

“We are encouraged by the data to date and believe Pfizer remains on track to have a clear sense of the vaccine’s profile by the end of October, with potential FDA approval shortly thereafter,” said Stanicky.

David Risinger, equity analyst at Morgan Stanley, also rates Pfizer stock as a good addition to Roth IRAs.

“With the announced deals to divest its Consumer and Upjohn businesses, PFE will be left with a cleaner platform in 2021 and beyond with best-in-class revenue and EPS growth through 2025. Importantly, that growth is not predicated on major pipeline contribution or acquisitions, providing solid visibility,” said Risinger.

“We project solid growth prospects, and the company’s COVID vaccine candidate offers optionality. Pfizer’s financials and dividend are set to adjust in 4Q20 when it completes the Viatris transaction. Pipeline execution will be key to investor perception, given late-decade patent expiration exposure,” added Risinger.

Analysts says Pfizer is a buy for Roth IRA’S

Risinger also predicts Pfizer has strong growth potential.

“Pfizer projects 2025 sales of $55.7 billion, which reflects 6%+ 5-yr CAGR (compound annual growth rate)’20-’25. Pfizer has strong growth potential in both existing and pipeline products – it forecasts $8 billion in incremental sales from each in 2025.

“Non-risk adjusted pipeline revenue is projected to be $15 billion+ by 2025, including $6 billion from Vaccines, $3 billion from Inflammation & Immunology, $3 billion from Rare Disease, and $3 billion from Oncology; risk-adjusted revenue is $8 billion. Prevnar 20V is not included as part of 2025 vaccine pipeline sales because it will cannibalize the existing 13V,” added Risinger.

Pfizer is a strong stock for Roth IRA’s.

9. IBM

IBM(NYSE:IBM) is a reliable dividend stock for Roth IRA’s. The company’s management spoke about its strong cloud tech division with Red Hat.

“Red Hat delivered strong results in the period with normalized revenue growth of 18%”, said IBM.

IBM stock good to prevent Roth IRA withdrawal

IBM noted that the growth was “driven by the synergistic effect of IBM and Red Hat” and that expansion helped IBM grow.

“Last August, we talked about how Red Hat would benefit from IBM’s incumbency in large accounts and leverage our global reach to expand into new markets,” said IBM.

“We’re seeing that where IBM and Red Hat come together, clients are making larger scale architectural commitments and longer-term and more strategic purchases. This quarter we had a significant increase in the number of Red Hat large deals”, added IBM management.

The company also “expanded Red Hat’s presence in underpenetrated focus markets.”

IBM CFO James Kavanaugh also spoke about the company’s strong balance sheet.

“Our prudent financial management in these turbulent times enabled us to expand our gross profit margin, generate strong free cash flow and improve our liquidity,” said Kavanaugh.

Kavanaugh also touted its strong dividend yield.

“The company also returned $1.5 billion to shareholders in dividends and stock buybacks. “We have the financial flexibility to continue to invest in our business and return value to our shareholders through our dividend policy,” said Kavanaugh.

For a strong dividend stock to prevent Roth IRA withdrawals, account holders can pick IBM.

10. NVDA

Nvidia(NASDAQ:NVDA) is a tech company that is performing well with its computing graphics.

Logan Purk is the senior equity analyst at Edward Jones in St. Louis. He details that the recent acquisition of British software company ARM gives NVDA “an all-in-one turnkey solution for AI deployments within data centers and smart electronics, further solidifying Nvidia’s lead within this fast-growing market.”

Purk also notes that its programming system makes the stock a cutting-edge buy.

“Nvidia’s proprietary programming architecture, called CUDA, makes its products easier to use, program and deploy, compared with other products,” said Purk.

“Given the company’s position in growth markets and our optimistic growth outlook, we believe shares are attractively valued for long-term investors,” said Purk.

“We rate Nvidia shares as a ‘buy’,” Purk says.

“In our view, Nvidia maintains an attractive position within its gaming markets, with nearly 70% market share. The company continues to expand its presence in the fast-growing data center and automotive markets, particularly with AI, which should lead growth over the long term,” added Purk.

Norm Conley is CEO and chief investment officer at JAG Capital Management in St. Louis. He said that Nvidia’s growth makes the stock a buy.

“NVDA’s valuation is demanding, but we think it’s reflective of the company’s leadership position in fast-growing end markets,” said Conley.

Conley sees little downside to Nvidia’s growth.

“From a fundamental perspective, we see little to pick on outside of the company’s exposure to an overall sluggish PC market and challenging automotive market given the current macro backdrop,” explained Conley.

Danielle Shay is the director of options at Simpler Trading in Austin, Texas. She also rates Nvidia a buy because of its recent acquisitions.

“Nvidia’s acuisition of (Arm’s) technology is very significant. It’s a space that AMD is not in currently. Because of the ARM acquisition, Nvidia will be able to breach more into the AI space and growth potential,” Shay explains.

Nvidia is a strong tech stock to add to Roth IRA’s.

Roth IRA withdrawals can be beneficial with proper planning

If an account holder need to make a Roth IRA withdrawal, there are many options that can be made. However, prudent planning is necessary to avlid mistakes and still keep the accounts healthy. With TradingSim’s blogs and charts, account holders can find the best stocks in which to invest their IRA’s. TradingSim can also help Roth IRA holders find the best information if they hve to make Roth IRA withdrawals.

When investors are choosing between stocks vs. ETF’s, QQQ(NASDAQ:QQQ) can be an excellent ETF(exchange-traded fund) choice for new investors. In this TradingSim article, I’ll explain why QQQ stock can be a great addition to investors’ portfolios. This article will also explain what top 10 holdings in QQQ are the best for investors who want to start early investing.

What is QQQ stock?

The Invesco QQQ is a popular ETF that tracks the NASDAQ 100, which is full of tech growth stocks. If investors want to own many tech stocks at once, they can choose QQQ stock that holds many tech stocks. The QQQ stock has $120 billion in assets.

What is TQQQ stock?

In addition to QQQ stock, investors can buy TQQQ stock (NASDAQ:TQQQ). The leveraged ETF uses debt and derivatives to increase the returns of the NASDAQ 100. When investors use leverage to track the TQQQ, they can use borrowed capital to buy assets to make the price movement impact grow.

For example, the TQQQ tracks the NASDAQ 100. If the NASDAQ 100 moves up 1%, a regular ETF moves up 1%. However, with a leveraged ETF like TQQQ, a trader can have a 2 or 3% gain if the NASDAQ 100 rises.

Financial expert David Kreinces from ETF Portfolio Management notes the strong performance history of the TQQQ stock.

“The historical performance data strongly favors the Nasdaq-100 3x (TQQQ) for core equity exposure. The unleveraged Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) appears to be the “next-generation S&P 500” and adding moderate leverage can be priceless at times. “In fact, TQQQ returned 80x your money over the past 10-years, while the S&P 500 delivered just under 3x, or 285% in total return,” wrote Kriences.

Kriences advocates that investors who want to choose high-risk ETF’s can pick TQQQ.

“Past performance can never guarantee future results, but a continuation of the TQQQ growth rate above would turn $500 into $2 million within 19 years. Even if the TQQQ rate of return falls by half, to 28% annualized, a $500 investment could still reach $2 million in 34 years. Given this extraordinary long-term growth potential, we named TQQQ the ‘American Dream ETF, ” wrote Kreinces.

ProShares advise caution about TQQQ

While Kreinces says investors should buy TQQQ, buying leveraged ETF’s can be risky for investors. Even the TQQQ issuer ProShares warns traders that keeping the TQQQ stock too long can increase risk.

“Due to the compounding of daily returns, ProShares’ returns over periods other than one day will likely differ in amount and possibly direction from the target return for the same period. These effects may be more pronounced in funds with larger or inverse multiples and in funds with volatile benchmarks,” noted ProShares.

While investing in TQQQ can have a huge payoff, traders should still exercise caution when buying the ETF with leverage.

Why should investors buy QQQ stock to track the NASDAQ 100?

If investors are interested in QQQ stock, they’re making a good choice since it follows the NASDAQ 100. The NASDAQ 100 has some advantages over the Dow Jones. While the Dow Jones only has 30 stocks, the NASDAQ 100 has three times as many stocks in its index. As the Dow Jones changes the stocks in its index, the NASDAQ 100 doesn’t have human input into which stocks are in that index.

In addition to being more rules-based, the NASDAQ 100 is outperforming the Dow Jones. While the Dow Jones had a volatile year, the NASDAQ 100 soared. As Sarah Ponzcek noted in Bloomberg, large-cap tech stocks are a strong buy.

“Last year, when the economy and earnings were booming, the Nasdaq 100 Index put together its best rally in a decade, rising 38%. In 2020, amid a raging recession and plunge in profits, it’s doing a little less well: up 37%,” wrote Ponzcek.

“Megacap tech firms have emerged as unshakable market leaders. Adored for their sturdy balance sheets and business models that not only hold up in a lock-downs but excel, the Nasdaq 100’s performance is making history by the day,” added Ponzcek.

Here are 10 of QQQ’s top tech holdings that are part of the ETF.

1. Amazon

Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) is a QQQ holding that had an incredible last quarter. The e-commerce behemoth reaped $89 billion in profits during the nationwide quarantine. As people stayed home, they ordered from the company’s website in record numbers. Because of the massive increase in Amazon’s revenue, CEO Jeff Bezos’ net worth ballooned to $200 billion. During the Q2 2020 earnings report, Bezos spoke about the results and how the company was contributing to keep workers safe during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“As expected, we spent over $4 billion on incremental COVID-19-related costs in the quarter to help keep employees safe and deliver products to customers in this time of high demand—purchasing personal protective equipment, increasing cleaning of our facilities, following new safety process paths, adding new backup family care benefits, and paying a special thank you bonus of over $500 million to front-line employees and delivery partners,” said Bezos.

Bezos tried to quell the controversy about Amazon having temporary, part-time workers by speaking about the full-time employees the company added.

“We’ve created over 175,000 new jobs since March and are in the process of bringing 125,000 of these employees into regular, full-time positions,” said Bezos.

In addition, Bezos touted how much money Amazon pumped in to the economy.

“Third-party sales again grew faster this quarter than Amazon’s first-party sales. Lastly, even in this unpredictable time, we injected significant money into the economy this quarter, investing over $9 billion in capital projects, including fulfillment, transportation, and AWS [Amazon Web Services],” said Bezos.

Amazon wants to increase empire with wearables

With its dominance in e-commerce, Amazon wants to get into the $50 billion fitness tracker market. Amazon is launching its Halo device to sell to consumers. Halo’s vice-president, Melissa Cha, spoke about the research that went into developing the Halo wearable.

“We did a global search to find the best experts. We found cardiologists, fitness experts, and people who had spent their careers researching sleep and wellness,” said Cha.

Analysts say Amazon is a top QQQ holding

Because of its meteoric growth, Daniel Salmon, an analyst at BMO Capital Markets rates Amazon a buy. He said that Amazon’s “long-term opportunity is stronger than ever, and we also continue to see outperformance over the next 12 months.”

In addition to BMO Capital, Wedbush is bullish on the e-commerce stock. Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter wrote in a note to clients the consumer demand led to a short-term strain on Amazon’s supply.

“Consumers are clearly spending more of their time and money shopping online in order to avoid crowds, driving the supply shortages and delivery delays on non-essential items that Amazon has disclosed in [April],” wrote Pachter.

Canaccord’s Maria Ripps said the continued increase in online shopping should help Amazon’s stock in the long term.

“Over the long-term, we[Canaccord] anticipate that the COVID-19 pandemic will accelerate existing eCommerce trends, benefitting platforms such as Amazon,” said Ripps.

Ripps also sees growth from its Amazon Web Services.

“For AWS, we [Conaccord] see revenue growing 36% year-over-year (vs. 34% in Q4) as demand for cloud computing also spiked in Q1 due to COVID-19, leading to pricing power that should drive AWS operating margin back to 27% (vs. ~26% in full year 2019),” said Ripps.

Amazon is a high-performing part of QQQ’s stock holdings.

2. Google

Google parent Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) is another profitable QQQ holding. Google’s Q2 2020 earnings slightly dipped from last year with $38 billion in revenue. However, Google is still performing well overall. CEO Sundar Pichai spoke about how more people used Google services more during the quarantine.

“We’re working to help people, businesses and communities in these uncertain times. As people increasingly turn to online services, our platforms — from Cloud to Google Play to YouTube — are helping our partners provide important services and support their businesses,” said Pichai.

Ruth Porat, Google’s chief financial officer, also spoke about Google’s success with cloud technology.

“In the second quarter our total revenues were $38.3B, driven by gradual improvement in our ads business and strong growth in Google Cloud and Other Revenues. We continue to navigate through a difficult global economic environment,” said Porat.

Google a buy to some analysts

Financial expert Maria Ripps thinks that despite a decline in ad revenue, Ripps says the stock is a buy.

“Somewhat offsetting these advertising trends, we also see COVID-19 likely driving heightened demand for cloud computing as some online businesses see a surge in demand from increased time spent at home while others are forced to migrate systems and employees to remote operations,” said Ripps.

Google is a strong holding in QQQ’s ETF.

3. Apple

In addition to Google, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) is a QQQ top holding. The tech giant’s Q3 2020 earnings report surpassed expectations with $59.7 billion in revenue.

CEO Tim Cook spoke about the company’s results.

“Our June quarter performance was strong evidence of Apple’s ability to innovate and execute during challenging times. The record business results drove our active installed base of devices to an all-time high in all of our geographic segments and all major product categories. We grew EPS by 18% and generated operating cash flow of $16.3 billion during the quarter, a June quarter record for both metrics,” said Cook.

Cook also spoke about Apple’s efforts to contribute its profits to social change measures.

“This is a challenging moment for our communities, and, from Apple’s new $100 million Racial Equity and Justice Initiative to a new commitment to be carbon neutral by 2030, we’re living the principle that what we make and do should create opportunity and leave the world better than we found it,” said Cook.

Apple stock split may help QQQ stock grow

Apple recently announced a four-for-one stock split to make the stock more affordable to investors.

“The Board of Directors has also approved a four-for-one stock split to make the stock more accessible to a broader base of investors. Each Apple shareholder of record at the close of business on August 24, 2020, will receive three additional shares for every share held on the record date, and trading will begin on a split-adjusted basis on August 31, 2020,” said Apple in a statement.

Morgan Stanley’s Katy Hubert spoke about the Apple stock split.

“In the 3 and 6 months following past stock split, Apple shares have also outperformed the S&P 500, albeit by a lesser degree – by a median of 700bps and 610bps, respectively (1). The most significant post-split outperformance came in C2H14 after the 7-for-1 stock split (2), although this period also coincided with strong outperformance of the iPhone 6,” said Hubert.

Hubert also noted that the stock split may not be as influential on Apple stock as a future iPhone. However, she sees that the stock split will help the company’s stock.

“Nevertheless, we don’t believe the stock-split will be a “sell the news” type of event among institutional investors given the increasing expectations for the fall iPhone launch, and therefore the increase in retail demand following Monday’s stock split is more likely to be a positive catalyst for Apple shares, in our view,” said Hubert.

“Following Apple’s 4-for-1 stock split, we’d expect near-term retail demand for Apple shares to increase, especially given the current market environment (retail traders have accounted for up to 25% of stock market activity during the pandemic vs. 10% in 2019, although we’d note that retail investors have already been able to buy fractional shares, so the overall retail impact may not be as overwhelming as some perceive,” added Hubert.

Apple’s stock soared 30% after the stock split announcement. In QQQ stock, Apple is a valuable holding.

4. Tesla a key QQQ stock holding

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) is a valuable holding in QQQ stock. The company has become the most valuable car corporation worth $209 billion.

Tesla has strong Q2 2020 earnings report

In its latest revenue report, CEO Elon Musk spoke about the company’s $6 billion in revenue.

“First of all, I’d like to thank the Tesla team for exceptional execution in the second quarter despite tremendous difficulties. They’ve done an incredible job, and it’s an honor to work with such a great team. I mean, there were so many challenges, too numerous to name, but they got it done and just what a great group to work with,” said Musk.

“Like I said, it’s just an honor to work with such a great team. And as a result, we were able to achieve our fourth consecutive profitable quarter. And although the automotive industry was down about 30% year over year in the first half of the year, we managed to grow deliveries in the first half of the year. So despite that massive industry decline, we actually went up, ” added Musk.

Musk also touted Tesla’s positive cash flow.

“On cash flows, our cash balance increased to our highest level yet of $8.6 billion, which included free cash flows of over $400 million. This is a strong result on its own despite an increase in capital expenses associated with Shanghai and Berlin, as well as movements in working capital,” said Musk.

Tesla stock split boosts shares

Similar to Apple, Tesla is also enacting a five-for-one stock split to make shares easier for investors to buy. Since the stock announcement, Tesla stock skyrocketed 76%.

Some analysts say stock splits help QQQ stock

Wedbush’s Dan Ives believes the split will help Tesla as a QQQ holding.

“We believe the stock split decision was a smart move by Tesla and its board, given the parabolic move in shares over the past six months, with another stock split by Apple and likely other larger tech stalwarts will follow this same path over the coming months, in our opinion,” Ives wrote in a note to clients.

He added that Tesla and Apple shares should continue to rise after the stock splits.

“I think this was a smart move by the companies and the board[s] and ultimately I think there’s going to be more stalwarts that follow. And I think right now, they’re just in a position of strength if you see what’s happening in terms of the market, of course on the EV[electric vehicle] side with Tesla and then Apple going into a supercycle. And this was the smart move at the right time in terms of the stock split and I view it as putting more sort of gasoline in the tank in terms of these stocks moving higher.”

JJ Kinahan is the chief market strategist at TD Ameritrade. He believes that the stock splits will lead to more demand for Tesla and Apple stock.

“I do think it will add to some increased demand. It’s become a lot more affordable for people overall,” said Kinahan.

Some experts think stock split will hurt QQQ stock

While some analysts are bullish on the stock splits, some are wary of the stock splits. Sarat Sethi, the managing partner at Douglas C. Lane, thinks that the stock split will hurt the long-term investors in QQQ stock.

“I think the idea that you can have more pieces of a pie for the same pie is concerning, especially for long-term investors and I think the ability for some of the retail investors to get in there and trade. So, that’s kind of making me a little wary when you look at how fast some of these stocks are moving when they’re announcing splits and some of the stocks that are just moving in these huge ranges even though the broader market’s not moving”, said Sethi.

Leon Cooperman is the Omega Family Office chairman and CEO. He doesn’t think that the stock split will help QQQ stock.

“Everybody understands that splits don’t create value. My dad once told me if he gave me five singles for a $5 bill, I’m no better off. … Apple’s up 30% with the S&P up 6% and everybody’s talking about the split. The splits don’t create any value,” said Cooperman.

Roger McNamee, co-founder of Elevation Partners, is also bearish on tech stocks in the QQQ ETF.

“I look at the market. I look at the stock split. And you never know when the momentum’s going to end, and I’m not trying to make a call on that issue. I’m just saying that, for me, this is enough. It’s been a great ride. And it’s not just Apple that I’ve been selling. I’m looking broadly through my tech portfolio — and I own a bunch of names — and I have been reducing positions across the board simply because I want to reduce the level of risk I’m taking in the market,” said McNamee.

5. Facebook

Facebook a profitable holding in QQQ stock

QQQ holdingFacebook (NASDAQ:FB) is a profitable QQQ holding. The social media giant had a healthy Q2 2020 earnings report. Chief financial officer Dave Wehner spoke about the company’s results.

“Q2 total revenue was $18.7 billion, up 11% or 12% on a constant-currency basis,” said Wehner.

Wehner noted that Facebook’s ad revenue increased as well.

Facebook stock a profitable QQQ stock holding

“Had foreign exchange rates remained constant with Q2 of last year, total revenue would have been $297 million higher. Q2 ad revenue was $18.3 billion, up 10% or 12% on a constant-currency basis,” said Wehner.

Maria Ripps said Facebook could benefit from people meeting more online and from “virtually all social interactions have been moved online during the pandemic.”

6. Netflix

Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) is a top holding in QQQ. The streaming company had an impressive Q2 2020, with $6.15 billion in revenue. During the quarantine, many people stayed home and watched the thousands of shows available on the streaming service, like Tiger King, Self-Made, and Love is Blind. After the last earnings report, chief financial officer Spence Neumann spoke about the positive results.

“We just added 10 million members, which is the largest growth we’ve ever had in a second quarter. And if you look at the — so we kind of look at the totality across the Q2 and Q3 period”, said Neumann.

Financial experts bullish on Netflix stock

Because of Netflix’s strong subscriber growth, Jefferies analyst Alex Giaimo said Netflix is a key QQQ holding.

“While the soft third-quarter outlook may put the stock in the penalty box near-term, there is no change to our positive long-term thesis. We view Netflix as a consistent high double-digit growth story with sizable margin expansion over time,” said Giaimo.

In addition to Jefferies, Jeff Sica is a financial advisor that is bullish on Netflix stock. He thanks Netflix has an advantage because of its dominance in online content. The streaming service is often the first choice for producers of programming that reaches a wide audience.

“The real story with Netflix is that many producers always want Netflix to be their first choice of distribution. This is why they will continue to have the advantage in content,” said Sica.

Netflix is a tech stock that helps make QQQ stock a top pick for investors.

7. Zoom

Videoconferencing website Zoom (NASDAQ:ZM) had a spectacular Q2 with revenue of $663 million. That number surpassed the expected $500 million Wall Street expected. During the worldwide quarantine, millions of people used Zoom to work and communicate with each other. Zoom’s chief financial officer Kelly Steckleberg spoke about the results.

“Q2 was a remarkable quarter for Zoom as we continued to rapidly grow and invest in our business to meet the demands of our customers and communities. Let me start by reviewing our financial results for Q2, then discuss our outlook for Q3 and the increased view of our full-year FY ’21. Total revenue grew 355% year over year to $664 million in Q2,” said Steckleberg.

Analysts rate Zoom a buy for investors

Zoom’s stock is part of a reason that QQQ stock is a top pick for investors. Walravens is bullish on the QQQ stock holding.

“I have been doing this for 20 years, and I have never seen a story like this one. And it shows you the power of a really well-run company with a good mission that has exactly the service everyone needs in a crisis,” said Walravens.

Morgan Stanley also rates Zoom a buy. Before the company’s earnings report, the firm expected Zoom to surpass Wall Street expectations.

“Morgan Stanley analysts said ahead of the report that buy-side analysts expected Zoom to beat its own forecast by about 30%”, said the firm.

8. Nvidia

As a tech holding in QQQ stock, Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) is a stock that is performing well in the ETF. The chipmaker had an impressive Q2 2020 earnings report. Founder Jensen Huang spoke about the company’s record $3.8 million revenue.

“Adoption of NVIDIA computing is accelerating, driving record revenue and exceptional growth. Growth in GeForce gaming accelerated as gamers increasingly immerse themselves in realistic virtual worlds created by NVIDIA RTX ray tracing and AI,” said Huang.

The company noted that despite COVID-19, its next-generation gaming cards will help Nvidia’s profits. During the pandemic, the gaming industry has soared as many people stay home. Nvidia provides many of the gaming cards for popular games like Fortnite.

“Despite the pandemic’s impact on our professional visualization and automotive platforms, we are well-positioned to grow, as gaming, AI, cloud computing and autonomous machines drive the next industrial revolution around the world,” said Huang.

Analysts bullish on Nvidia stock

Wells Fargo analyst Aaron Rakers noted that the Ampere graphics processing units will have a price increase. That upgrade can lead to Nvidia stock growth.

“The new Ampere lineup carries the same price points as the prior Turing GeForce line-up w/ GeForce RTX 3080 priced at $699. This compares to some reports pointing to a potential like-to-like increase; note that prior gen Turing (2018) and Pascal (2016) had $100 and $50 price increases, respectively,” said Rakers.

Mizuho analyst Vijay Rakesh also thinks the graphics processing units will help boost Nvidia stock.

“We believe the combination of a strong 3D rendering GPU platform boosted by RTX and AI drive a step up in its value proposition for developers and gamers and create a deeper moat versus the competition for NVDA,” said Rakesh.

Cowen also says Nvidia key part of QQQ stock

Cowen analyst Matthew Ramsay also thinks Nvidia’s chips for gaming devices make the stock a buy.

“We believe Nvidia is pricing the cards aggressively to ensure it maintains its dominant gaming ecosystem leadership and wallet-share given upcoming new GPU launches from Advanced Micro Devices Inc.’s Big Navi line, and new Sony/Xbox game consoles,” said Ramsey.

“Coupled with strong underlying gaming demand driven by COVID-19, we do expect the 3080 to represent a compelling upgrade for consumers, and expect that product cycle to drive gaming growth for the next several quarters,” added Ramsey.

9. Microsoft

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) is a top tech holding that is in QQQ stock. The tech giant had a profitable Q2 2020. With many people home quarantined, many people used Microsoft’s cloud technology. Chief financial officer Amy Hood touted the results.

“This quarter, revenue was $36.9 billion, up 14% and 15% in constant currency. Gross margin dollars increased 22% and 25% in constant currency. Operating income increased 35% and 39% in constant currency, and earnings per share was $1.51, increasing 37% and 41% in constant currency”, said Hood.

“Revenue was $11.9 billion, increasing 27% and 28% in constant currency, ahead of expectations, driven by continued customer demand for our hybrid offerings,” said Hood.

Microsoft also spoke about the company’s cloud growth with its Azure division.

“On a significant base, server products and cloud services revenue increased 30% and 32% in constant currency. Azure revenue grew 62% and 64% in constant currency, driven by another quarter of strong growth in our consumption-based business across all customer segments,” said Hood.

Experts bullish on Microsoft stock

Because of Microsoft’s Q2 2020 impressive earnings report, Amana Mutual Funds says the stock will continue to grow.

“Microsoft has done an excellent job building its Azure cloud services business, while we believe a strong period of semiconductor demand will arrive in the new decade supporting Microchip and Taiwan Semiconductor. Whether the rally starts in 2020 or 2021 remains to be seen but recent signs have been positive,” said Amana.

Microsoft’s Azure cloud technology has also made the company’s stock a buy to other financial analysts.

Wedbush’s Dan Ives said that Microsoft “has seen robust cloud deal activity around Azure in the field during the June quarter with modest cloud upside expected, as this current work from home environment is further catalyzing more enterprises to make the strategic cloud shift with Microsoft across the board.”

As more customers use Microsoft Teams and other products to work from home and communicate, Microsoft is a solid part of QQQ stock.

10. Adobe

In addition to Microsoft, Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE) is a tech holding that’s boosting QQQ stock. Adobe had a strong Q2 2020, with more customers using the company’s Photoshop and Document Cloud e-signing technology. The software company’s CEO Shantanu Narayen touted the company’s robust results.

“Adobe drove strong Q2 performance across Adobe Creative Cloud, Adobe Document Cloud, and Adobe Experience Cloud. We delivered $3.13 billion in revenue in Q2, representing 14% year-over-year growth. GAAP earnings per share for the quarter was $2.27, and non-GAAP earnings per share was $2.45,” said Narayen.

“We continued to drive strong adoption for Adobe Sign, our cloud-based electronic signature solution, with usage increasing 175% since the start of our fiscal year. Mobile usage exploded with Acrobat Reader installations increasing 43% year-over-year and Adobe Scan installations, up 66% year-over-year,” added Narayen.

Experts say Adobe is vital part of QQQ stock

With Adobe’s strong last earnings report, Amana Mutual Funds say investors should add QQQ stock to their portfolio.

“Digital media leader Adobe has also appeared as a top contributor over multiple years. Its appreciation wasn’t as great but it’s a large position, leading to the strong contribution,” said Amana Mutual Funds.

Qualivian Investment Partners is also bullish on Adobe as part of QQQ stock. Despite Adobe’s diminished sales in its Digital Experience division, but still is a top holding in the QQQ ETF.

“ADBE Reported strong Q2 results in the Digital Media and Document Cloud segments. The third segment, Digital Experience, was negatively impacted by COVID which led to a decline in advertising and delays in booking and consulting services for enterprises. COVID also negatively impacted the small and medium-size business segment. The business model and market position of Adobe remains strong and we have confidence in it as a long-term holding,” said Qualivian Investment Partners.

Adobe’s 14% growth from a year ago shows that many people are dependent on tech to navigate working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic.

QQQ stock a good addition to investors’ portfolios

With the most profitable tech holdings in the world, QQQ stock would be a strong choice for any trader or investor. QQQ is an ETF that is a one-stop shop for the best tech stocks on the NASDAQ. With TradingSim’s charts and blogs, traders can monitor QQQ and practice trading before diving into one of the most prominent ETFs in the stock market.

There is an old saying about the stock market: ” A bull market will climb a wall of worry, while a bear market will slide a slippery slope of hope.” Loosely translated, that means that a bull market may have periods of decline, while a bear market may have short-term rallies. With the current upswing in stocks during the end of the bear market, is it safe to say Wall Street has recovered from COVID-19?

In this TradingSim article, I’ll explore whether the latest rallies mean that the stock market is in a sustained recovery for new investors. I’ll also write about 10 stocks that are performing well and driving the recent Wall Street rebound.

What is a slope of hope?

A slope of hope is a glimmer of hope in a bearish market. The phrase comes from financial expert Robert Prechter. He noted that even if stock prices are falling, there’s still hope for a rally. He explained the meaning of the phrase in 2010.

“Even though the market is about to begin its greatest decline ever, the era of hope is not quite finished. For as long as another year and a half, there will be rallies, fixes, hopes and reasons to believe in recovery. Our name for this phase of the bear market is the ‘Slope of Hope’,” said Prechter.

Is the U.S. still in a recession?

Even though the stock market is recovering, the U.S. economy at large is still struggling. The country’s gross domestic product (GDP) contracted at 32.9%, the largest drop since the Great Recession in 2009.

Nariman Behravesh, chief economist at IHS Markit, noted that while some industries like construction and dentistry are doing well, others like airlines are still struggling. The oil industry and natural gas ETFs are especially hit hard by decreased oil prices.

“It’s very much a sort of two-tiered economy right now,” said Behravesh.

Van Eck natural gas dropped during bear market

When the GDP plummets for two quarters in a row, that means the U.S. is in a recession. While the economy is cratering, this recession is different from the previous one ten years ago. Liz Ann Sonders, Schwab’s chief investment strategist, notes that the nationwide shutdown caused the current recession.

“We’ve never had a full-stop economic shutdown by government mandate ever in history,” said Sonders.

This recession is in contrast to the one caused by the collapse of big banks in 2008.

Why are stocks sliding down the slope of hope?

While the economy is still sluggish, stocks have been on a volatile ride. As Sonders noted, the rollercoaster ride of the stock market over the last few months has been unprecedented.

‘We went from an all time high on February 19 to down 35% on March 23 at a record clip, the fastest move from an all-time high to bear market territory in history. But the speed with which the rebound happened is unlike anything we’ve seen before,” said Sonders.

Senior economists like Bob Schwartz is optimistic that low mortgage rates and an increase in housing activity will help spur the stock market.

“Record-low mortgage rates, the onset of spring and improving sentiment are spurring a burst of activity in the housing market. For the most part, economic indicators are showing more strength than expected, confirming that the worst of the COVID-19 recession is behind us,” said Schwartz.

Ironically, the economic hardships that many Americans are experiencing are helping drive optimism in the stock market. When the COVID-19 crisis started, many people had to quarantine and miss work. The government paid out $1,200 economic stimulus checks to Americans to supplement missed income. As a result, many Americans finally had money to spend on household goods and food, which spurred Wall Street optimism.

Economic analysis firm IHS Markit noted that increased spending helped the economy.

“Household spending has benefited from federal stimulus payments (“economic impact payments”) and been reinforced by the return to work for some employees,” noted IHS Markit.

Jurrian Timmer is the director of global macro at Fidelity Investments. He’s another financial expert who believes that the stock market is a leading indicator about the economy’s eventual road to recovery.

“Typically the market will start declining before a recession is visible and it will start recovering about four months before the end of a recession”, said Timmer.

When did the slope of hope start?

While the economy is in a recession, ironically, the stock market has been climbing. Quincy Krosby is a chief media strategist at Prudential Financial. He commented that the stock market tends to rise and fall based on future hopes, not current reality. For example, in May, despite high unemployment and civil unrest, the stock market climbed. That was because of news about possible coronavirus vaccines.

“Every time there has been a positive announcement regarding a vaccine, it’s had a halo effect on the market. This is a market that has been desperate to see the other side of this, and the only way it can do that, is watching those announcement from the companies moving towards a vaccine,” said Krosby.

Why is the stock market rising despite negative economic news?

Despite the negative news about the overall economy, Krosby commented that the stock market is often independent of the economy.

“The market always seems heartless, without any emotion, without caring, without empathy. But that’s the nature of the market. The algorithms almost certainly have no shred of empathy. They’re not supposed to,” said Krosby.

Nicholas Colas is co-founder of DataTrek Research. He notes that the stock market has a history of rising despite volatility outside Wall Street.

“There are many valid reasons to be bearish on risk assets like stocks or corporate debt just now, but history shows markets look through many sorts of tumultuous events and have done so for decades. That may seem counterintuitive, and perhaps not even ‘fair,’ but it’s absolutely true,” said Colas.

Sam Stovall is the chief investment strategist at investment research firm CFRA. He’s bullish on the stock market and believes that the recent rally is a sign of long-term recovery.

“I think the March 23 low will eventually be regarded as the start of the new bull market,” said Stovall.

“The reason for my optimism is the massive amount of stimulus,” added Stovall.

Some economists are pessimistic about stock market recovery

While many economists are bullish on the stock market, some are bearish. James Montier is a behavioral economist who writes that the stock market may not recover so quickly. He writes that the economy may not recover as fast if struggling small businesses don’t rebound as well.

“The impact on business in terms of bankruptcies and lower investment will also be key. It is easy to imagine that in the wake of the virus, entrepreneurs may be hesitant to try and start new businesses, which are often said to be the lifeblood of the U.S. economy. Sadly, many businesses will have failed due to the effects of the pandemic, and even those that do survive may likely find their animal spirits dampened significantly,” wrote Montier.

Montier added that while he isn’t trying to predict the future of the stock market, Wall Street is still trying to predict the future with certainty.

“I don’t know the answers to these questions, and I am going to refrain from participating in the very popular trend of becoming an armchair epidemiologist or virologist, but I do know that these questions and many others exist,” said Montier.

“I am also certainly not in the business of trying to second-guess how the future will unfold, but I do know that anyone claiming certainty of foresight is likely to be sorely disappointed. And yet, Mr. Market appears to be doing exactly that,” added Montier.

Some analysts say stock market is still on wall of worry instead of slope of hope

In addition to Montier, Doug Ramsey is chief investment officer and portfolio manager at the Leuthold Group. He’s skeptical that the latest rally will match the last bull market rally in 2009.

“The current rally is either the first up-leg of a new bull market or the second-largest bear-market rally in the past 125 years,” said Ramsey.

“I’m trying to look at the glass as half-full, but how can we embark on a multiyear bull market when we’re at valuations that are so much higher than what they were at the same stage of the last bull market?” added Ramsey.

Ryan Detrick is a senior investment strategist at LPL Financial. He notes that there is no way to predict what will happen in the stock market during this volatile year.

“There are no roller coasters that can replicate what stocks have done so far in 2020,” said Detrick.

Despite the volatility of the stock market, there are some stocks that are performing well. Here are ten stocks that are doing well despite the pandemic.

1. Clorox

Clorox stock (NYSE:CLX) has been a top performer since the quarantine. With a demand for cleaning products, the company’s antiseptic wipes have been in high demand. Clorox stock roared up 54% this year. The stock has jumped 16.6% just over the past three months.

Clorox had excellent Q3 2020 earnings

In its Q3 2020 earnings, Lisah Burhan, Clorox’s vice-president of investor relations, spoke about Clorox’s positive earnings report. Clorox’s Q3 revenue surged 15% to $1.78 billion.

Clorox stock is climbing, leading to a slope of hope

“The business had another quarter of double-digit sales growth behind continued elevated demand across the portfolio,” said Burhan.

“While we’ve been able to add significant capacity, demand still far exceeds supply, leading to continued out-of-stocks for many products,” added Burhan.

Clorox’s CEO, Benno Dorer, noted that in Q3 2020, Clorox is still trying to meet demand for its cleaning wipes that were flying off shelves during the quarantine.

“Since Q3, we were able to bring on more than 10 new suppliers to help us maximize our output, not just for disinfecting products, but for other parts of our portfolio too,” said Dorer.

“For disinfecting products, we’re continuing to run our plants 24/7, and we’ll be bringing more disinfecting capacity online in the midterm. With all the levers we’re pulling to expand output, I am confident in our ability to do better for our customers and consumers,” added Dorer.

Analysts rate Clorox stock as a buy

Because of Clorox’s strong sales, many analysts rate Clorox stock as a buy. Linda Bolton Weiser is D.A. Davidson’s senior research analyst. She wrote in a note to clients that the strong demand for Clorox products makes Wall Street go down a slope of hope.

“Clorox continues to chase demand for disinfecting products and is still prioritizing shipments to healthcare facilities, which has caused some stock-outs on retail shelves and therefore share losses,” wrote Bolton Weiser.

2. Proctor & Gamble a stock that takes Wall Street on slope of hope

In addition to Clorox, Proctor & Gamble(NYSE:PG) is another stock that is performing well during the COVID-19 pandemic. The cleaning product company had a profitable Q4 2020 as well. Sales rose 4% to $17.7 billion in Q4 2020. Jon Moeller spoke about the corporation’s positive earnings report.

“Capping a strong year, a very strong April-June quarter. Organic sales up more than 6% on top of the base period, that was up 7%. Volume, pricing and mix each contributed to top line growth. Strong organic sales growth in our two largest markets up 19% in the U.S. and 14% in Greater China,” said Moeller.

Analysts rate P&G stock as a buy

Because of its robust earnings report, analysts rate P& G stock as a buy.

“With momentum behind both pricing and volumes, we believe P&G can still generate mid-single-digit-plus organic sales growth in 2020 despite the challenges presented by COVID-19,” analysts wrote.

“We expect P&G to leverage its improving top-line throughout its P&L, as we believe P&G will be able to drive operating leverage throughout the business (as it has done in the past) and unlock additional cost savings from its productivity programs.”

3. Zoom

Zoom growth drives Wall Street down a slope of hope

It’s hard to imagine a stock that grew more in the last few months than Zoom (NASDAQ: ZM). The videoconferencing company had a whopping 169% growth from last year. In its Q1 2021 earnings report, CEO Eric Yuan spoke about the ubiquity of Zoom as more people worked from home.

“We were humbled by the accelerated adoption of the Zoom platform around the globe in Q1. The COVID-19 crisis has driven higher demand for distributed, face-to-face interactions and collaboration using Zoom. Use cases have grown rapidly as people integrated Zoom into their work, learning, and personal lives,” said Yuan.

“I am proud of our Zoom employees who dedicated themselves to support customers and the global community during this crisis. With their tremendous efforts, we were able to provide high-quality video services to new and existing customers,” added Yuan.

Analysts rate Zoom stock a buy

Because of Zoom’s strong earnings and its success as a growth stock, Needham analyst Richard Valera said that Zoom’s growth was impressive.

“Never have I seen something of that magnitude in my 20 years of covering technology,” said Valera.

Daniel Milan is managing partner of wealth manager Cornerstone Financial Services. He believes that Zoom’s success will continue after the pandemic is over.

“Companies want to get folks back into the office and schools long for the in-class experience, but there will now be a strong Zoom component to these businesses,” said Milan.

Zoom is a stock that is performing so well that Wall Street is going down a slope of hope despite bearish tendencies.

4. Amazon leading Wall Street down a slope of hope

One of the best-performing stocks this year is Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN). With many people quarantined, Amazon became a lifeline for ordering household items. Amazon’s shares surged 70% over the past year. The e-commerce company’s Q2 2020 revenue was an impressive $89 million.

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos spoke about the results.

“This was another highly unusual quarter, and I couldn’t be more proud of and grateful to our employees around the globe,” said Bezos said in a statement.

“We’ve created over 175,000 new jobs since March and are in the process of bringing 125,000 of these employees into regular, full-time positions. And third-party sales again grew faster this quarter than Amazon’s first-party sales. Lastly, even in this unpredictable time, we injected significant money into the economy this quarter, investing over $9 billion in capital projects, including fulfillment, transportation, and AWS,” added Bezos.

Is Amazon stock a buy?

With Amazon’s strong Q2 2020 earnings, many analysts rate Amazon stock as a buy. K.C. Ma is president of KCM Asset Management and is a finance professor at the University of West Florida. He rates the stock as a buy for investors.

“The strong gains in ad, cloud and international margins may help offset the free one-day shipping for Prime,” he says. Long-term trends of cloud consumption should “propel (Amazon Web Services’) revenue even higher,” said Ma.

“With further economies of scale at AWS, likely continued strong growth in digital advertising and an increasingly predominant growing e-commerce base of third-party sellers, Amazon seems to us well-positioned to further prosecute its strategic mix shifts toward higher-margin businesses in 2020,” added Ma.

Mike Bailey is director of research with FBB Capital Partners. He notes that Amazon stock has the potential to grow with more advertising.

“Despite the run in Amazon shares, our sense is investors have yet to fully price in the potential upside from Amazon’s entry into the advertising business, which is growing quickly but currently is only a fraction of the size of Facebook and Google,” said Bailey.

Amazon’s stellar performance this year has led Wall Street down a slope of hope that the bear market is officially over.

5. Tesla

In addition to tech stocks, Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) is a stock that is rocketing up during the COVID-19 pandemic. The electric car company is now the most valuable car company in the world. Tesla had an impressive Q2 2020. The corporation reported $ 6 billion in revenue and turned a profit. The automaker spoke in a statement about the results.

“Our operating profit improved in Q2 despite challenging circumstances. Positive impacts included lower operating costs due to a temporary reduction in employee compensation expense, a sequential increase in regulatory credit revenue and deferred revenue recognition of $48M related to a Full Self Driving (FSD) feature release,” said Tesla.

“These positive contributions were offset by significant costs related to factory shutdowns, as well as a sequential increase in non-cash SBC expense primarily attributable to $101M related to 2018 CEO award milestones,” added Tesla.

Tesla stock soars after stock split

The company’s stock continued to soar after a recent five-for-one stock split.

“Tesla, Inc. (“Tesla”) announced today that the Board of Directors has approved and declared a five-for-one split of Tesla’s common stock in the form of a stock dividend to make stock ownership more accessible to employees and investors,” said Tesla.

Since making the decision, Tesla stock jumped 30%. The electric car company continues to be one of the best-performing stocks of the year.

Analysts bullish on Tesla stock as Wall Street goes down slope of hope

Cowen analyst Jeffrey Osborne is bullish on Tesla stock despite the controversies with founder Elon Musk. Osborne spoke about how Tesla is a buy because electric cars are becoming more popular.

“We[Cowen] continue to be cautious on Tesla, but anything EV related is red-hot for investors now and there is a scarcity of ways to invest in the theme, thus we see the stock continuing to ‘work’ near-term despite our caution on competitive positioning over time and valuation,” wrote Osborne in a note to clients.

Wedbush’s Dan Ives also rates Tesla stock as a buy. He thinks that Tesla’s widely available electric car battery will raise Tesla’s stock even more.

“We[Wedbush] continue to believe [electric vehicle] demand in China is starting to accelerate in July/August with Tesla competing with a number of domestic and international competitors for market share with Giga 3 remaining the linchpin of success which remains the prize that [Chief Executive Elon] Musk and Tesla are laser-focused on capturing,” wrote Ives in a research note.

Tesla is a stock that has shown enormous growth and is leading Wall Street down a slope of hope.

6. Moderna

In addition to tech stocks, pharmaceutical stocks are performing well during the new bull market, like Moderna (NYSE: MDMA). The stock appreciated over 200% this year. Moderna received $1.525 billion from the government to develop a COVID-19 vaccine. CEO Stephane Bancel spoke about the deal.

“We appreciate the confidence of the U.S. government in our mRNA vaccine platform and the continued support,” said Bancel.

Moderna leads investors on slope of hope with robust Q2 2020 earnings

Along with the coronavirus vaccine, Moderna’s Q2 2020 earnings were impressive. Moderna’s chief financial officer, David Meline spoke about the company’s $66.35 million revenue.

“We ended Q2 2020 with cash and investments of $3.1 billion, compared to $1.7 billion at the end of Q1. The increase is driven by the capital raise in May of this year. Net cash used in operating activities was $130 million for the first half of 2020, compared to $253 million in 2019,” said Meline.

Moderna a buy to many financial experts

Because of Moderna’s strong earnings and potential COVID-19 vaccine, analysts led by Geulah Livshits see Moderna as a buy for investors.

“We now await visibility on what agreements with other countries might look like but see the news as a positive signal re: Moderna’s potential entry into a commercial space often dominated by big-cap,” wrote Geulah Livshits in a note.

Danielle Shay is director of options at Simpler Trading. She advises traders to invest in Moderna stock.

“If you’re a little bit more of an aggressive trader and like to trade on more of an intraday basis, [stocks] like Moderna look absolutely amazing,” said Shay.

Moderna is a strong pharmaceutical stock that leads Wall Street down a slope of hope.

7. Gilead

Another pharmaceutical stock that’s soaring is Gilead (NYSE: GILD). In addition to Moderna, Gilead’s COVID-19 treatment, remdesivir, is in the trial stages. Gilead recently partnered with another pharmaceutical giant, Pfizer, to manufacture the drug. Gilead’s CEO Albert Bourla spoke about the deal in a statement.

“From the beginning it was clear that no one company or innovation would be able to bring an end to the COVID-19 crisis. Pfizer’s agreement with Gilead is an excellent example of members of the innovation ecosystem working together to deliver medical solutions,” said Bourla.

“Together, we are more powerful than alone. As one of the largest manufacturers of vaccines, biologics and sterile injectables, it is a privilege to offer our expertise and infrastructure to help fight this pandemic. In that spirit, we are pleased that Gilead is using our manufacturing capacity to help facilitate supply of this medicine to patients as quickly as possible,” added Bourla.

Gilead’s Q2 2020 has strong earnings report

With the potential for remdesivir to be a COVID-19 vaccine, Gilead had a mostly positive Q2 2020. Total revenue for the second quarter was $5.1 billion with earnings per share of $1.11. CEO Daniel O’Day spoke about how remdesivir will be priced.

“We price remdesivir well below the value it provides to enable access at this critical time and ensure that we continue to meet our responsibilities in the future with further investment in remdesivir and in research that will help us to prepare for any future pandemics. The extensive clinical development work continues on remdesivir, so that we can potentially extend the treatment to many more patient groups,” said O’Day.

Because of its promising COVID-19 vaccine, Gilead is a strong stock that will lead investors on a slope of hope.

8. Target rise sends Wall Street on a slope of hope

During the pandemic, online shopping has boomed and Target(NYSE:TGT) benefited from that growth. The store chain’s stock climbed 37% in the last few months. In addition to online shopping, in-store sales and curbside pick-up also jumped in the last few months.

Target has record Q2 2020 growth

Target’s Q2 2020 revenue topped $23 billion, a 24% surge. CEO Brian Cornell spoke about the phenomenal results.

Target stock leads investors down a slope of hope

“The results we reported this morning are truly unprecedented. On the top line, we delivered second-quarter comparable sales growth of 24.3%, the strongest we’ve ever reported. Equally remarkable on the bottom line, we generated adjusted EPS of $3.38, a new record high,” said Cornell.

Target a buy to top financial experts

Because of Target’s excellent Q2 2020 report, retail experts like Neil Saunders rate Target stock a buy in a note to clients. As managing director of GlobalData Retail, he’s impressed by the company’s record-breaking quarter.

“The basic point is that Target has developed a proposition that is cohesive which means its guests will happily shop multiple categories allowing Target to maximize its share of wallet,” wrote Saunders.

“This has always been beneficial, but it came into its own at a time when consumers have been reducing the number of shopping excursions that they make. Target’s position also stands in contrast to some of its competitors, such as Walmart, which is far less able to get people to shop across multiple departments,” added Saunders.

Raymond James is also bullish on Target stock. The financial analysis firm believes Target’s robust sales make the stock a buy for investors.

“We believe the company was able to take a significant amount of share during the quarter, which bolsters our long-term view for a large share opportunity,” wrote Raymond James in a note to clients.

Evercore analyst Greg Melich also said Target stock is a buy because of its blockbuster sales online and in stores.

“Target’s digital offer is working in tandem with their fleet of 1,900 stores and shows that the multichannel mojo is a strategic positive in the battle vs. Amazon and Walmart,” said Melich.

With Target’s strong brick-and-mortar and online sales rising, the chain’s stock is leading investors down a slope of hope.

9. PayPal

In the middle of COVID-19, digital payments have become pivotal. PayPal (NYSE:PYPL) stock skyrocketed 78% over the past year. CEO Dan Schulman spoke to CNBC about the digital payment company’s growth.

“Across every industry, we’re seeing this surge towards a digital-first strategy, and all of the tools and products and services that we offer are probably more relevant and important across multiple industries than they’ve ever been before,” said Schulman.

PayPal growth drives Wall Street down a slope of hope

Because of the recent surge in digital payments, PayPal’s Q2 2020 earnings were better-than-expected. Schulman spoke about the results.

“In the midst of the COVID pandemic, we have seen substantial macro changes that we believe will have a lasting and profoundly positive impact on our business. The world has accelerated from physical to digital across multiple industries including retail. Merchants are embracing a digital-first strategy, and these trends have fueled the rapid rise of digital payments,” said Schulman.

“Revenues grew by 25% on an FX-neutral basis to $5.26 billion, accelerating after our strong 20% revenue growth in April. This is the first time our quarterly revenues have exceeded $5 billion,” added Schulman.

PayPal a buy to financial experts

As a result of PayPal’s successful Q2 2020 results, Goldman Sachs is bullish on the company’s stock.

“Given increased digital adoption over the last couple of months, convenience offered by these platforms amid the pandemic, and a large number of retailer store closures & bankruptcies, the shift to online could remain elevated over the coming quarters,” said Goldman Sachs.

PayPal’s growth during the pandemic is leading the stock market down a slope of hope to end the bear market.

10. UPS

As a result of COVID-19’s quarantine, UPS (NYSE:UPS) stock has soared with an increase in home deliveries. The package delivery company had revenue increase to $20.5 billion, a 13% jump from Q2 2019. CEO Carol Tomé spoke about the results.

“Our results were better than we expected, driven in part by the changes in demand that emerged from the pandemic, including a surge in residential volume, COVID-19 related healthcare shipments and strong outbound demand from Asia,” said Tomé.

“UPSers are keeping the world moving during this time of need and I want to thank our team for their hard work and outstanding efforts to serve our customers, our communities and each other,” added the CEO.

UPS a buy because of more deliveries in quarantine

Because of UPS’ increase in deliveries and profits, Bernstein analyst David Vernon rates the stock as a buy.

“E-commerce parcel pricing is expected to remain strong as the pull forward of e-commerce penetration has strained delivery capacity,” wrote Vernon in a research note. “With UPS looking to get ‘better, not bigger,’ FDX [FedEx]emphasizing returns and the [U.S. Postal Service] curtailing capacity, the rate environment at present is outstanding.”

BofA Securities analyst Ken Hoexter also is bullish on UPS stock.

“Given that UPS provides both a critical and difficult-to-replace service for many of its customers, we believe this strategy shift could drive a multi-year tailwind for financial results,” wrote Hoexter in a note to clients.

Slope of hope leads investors into new bull market

With the success of the previously mentioned stocks, Wall Street is going down a slope of hope. After the end of the shortest bear market, investors can feel confident that they’re trading stocks in a new bull market. With TradingSim blogs and charts, traders can determine when the stock market will slide down a slope of hope into a long-term rally.

Investing can seem like it’s impossible to understand. However, with guidance and patience, anyone can invest. This TradingSim article will help budding investors start investing early to build a strong portfolio. In this article, I will also help new investors invest on their own to thrive at the end of this bear market.

What is investing?

Investing is owning a piece of a corporation. When you invest in a stock, you put money into that corporation hoping that you will increase that money at a profit. For example, say you buy Google stock at its (NASDAQ: GOOG) stock. If Google stock increases after a new Google product is released, your $100 will grow.

Google stock is a popular stock if you want to learn how to start investing

What are you investing in when you invest in the stock market?

When you invest in the stock market, you are buying stocks on a stock exchange. The New York Stock Exchange is the most exchanges that trades stocks. Many stocks like Nike (NYSE:NKE) and Starbucks (NYSE:SBUX) are offered on the New York Stock Exchange.

In contrast, many tech stocks like Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) are traded on the NASDAQ (National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations) exchange.

All the performances of the top 30 companies on the exchanges are measured on the Dow Jones Industrial Average. If the Dow Jones rises, stocks are performing well and investments gain more money. If the Dow Jones falls, then stocks are performing poorly and your investment funds shrink.

The Standard & Poor 500(S &P 500) is an index that tracks the top 500 largest companies in the U.S. Many stocks that investors choose are in the S&P 500.

What do the symbols on the New York Stock Exchange mean?

When you’re monitoring stocks you purchase, you may see a series of one to three-letter symbols. Those symbols are called ticker symbols. For example, if you have Walmart stock, on the New York Stock Exchange, the ticker symbol would be NYSE:WMT.

On the NASDAQ exchange, tech stocks have four-letter symbols. For example, Apple stock is listed as NASDAQ: AAPL.

How do companies choose their stock prices?

When corporations go public and sell shares to investors, they issue an initial public offering (IPO). When companies list their stock on the New York Stock Exchange or NASDAQ, they list their stock at a certain price.

For instance, when Uber started selling shares to investors, the shares sold at $45. If investors buy a lot of the shares, the company’s stock price rises. If investors sell a lot of shares of a company, the company’s stock price falls.

How do you start investing in the stock market?

With trading apps like Robinhood, it’s never been easier to invest. New investors can start trading within minutes on trading apps.

A Robinhood spokeperson noted that the millions of investors have started investing through the app.

“It is not lost upon us that our company and our service have become synonymous with retail investing in America, and that this has led to millions of new investors making their first investments through Robinhood,” said a Robinhood spokesperson .

“We[ Robinhood] aim to provide the best investing experience as well as the resources customers need to get and stay informed,” added the spokesperson.

Robo-advisors and financial advisors can help you start investing

Rick Swope is vice president of investor education at E-Trade, a brokerage firm. He advises young new investors to use robo-advisors to get started in the stock market.

“Young investors who are just starting out should look to simple solutions like robos[robo advisors] and when investors graduate to more complex financial needs, like estate planning, they may turn to the services that a financial advisor can provide,” said Swope.

Then, there are options if you want to passively invest and have a computer program pick stocks for you. If you want another investing strategy, Robo-advisors are investing programs that use algorithms to help investors pick stocks.

One robo-advising trading app, Betterment, saw a 25% jump in new investors this spring. Dan Egan is Betterment’s managing director of behavioral finance and investments, He noted the increase in investing since the start of 2020.

“We have a large number of younger people who have opened up accounts and are getting started with investing,” said Egan.

Brokerage firms can help investors learn how to start investing

If you want more guidance with your investments, you can open an account with an established brokerage firm like TD Ameritrade or eTrade.

With a brokerage firm, you can more easily change your investment strategy. They can also help you rebalance your portfolios every few months to recalibrate your investment strategies.

Once you purchase a series of stocks, you have a portfolio of stocks. You can monitor that portfolio and rebalance your portfolios if you want to buy or sell stocks.

How much does it cost to invest with a brokerage firm?

While trading fees vary, there are fees for different services if you’re learning how to start investing with a brokerage firm. Mutual funds often come with high fees. If you have a mutual fund manager, discuss the fees with that advisor.

Kevin Dorwin is managing principal at wealth management firm Bingham, Osborn & Scarborough. He commented that mutual funds have fees because of their costs to brokerage firms.

“Mutual funds, for the most part, are still priced much higher because they’re harder for the brokerages to administer. And I think a lot of people use mutual funds, so they’re not really saving on that at this point,” said Dorwin.

Evan Kulak is co-founder of Polaris Portfolios, a Chicago-based financial planning firm. He noted that brokerages have many fees.

“Brokerages still charge commissions and fees on mutual fund trades, options contracts, broker-assisted trades and international securities,” said Kulak.

“Many accounts still have wire, transfer, research, and/or inactivity fees. In addition, there will likely be an increase in nontransparent fees such as such widening bid-ask spreads, sale of order flow data and low cash sweeps rates,” added Kulak.

Investors should be cautious about brokerage fees

If you have money left in your account after buying stocks or investing in other assets like gold, you have to pay fees on that as well. Steve Sanders is the executive vice president of marketing and product development at Interactive Brokers. He notes that “idle cash” that isn’t moved to a money market account is taxed.

A money market account is a high-interest savings account. If you have idle money in a brokerage account that isn’t moved, there are hidden fees.

“Those that do pay interest often require clients to sweep money into a money market account. Many people don’t think to do that or don’t have time, so the broker is able to pocket the money,” said Sanders.

Broker fees can add up for people learning how to start investing

Sally Brandon is senior vice president of client service and advice at Rebalance. She noted that even if broker fees sound small, they’re not.

“The trouble with fees is they sound small because many are less than 1%, but the reality is that many investors don’t understand what that means in dollars,” said Brandon.

“Be mindful of the multiple layers of fees. Look for an advisor charging below 1% to manage your portfolio, invest in low-cost funds like index funds and ETFs,” added Brandon.

Spreads and market makers have an impact on investor fees

When a market maker makes a trade, they profit from the spread- the difference between the bid and the ask prices. Investors don’t usually get the market price when buying or selling a stock. Because of that, they may pay more when they purchase the stock and make less when it’s sold.

Luke Lloyd is an investment strategist at Strategic Wealth Partners. He noted that the spread between the bid and ask prices can cause more brokerage fees.

“With stocks, there isn’t much to watch out for besides the spread between the bid and ask: The bid is the best price available where somebody wants to buy a security, and the ask is the best price available where somebody wants to sell a security,” said Lloyd.

Lloyd noted that brokerage fees make money when investors buy stock at the market price.

“If you want to buy at the market price, you will pay a couple percent premium to buy it. Some brokerages make money on that spread. It’s just something you want to look out for when placing an order,” said Lloyd.

Many online traders are free for people learning how to start investing

If brokerage firm fees are too confusing, there are many commission-free alternatives. In addition to Robinhood, established firms like Charles Schwab are also offering commission-free online trading.

JMP Securities’ Devin Ryan wrote in a note to clients that Robinhood accelerated the change to make it easier to start investing.

“Free trading isn’t a new theme in the industry, but the cadence of announcements from firms offering zero-commission trades seems to be picking up, and we also note that many of these companies have more credible platforms (and capital behind them) than the offerings of the past,” wrote Ryan.

While new trading apps are flashy, Scott Coyle, CEO of Click IPO, isn’t impressed by them. He thinks that other dealers offer more financial infomation to new investors than Robinhood.

“These broker- dealers that have been around much longer have more robust platforms, they offer a lot more things than some of the newer free-trading firms do,” he says.

How can you save for investing?

No matter how much you spend on investing, it’s crucial to have an investing budget. With that budget, investors can delve into the stock market without losing too much money.

When you invest in a stock with a broker, you can place a stop-loss order. When you place a stop-loss order, you can have a broker sell a stock when the price drops below a certain point.

For instance, if Uber stock plummets below $45, you can place a stop-loss to sell the Uber stock. When you place a stop-loss, you can prevent yourself from losing too much money when a stock’s price plummets.

In addition to stop-losses, you should have an emergency fund to cover losses. Since the stock market is so volatile, it’s crucial to have money to cover trading expenses and losses. Personal finance expert Ramit Sethi advises investors to have an emergency fund.

“An emergency fund is money saved for any unexpected expenses. It gives you the piece of mind knowing you have a hedge against the worst financial disasters,” wrote Sethi.

How to start investing with 401ks

If you have a 401k or 403b retirement account, you’re already investing. When you work for a corporation that offers a 401k, your employer has helped you start investing in stocks. If you work for a non-profit, you likely have a 403b account. A group of stocks comprises a 401k.

Since an employer deducts a certain amount of your paycheck, you’re investing a portion of your income into the stock market. If you want to start investing more gradually, you can increase the 401k deduction to invest more in the stock market.

Kelly Lannan is vice president of young investors at Fidelity Investments. She advocates investors having automatic deductions from their accounts to contribute to 401k’s.

“Some people really benefit from this automated approach as the money is never in their bank account to be tempted to spend,” says Kelly Lannan, vice president of young investors at Fidelity Investments.

If you don’t make any premature withdrawals before the age of 59, you can get your 401k account money tax and penalty-free. You have to withdraw your funds from a retirement account after you turn 72.

529 plans can help you invest for children’s tuition

In addition to 401ks, you can invest in 529 plans. If you have children and want to save for their tuition, 529 plans are a good option. These state-run programs are often offered by brokers. An investor can set aside money into the plan until their child is ready to attend college. Those funds can be withdrawn to use for tuition.

This investment plan lets investors contribute up to $15,000 to beneficiaries tax-free. Jim White is the founder of J.H. White Financial. He recommends that people learning how to invest should contribute to 529 plans to save for their offspring’s future.

“529s are still the best savings tool for college tuition. Any of the various alternatives frequently mentioned either have contribution limits or lack tax benefits,” said White.

Ksenia Yudina is CEO of U-nest and touts the versatility of 529 plans.

“529 plans can now be used for virtually any kind of education expense, not just college. You can even use them to pay down your own college loans,” says Ksenia Yudina CEO of U-Nest, a 529 investment app.

A change to a tax law in 2017 helps more parents who want to invest in 529 plans. Ben Birken is a financial advisor with Woodward Financial Advisors in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. He commented that the new law expands to let parents contribute to the plans for K-12 education. Parents can contribute to 529 plans to pay for tuition for private elementary and high schools in addition to colleges.

“For most people, this change doesn’t amount to much due to the high cost of private school and the limited amount of time that would be available for tax deferred/tax-free growth,” he says.

How much should you invest in 529 plans for your kids’ tuition?

When parents invest in 529 plans, there are questions about how to invest in these plans and when. White believes that dollar-cost investing is best in this volatile stock market. Dollar-cost averaging for 529 plans is contributing more to the account when the stock market is down. In contrast, you can contribute less to the account when stock prices are up.

“While the (recent market) volatility has not changed my view on 529s, it has strengthened my opinion that monthly savings in age-based target portfolio is the way to go,” said White.

“You cannot predict the future and trying to do so usually doesn’t end well. Dollar-cost averaging in an age-based portfolio that will slowly reduce risk as the student approaches college is simple and prudent and doesn’t require trying to remember to reallocate,” added White.

What approach should you take to invest in 529 plans?

Katie Vercio is a 529 expert and a wealth consultant at Evergreen Wealth Consultant. She recommends that parents take a cautious approach to investing in these plans if their child is entering college soon.

“If a child is in high school, I would recommend taking a conservative track. If a child is starting school in fall 2019, it may be a good idea to switch to a cash or (a certificate of deposit) option,” said Vercio.

Emily S. Boothroyd is a private wealth advisor at Price Financial Group. She advises parents to invest for their financial future first before investing in 529 plans for their children.

“For younger parents or those who are focused on their own financial planning, please use the oxygen mask analogy when thinking of your kids: Help yourself first, then them,” Boothroyd says.

“If you have credit card debt, you probably should not be adding to a 529. If your retirement isn’t on track, you probably shouldn’t be adding to a 529,” added Boothroyd.

When you’re starting to learn how to start investing to save for your kids’ future, 529 plans can be a prudent choice.

Where can you practice how to start investing?

If you want to practice trading stocks before investing real money, TradingSim is a great place to start. You can practice buying and trading stocks by simulating trades on TradingSim. By simulating trades with your account, you can learn risk-free about how to start investing.

What else can you invest in when you learn how to start investing?

In addition to stocks, you can invest in other assets as well. You can invest in mutual funds, ETF’s, or foreign currency exchange(forex) as well. Many of them can be purchased through online brokers.

Mutual funds are low-risk investing options

Mutual funds are a collective investment fund that combines money from different investors to buy hundreds of stocks. Because they’re considered low-risk investments, they’re usually included in 401k retirement accounts.

Index funds are mutual funds that match the stocks that comprise stocks that are usually in the S&P 500. Warren Buffett is a legendary investor that became a billionaire through his shrewd investments. Because he usually makes low-cost investments, he advocates for investors to pick index funds.

“Most institutional and individual investors will find the best way to own common stock is through an index fund that charges minimal fees. Those following this path are sure to beat the net result [after fees and expenses] delivered by the great majority of investment professionals,” said Buffett.

Mutual funds and index funds are low-cost, low-risk options for people who want to know how to start investing.

Bonds are a stable option for learning how to start investing

Bonds are another asset that you can invest in as well. While stocks mean you own part of a company, bonds mean that a company owes you a debt.

When a corporation or government wants to fund a project, they issue bonds. Bonds are issued by corporations and the U.S. government to fund projects. When they issue bonds, they’re essentially IOUs to investors. The corporation or government promises to pay off the debt with interest within a certain amount of time at a fixed interest rate.

For instance, if you buy a company’s bond for one-year at $10,000 at 5% interest, you have a fixed-rate coupon bond that pays the same rate over time. After a year, you would get $500 in interest from the bond.

Throughout history, U.S. government bonds have a record of strong returns. Saturna Capital portfolio manager Bryce Fegley said that U.S. government bonds were issued to investors and had strong value.

“During the Great Depression, U.S. government bonds were among the only investments that retained their value as the government was one of the only institutions that could be trusted to make payments in a hostile economic environment,” said Fegley.

Diversification of investment is key

When you start investing, you may want to just focus on one stock that you’re familiar with to play it safe. However, having a wide range of stocks can be a better way to increase profits. When you own a lot of different stocks and other assets, you have a diversified portfolio.

Josh Barrickman is a senior portfolio manager at investment firm Vanguard. When he advises investors, he says that holding many different stocks and bonds can help increase profits in the long run.

“By potentially holding hundreds – sometimes thousands – of bonds in a single fund, you get more diversification than you would (by) buying individual bonds,” said Barrickman.

If one industry is underperforming, diversification in other stocks and bonds can help. If you have stocks in the airline industry and they tumble during the COVID-19 era, you can recover. When you have investments in better-performing industries like tech, you can keep your portfolio healthy and increase profits.

ETFs can be a good option if you’re learning how to start investing

In addition to bonds, ETF’s (exchange-traded funds) are a good option if you want to learn how to start investing. Exchange-traded funds are a basket of stocks and bonds for investors to pick.

While ETFs sound similar to mutual funds, there are differences. ETF’s tend to track an index like the S&P 500. Jay Jacobs is senior vice president and head of research and strategy at Global X ETF.

Schwab ETF is a popular choice for people who are learning how to start investing

He says that investors should invest in tech ETFs if they’re learning how to start investing. His ETF contains stocks like Zoom(NASDAQ:ZM) and Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX). Jacobs noted that many people use cloud computing stocks are a good choice to invest in as part of an ETF.

“These are companies that we can’t survive without, whether it’s video conferencing, whether it’s chat functions, whether it’s accessing data and being able to do remote work. Cloud computing technologies are at the very center of every part of our daily lives, and they’re proving it,” said Jacobs.

“These are very valuable companies that are just really beginning to take off for what we think is a long-term structural trend,” added Jacobs.

Forex is an international option if you want to know how to start investing

If you want to explore investing outside of the U.S. stock market, forex or foreign exchange trading is an option. Forex or FX trading involves trading different currencies. For example, the U.S. dollar is traded against another currency, like the Japanese yen. If the American currency rises and the yen falls, an investor can make a profit.

Robert Johnson is professor of finance at Creighton University’s Heider College of Business. He explains FX trading to people learning how to invest.

“The FX market does not set a currency’s absolute value but rather determines the value of one currency relative to another. You can take a position in virtually any major currency against another major currency in the FX market,” said Johnson.

Sergey Savastiouk, CEO of Tickeron, a market intelligence platform that assist users with portfolio and trading decisions on assets like foreign currency. He says that forex trading can be safe if investors choose a reputable firm like IG or Forex.com.

“Forex trading is safe if you properly select a brokerage account and firm,” said Savastouk.

Forex trading requires patience and extra funds

While forex trading can be exciting, people learning how to start investing should exercise caution. Even forex trading firms warn that investors can lose 70% of their funds in forex trading. Johnson notes that there are different aspects to forex trading. While stock values can rise over time, there isn’t the same growth with foreign currency.

“Investing in currencies, whether traditional currencies or cryptocurrencies, is fundamentally different than investing in stocks, bonds or real estate. “Over the long term, investing in the stock market is a positive-sum game,” said Johnson.

“Over both the short and long term, investing in currencies is a zero-sum game,” Johnson says. “When the U.S. dollar strengthens versus the yen, those holding U.S. dollar positions win and those holding yen positions lose an equal and opposite amount.”

Forex trading can be a good start to learn how to start investing. However, you need a lot of capital to start and a lot of patience.

How do you invest in real estate when you start learning how to start investing?

In addition to forex, you can invest in real estate. If you invest in real estate, you can invest in real estate investment trusts or REIT’s. These trusts are owned by companies that own assets like buildings and warehouses. Public Storage( NYSE: PSA) is an example of a REIT because the company owns several storage warehouses. Investing in REITs is a way to generate passive income from real estate.

Public Storage is a popular REIT to invest in

Investments in REITS can be lucrative, according to David Lebovitz, global market strategist at JPMorgan Asset Management.

“We believe it is about combining REITs and direct real estate, particularly given that REITs provide greater exposure to more forward-looking sectors,” he said.

“We still see value in direct real estate as a source of income, and more broadly, as a portfolio diversifier,” added Lebovitz.

Investing in real estate can be lucrative for people learning how to invest

In addition to REIT stocks, people learning how to invest can choose commercial real estate. With research and a lot of capital, you should find the best mortgage lender, lawyer, and other support to start buying real estate. With low interest rates, purchasing real estate is easier if you want to start learning how to invest.

You can also act as a loan processor and focus on making commissions on loans you originate.

Now this is not passive income like stocks or rental incomes, but another investment stream.

How is the real estate industry for people learning how to invest?

While there is a decline in house sales, the housing market is poised to rebound. Dhruv Arora, CEO of digital wealth manager Syfe, said the real estate market is resilient.

“In most historic recessions, the property market has either remained largely resilient or was only impacted across certain real estate sectors,” noted Arova.

In Australia, Trent Wilshire, an economist at the Australian property site Domain, notes that the economy restarting will help real estate.

“Transactions will start rising again in coming weeks but are still likely to be sluggish compared to late 2019/early 2020.“We’re already seeing a pick-up in recent weeks, with new ‘for sale’ listings rising the past few weeks and rising inquiries on Domain from potential buyers,” said Wilshire.

Where should you invest in the real estate market?

In addition to the real estate market overall, investors should look at the best locations. Kristina McPherson, a real estate agent at The Corcoran Group in Palm Beach, Florida, notes that the key to investing in real estate is location, location, location.

“You can look at all of that information and make a determination on which specific city in a state that you want to invest in,” said McPherson.

“It really varies on the specific location,” she says. “If you’re two blocks off the intercoastal [waterway] here, it’s suddenly a different price than if you’re right on the intercoastal,” added McPherson.

Vered Raviv-Schwarz is a chief operating officer of Guesty, a technology platform in the vacation rental market. She wants investors in real estate to consider the type of property they want to buy and how long they want to rent the property.

“If you buy a property in a ski resort, is it also available for summer holidays like hiking trips in the area? “If so, then you’re also likely to have occupancy in the summer months, too. When “it’s near a major city, long-term rentals may make sense,” said Vered Raviv-Schwartz.

Real estate experts like Noah Rosenfarb, the founder of Florida-based Freedom Family Office notes that investors need a lot of capital to invest in real estate. The amount of capital needed depends on how much rent you want to charge tenants.

“If the rent is $1,000 a month, then you should pay $100,000,” he says. “If you’re going to buy a condo for $250,000, you should hope that the monthly rent is $2,500. When ” it’s only $1,800 you’re going to have a tough time servicing the debt, paying maintenance, covering the taxes and so on.”

What do financial experts want to tell people who want to learn how to start investing?

Christine Benz is the director of personal finance for Morningstar, an investment research firm. She noted that individual stocks may not be the best first choice when you’re learning how to start investing.

“I’ll say it: Individual stocks are terrible investments for people just starting out,” said Benz.“[W]e[ Morningstar] haven’t talked enough about how poorly many small investors are apt to do with individual-stock purchases, especially if they’re just learning.”

How can you save and invest?

If you’re insure how much to invest, you can start with small amounts, even as little as $100. Josh Simpson is an investment advisor representative with Lake Advisory Group. He says that his clients started investing with very little money.

“Some of the wealthiest clients that I have started off investing small amounts of money when they could,” Simpson says.

Christine Benz is the director of personal finance for investment research firm Morningstar. She advocates for people learning how to invest to still save a significant amount of their income.

“Unfortunately the key to financial success is incredibly mundane — it’s disciplined savings,” she says. “Your savings rate is, by far, going to be the biggest determinant of how you do financially over time.”

starbucks stock — Starbucks stock is a good choice if you want to learn how to start investing

Benz also wants investors to diversify their portfolios.

“I think it makes sense for young folks to have more of a globally diversified equity portfolio,” Benz says. “You can buy a total world stock index fund — one fund that gives you exposure to every economy on the planet, practically.”

Learning how to invest can pay off with patience and education

Unless you are like Jordan Belfort who clearly can make money legally just as easily as he did illegally, you will need to have a long-term game plan.

When investors are learning how to invest, there are many options. With research from simulating trades on TradingSim, expendable capital, and a lot of patience, any can learn how to start investing to build their financial futures.

Zoom Video Communications (NASDAQ: ZM) took off like a rocket since it went public in 2019. The videoconferencing site Zoom has become essential for workers during the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis. With the rise of videoconferencing to keep up with friends, families, and co-workers, Zoom shares climbed 20% over the past few weeks. Along with Zoom, there are four other strong growth stocks in this article that are still solid investments in the midst of a volatile stock market. During this bear market, these stocks can potentially be a savvy investor’s source for low-risk investments.

Growth stocks are stocks that are growing much faster than other equities on Wall Street. Many of them have higher-than-average valuations. Investors can look closely at these five stocks on Trading Sim that could pump up their portfolios. This article will also tell investors what traits to look for to find stocks that have great growth potential like Zoom. The conclusion of the article will also warn about a stock that doesn’t have the same growth potential as stocks like Zoom and is cratering- retailer J.C. Penney( NYSE:JCP). The article will also note how Trading Sim can help investors find the next growth stock.

How did Zoom get its start?

The latest prominent growth stock, Zoom, got its start in 2011. Eric S. Yuan started the company in his native China. He saw Zoom as a way for companies to communicate with each other. He worked on the idea when he was a corporate vice-president of engineering at Cisco once he immigrated to the U.S. During an interview in 2017, Yuan presciently said that Zoom would help make it easier for workers to telecommute.

“Zoom gives organizations and individuals a faster way to communicate relative to audio-only, chat, and email meetings, and it’s not restricted by geography, so employees have more flexibility to work from home. Because it lets people meet face-to-face, and provides support for screen sharing, it’s truly a collaboration catalyst, and helps build teams across geographies,” said Yuan.

The company grew in a cluttered field of videoconferencing apps like Skype and GoToMeeting. Zoom grew because Yuan would personally call dissatisfied customers. In addition to Zoom’s dedicated customer service, Zoom grew because it offered a free version of the app on smartphones. into a company with a $9 billion valuation. The valuation was 48 times its sales when Zoom went public in April 2019.

How has Zoom stock performed since it went public?

After the debut of Zoom’s IPO (initial public offering), Zoom shared climbed 72% above its listed $36 IPO price. Though the stock experienced volatility in the year after going public, its last earnings report showed strength. Even before the coronavirus global outbreak, Zoom’s Q4 2020 revenue soared year-over-year to $188.3 million. The stock currently sells for 58 times revenue.

Yuan noted that the company performed well because of a “unique combination of high total revenue growth of 78% at a scale of $188 million, GAAP( generally accepted accounting principles) income from operations of $11 million, non-GAAP income from operations of $38 million, and operating cash flow of $37 million.”

Why is Zoom stock “quarantine-friendly?”

Zoom stock jumped 200% since the stock went public. The Renaissance IPO ETF noted that work-from -home apps like Zoom have survived the coronavirus-caused massive sell-off.

“Quarantine-friendly companies like remote work-enablers Slack (NYSE:WORK; +23% in February) and Zoom Video (ZM; +20%) and telemedicine provider Teladoc (TDOC; +23%) have also outperformed the broader market,” noted Renaissance.

Zoom’s popularity is because of its reliability. In contrast to other videoconferencing apps that have glitches and buffering problems, Zoom mostly manages to avoid prolonged outages. So, while there may be awkward moments of kids interrupting meetings, the livestream will always come through very clearly.

Zoom is growth stock because of accessibility

Zoom stock is also surging because of the app’s accessibility in many areas. Apple’s FaceTime is exclusively on iOS and Apple devices. However, Zoom is widely available on Android and any Apple or PC. Zoom also is not just being used by workers, but by schools to help with digital learning. The corporation has eliminated the 40-minute limit on free calls so students and teachers can remain in contact with each other. The company’s CFO, Kelly Steckleberg, noted that reliability and easy access for students makes Zoom an attractive option for customers.

“The usability and the reliability of Zoom is what has led to this incredible adoption, combined with, honestly, the generosity of Eric and his willingness to open it up especially to the schools,” said Steckelberg.

Why is Zoom stock a growth stock?

Zoom stock is also a high-growth stock because of its potential revenue growth. Bernstein’s Zane Chrane and Michelle Issacs note that if Zoom’s free users convert to paid users, there could be an explosion in revenue for the company.

“If we … assume that 75% of the active users added YTD are incremental purely due to CV [coronavirus], the massive spike in usage YTD would suggest that Zoom could get as much as $140M in incremental revenue if customers that convert to a paid plan are retained for at least a year,” said Chrane and Isaacs.

Even after the coronavirus crisis abates, Zoom stock could still a long-term option for investors. More workers are working from home, so Zoom is becoming an option for many investors. This TradingSim chart shows that Zoom stock has steadily risen and should continue to remain a buy for investors.

Why Teledoc stock is a growth stock possibility for investors

In addition to Zoom, another tech stock booming in the wake of coronavirus is Teledoc (NYSE: TDOC). The computer software company’s stock has steadily risen in the past few days. Similar to Zoom, Teledoc has been a necessary health resource for many people who want to check their health through a mobile device. The subscription-based telemedicine company was founded in 2002. The company offers virtual consultations with doctors and the stock has exploded during the recent coronavirus outbreak.

The corporation’s stock grew 30% over the past month and 400% since Teledoc went public in 2015. During the company’s Q4 2019 earning call Teledoc’s CEO, Jason Gorevic, said that Teledoc’s physicians would work with clients to weather the current pandemic. With many people under quarantine, Teledoc has been the perfect way for people to safely interact with doctors to monitor their health.

“Our clinical teams, thousands of physicians around the world, are actively working along with our commercial teams and clients to ensure that members have the most timely and relevant access to the latest information during this unfolding situation, and access to care if and when they need it,” said Gorevic. This Trading Sim chart shows mostly steady growth for Teledoc stock.

Teledoc hopes to increase customers to increase stock growth

Even before the COVID-19 crisis, Teledoc stock looked attractive because of the corporation’s partnerships with (NYSE: CVS) and hundreds of hospital systems. This growth shows that Teledoc will have a wide reach to a larger number of customers. During a recent conference call, Teledoc noted the potential to expand its customer base.

“Our existing health plan clients and self-insured clients associated with these health plans currently purchase our solution for only a small percentage of their beneficiaries in the aggregate, and we estimate this provides us the opportunity to grow our membership base by more than 75 million individuals in the United States by expanding our penetration within our existing clients alone,” noted Teledoc.

Teledoc’s profile rises with coronavirus pandemic

Lew Levy, MD, Teladoc’s chief medical officer, noted that telemedicine companies like Teledoc are vital during this current health crisis.

“We are seeing more patients, and more of those patients are experiencing upper respiratory issues. As we saw during the flu epidemic of 2018, a community’s healthcare system can become overwhelmed and virtual care can help provide needed relief,” said Levy.

During the coronavirus crisis, Teledoc is working closely with the Center for Disease Control to provide information to clients.

Levy noted that Teledoc has a “unique ability to immediately connect with the CDC and other government agencies to add the right screening tools and clinical quality protocols to our system, and most importantly, to keep patients — particularly those most at risk with underlying health conditions — out of care settings where they can face exposure.”

Netflix stock benefits from quarantine life

Teledoc benefitted from patients increasing as a result of coronavirus. Similarly to Teledoc, Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) stock has jumped as a result of ” stay at home” orders. The streaming service’s stock surged 8.2% over the past week. Baird Equity Research said Netflix would outperform because of two strengths. Netflix is the go-to home entertainment for quarantined Americans. The corporation is also part of a growing trend of customers abandoning cable.

Netflix has always been able to set trends since launching in 1998. The company evolved from DVD rentals to streaming entertainment in 2007. Since producing original content in 2013, the hundreds of original shows currently offered have helped Netflix 167 million subscribers worldwide. So, watching Love is Blind may actually be a smart move to boost Netflix stock.

Since going public in 2002, Netflix stock has grown 3,000%. Even with competition from Disney + (NYSE:DIS) and Hulu, Netflix subscribers grew in Q4 2019 by 20%. Netflix was a pioneer in streaming entertainment. By being first and have more options for viewers, Netflix remains a strong growth stock for investors.

Analysts see Netflix stock as growth stock

Many analysts are bullish on the stock, like Credit Suisse analyst Douglas Mitchelson. Data from Credit Suisse found that quarantined people in countries hard hit by COVID-19 are becoming devoted subscribers.

“The data in both Hong Kong and Korea present a strong case Netflix is seeing increased demand, as first-time app downloads inflected positively starting in January and continued into March,” said Mitchelson. This Trading Sim chart shows Netflix stock rising on March 11.

Rob Drury, vice-president of client partnerships for media and TV at CSM Sports and Entertainment, also believes that the global quarantine and growing customer base makes Netflix stock a growth stock.

“I‘m bullish on the impact this will have for Netflix. Their business is driven primarily by renewal rates, and on a global scale people are experiencing first-hand the benefit of Netflix’s content library. Social distancing is adding an entirely new dimension to content bingeing.”

Social distancing has been difficult for many during the coronavirus pandemic. The economic downturn has also led people to cut cable packages to only have streaming services for entertainment. However, the social distancing and cord-cutting have been beneficial for Netflix stock.

Lowe’s stock solid because of quarantine orders

Lowe’s (NYSE:LOW) stock is a safe option for beginning traders. The home improvement store has been Like Netflix, the concern about COVID-19 has helped this company’s stock rise. As more people stay at home, many are taking up home improvement projects. That desire to do DIY projects has benefitted Lowe’s shares. Wall Street experts predict that Lowe’s will have a growth stock. High earnings per share usually is a hallmark of a growth stock. Earnings per share rose to $0.94 a share in Q4 2019. Sales also jumped 2.4% to $16.03 billion. Financial analysts predict that Lowe’s earnings per share will skyrocket 15.8% over the next five years.

If investors want short-term returns, Lowe’s stock has a lot to offer investors. Lowe’s shares have grown 20% since its recent earnings report. Lowe’s stock is not only growing, but its dividend is a steady 2% payout to investors. This Trading Sim chart shows the growth of Lowe’s stock during the week of March 12.

In addition to stock growth, Lowe’s store sales performed well over the last month. CEO Marvin Ellison touted the store sales growth in the company’s last earnings report.

“I’m very pleased with the strength and productivity of our brick and mortar stores. There are very few large retailers in America delivering a 2.6% comp growth almost exclusively from the brick and mortar stores. This underscores the sales productivity improvement of our physical stores and our opportunity to unlock additional growth when Lowe’s.com sales accelerate,” said Ellison.

The stores’ sales grew as customers purchased large appliances like refrigerators to store large quantities of food. Lowe’s sales also increased as Ellison started “seeing people start to work down that to-do list and get those things done in their homes.”

Lowe’s CEO buys company shares to show confidence in stock

Ellison also said that he bought Lowe’s shares to show his confidence in the company. “I’m a believer in my company. “I’m here for the long term.”

“We think that we will create a great value and we’ll create a great opportunity for shareholder value over the long term. As CEO, if I don’t have confidence in the company, then I don’t know who will,” said Ellison.

Lowe’s stock could be a growth stock because of the current need the corporation serves during this coronavirus crisis. Big purchases like freezers and even small purchases like toilet paper have made Lowe’s a shopping destination. Lowe’s stock is also a potential growth stock because of its impending expansion into online sales.

Amazon stock a growth stock during coronavirus

Even though Lowe’s is just making a dent in online sales, Amazon( NASDAQ: AMZN) has been an online giant for years. The company has been able to adapt to change since its founding in 1996. Since Jeff Bezos founded the company as an online bookstore, Amazon has grown into an e-commerce and cloud computing behemoth. From Amazon Prime Video to its Amazon Web Services, the corporation is a tech powerhouse.

Just as Lowe’s has seen growth through sales of necessities, Amazon stock has increased through coronavirus checklist item sales. Amazon was already a powerhouse stock because of its dominance in e-commerce. Now with COVID-19 spreading worldwide, shoppers are buying supplies on the site. Popular items like cleaning supplies and even toilet paper are selling out on Amazon.com in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

Amazon stock is also increasing because of its grocery delivery service. Amazon owns Whole Foods, which offers free delivery to Amazon Prime subscribers. Many customers are buying groceries from Amazon Fresh, the company’s food delivery service.

Jim Kelleher, an analyst at Argus, noted that Amazon will benefit from the worldwide quarantine.

“As more and more businesses shutter or move to online operations, and more and more consumers shelter in their homes, we expect traffic on the Amazon site to increase. Certain counties with COVID-19 clusters are implementing stay-at-home policies with varying degrees of stringency. Even in communities with low or no cases, consumers are prudently minimizing interactions, including trips to retail stores,” said Kelleher.

Amazon adjusts to help workers amid COVID-19 pandemic

Amazon’s business has grown so much that it is hiring thousands of temporary workers to keep up with demand. The corporation will hire part-time and full-time warehouse workers to fulfill the high demand for shoppers’ needs.

“Because of high demand, Amazon is hiring 100,000 new workers. In addition to the 100,000 new roles we’re creating, we want to recognize our employees who are playing an essential role for people at a time when many of the services that might normally be there to support them are closed,” noted Amazon.

Bezos noted that Amazon is getting its warehouses ready to combat coronavirus.

“We’ve changed our logistics, transportation, supply chain, purchasing, and third party seller processes to prioritize stocking and delivering essential items like household staples, sanitizers, baby formula, and medical supplies. We’re providing a vital service to people everywhere, especially to those, like the elderly, who are most vulnerable. People are depending on us, ” noted Bezos.

Amazon stock still strong despite Wall Street volatility

Amazon stock recently dropped 11%, which is disappointing. However, it’s less than the overall 28% decline in the S &P. The Trading Sim chart below shows the volatility of Amazon stock.

Amazon is also a growth stock because of its dominance in varied industries. The world’s largest retailer controls most of e-commerce. The corporation is also making inroads into cloud computing with Amazon Web Services. More workers are telecommuting, so Amazon Web Services (AWS) benefits. Work-from-home apps like Zoom depend on AWS cloud computing to run, so Amazon is well-positioned as a growth stock.

Analysts say Amazon is safe haven stock

Economic analyst Jim Cramer also believes that Amazon’s stock could rise over 30% to the $3,000 range in this current climate because “Amazon Web Services must be just crushing it.”

Stock analyst Jason Helfstein noted that Amazon is a stock that will outperform other equities. He noted that Amazon’s grocery and e-commerce delivery sector will help quarantined customers.

“COVID-19 is driving widespread demand for essentials, combined with increased e-commerce usage from ‘social distancing’ and ‘shelter-in-place’ programs. While some items are taking longer to be delivered, and grocery delivery capacity is strained, we think Amazon is seeing record consumer demand, with share gains likely to remain post virus,” noted Helfstein.

Amazon is a growth stock because of the company’s versatility. Amazon is able to adapt to any online shopper’s needs and to provide cloud computing to stay-at-home workers.

How to spot growth stocks like Zoom

Growth stocks aren’t just trendy pump-and-dump stocks that are here today and gone tomorrow. Many growth stocks that trade as much as 10 times their IPO price can follow current trends, like Zoom. However, Zoom stock is likely to be a growth stock even after the stay-at-home orders come to a close. Zoom is part of a technology that is a staple in work life, so that corporation’s stock is likely to increase. Growth stocks often start as trends, but grow into blue-chip stocks to add to portfolios.

Growth stocks fulfill new needs as game changers

Stocks with high growth potential can outperform more established stocks by fulfilling needs or creating innovative products. Corporations like Teledoc are meeting a need for telemedicine in this time of people being socially distant from each other. Just as Amazon created a new world of e-commerce, many growth stocks evolve from unfamiliar new technology to a pivotal need for consumers. Even established brands like Lowe’s can have shares become growth stocks by rising during seasonal events.

While many investors may see tech stocks as the main growth stocks, online retail can see growth as well. With many people abandoning physical stores, many shoppers are turning to tailored subscription services like Stitch Fix (NASDAQ:SFIX). Any company in an industry that has any innovation or generates interests from consumers is sure to earn a look from investors.

Growth stocks have high earnings- and higher P/E’s

In addition to filling needs for consumers, companies with growth stocks have good earnings reports to please investors. Many growth stocks have high price-to-earnings ratios above 16. Netflix’s price-to- earnings(P/E) ratio is well above that. The streaming service’s stock is valued at 87 times its past year earnings. Amazon’s Q4 2019 sales surged 21% year-over-year to $87,4 billion. On the strength of diversified services the retailer offers customers, Amazon stock is the epitome of a growth stock with its explosive expansion over the past 20 years. Growth stocks usually have two or more consecutive positive earnings reports that show that a corporation has the potential for expansion.

If investors can’t afford Amazon stock, they still shouldn’t invest in risky cheap stocks like penny stocks unless they can withstand the volatility. Investors shouldn’t see penny stocks as growth stocks unless they want to start with low-cost stocks to add to their portfolios.

Many growth stocks have positive cash flow

Growth stocks like Zoom also have a lot of available cash on hand. Zoom has $855 million in cash and investments in reserve. Many growth stocks may have debt, but have a large cash reserve. In its Q4 2019 earnings report, Zoom’s operating income increased 292% from Q4 2018 to $38.4 million. Many growth stocks have to have available cash to weather any storms in the volatile stock market.

Even though Netflix is in millions of dollars in debt to pay for original content, the corporation still has billions on hand. As of Q4 2019, Netflix had $5 billion in available cash. That’s a 32% year-over-year increase.

While growth stocks usually don’t pay a dividend to investors to increase growth, some do both. Lowe’s pays dividends to investors unlike many other growth stocks. However, like many other growth stocks, Lowe’s participates in stock buybacks to reinvest in their companies.

Tom Plumb, money manager at Wisconsin Capital Management, says that tech companies with a lot of cash on hand will have profitable stocks.

“The companies taking in a lot of cash because of their disruptive business models and technologies and their focus on how money is spent and where it is spent, are showing no signs of abating,” he said.

Growth stocks start in U.S., but expand globally

While many growth stocks started in California’s Silicon Valley, but expand around the world. Netflix has 167 million subscribers, but only about 60 million of them are in the U.S. Out of the hundreds of shows offered, many are from India and Nigeria. Those two countries have billions of potential new customers. Netflix is expanding its global outreach to increase the value of its stock.

Amazon is moving to expansion in Brazil and Canada to increase profits. Many growth stocks expand globally after first starting in the U.S. to reach new consumers. By reaching out to international customers, growth stocks have increased potential.

Even before the coronavirus pandemic, Teledoc purchased a French telehealth company to help reach more patients. Now the global expansion is helping Teledoc stock soar. Carlos Nueno, president of Teledoc Health International, touted the acquisition of MedicinDirect.

“With a continued focus on our global expansion, we will now become the market leader in France with the ability to have an immediate impact on healthcare delivery in the country. On the successful foundation built by MédecinDirect, we will bring our full suite of virtual care services to multinational clients who have been eager to expand,” said Nueno.

Growth stocks test an investor’s patience

Growth stocks tend to be focused on the future potential of stocks. While value stocks can capture a company’s current value, investors that focus on growth stocks tend to focus on potential growth. While value stocks are profitable today, many investors think growth stocks will continue to be profitable in the future.

As opposed to value stocks that are undervalued, growth stocks can be overvalued. Investors will likely have to wait out the volatility of growth stocks, some of which are often new to the Dow Jones.

If investors need the money in the stock market within five years, then growth stocks are not for them. Growth stocks tend to require more patience, so investors need to let the money from growth stocks stay in their portfolio in the long run.

Exercise caution when investing in growth stocks

While growth stocks may want investors to rush in, they should be cautious. They shouldn’t invest only in growth stocks. By diversifying, investors don’t have to depend on growth stocks to increase an investor’s profits. A mixture of growth and value stocks can make a more well-rounded portfolio.

Investors also shouldn’t pour too much money into growth stocks because of their volatility. Investors should start small and only invest up t0 3% of their portfolios on growth stocks. Economic expert Tom Engle noted, “If this company is the next great growth stock, then a little is all I need. If it’s not, then a little is all I want.”

While investors may want to go full- speed ahead on a growth stock, it’s best to slowly wade into investing in the stock. If there is volatility in the stock’s industry or on Wall Street, investors can withstand it with their portfolios intact

Why J.C. Penney is the opposite of a growth stock- it stayed behind trends

While Zoom is a cutting-edge stock with huge growth potential, J.C. Penney is on the exact opposite end of the spectrum. Zoom is a relative newcomer to Wall Street, while J.C. Penney has been offering stock for almost a hundred years. The retailer has been struggling for years because of its inability to adapt to change.

The store took too long to offer e-commerce to consumers. As a result, other brick-and-mortar competitors like Target ( NYSE: TGT) scooped up shoppers looking for sales online. Growth stocks often are looking for what’s new, now, next- but J.C. Penney was still stuck in the past. Instead of investing in online sales, J.C. Penney spent millions on stores in malls. But who shops in malls anymore? Everyone gets their favorite pants (or dress) from online retailers like Amazon now. J.C Penney is the exact opposite of a growth stock because the company didn’t have any innovation in its sales strategy or business model. Amazon evolved to cater to shoppers’ needs, unlike the brick-and-mortar retailer.

Companies with growth stocks listen to consumers- J.C. Penney didn’t

Unlike tech stocks that conduct focus groups that listen to consumers, J.C. Penney made many changes without consulting consumers. By abandoning loyal bargain shoppers and not offering coupons anymore, J.C. Penney lost a lot of customers. Zoom often listens to its customers and asks customers for feedback.

As Zoom noted when it reached 10 million participants in 2014, customer service is key to create a growth stock.

“We have a relentless focus on making the best product with the best user experience. This is ultimately what every customer wants. Toward this end, we spend much of our time listening to customers and fine-tuning our software to fit their needs,” said Zoom.

Companies with growth stocks often reach out to customers and stay loyal to their main customer base. J.C. Penney didn’t listen to its customers- and the stock suffered as a result.

Growth stocks have a clear niche unlike J.C.Penney

Growth stocks like Amazon have a clear identity of being the world’s online retailer. With competition from Amazon, J.C .Penney lost its niche as a retailer.

Neil Saunders, an analyst at GlobalData Retail said that the rise of Amazon led J.C. Penney to have a “lack of understanding about what it is, what it stands for, and who it wants to serve”.

Bob Phibbs from the Retail Doctor, also said J.C. Penney lost its identity by neglecting its core shoppers- moms ( or dads) on a budget.

“These companies are so busy trying to figure out who their shoppers are — Is it moms? Is it millennials? — that they’ve lost their most loyal shoppers. Plus the customer experience is forgettable. Nobody is going into a J.C. Penney and saying, ‘You’ve got to see this place. It’s great.’ ”

This Trading Sim chart shows how far J.C. Penney stock has fallen since its last earnings report.

While bargain-hunting shoppers knew to turn to Amazon or Target, J.C.Penney was forgotten and its stock had plummeted to only about $1 a share. Companies with growth stocks often fill a specific niche and know how to stand out among competitors. J.C. Penney doesn’t have that advantage. J.C Penney’s stock is down so low, it might be delisted from the New York Stock Exchange. Not having a clear identity confuses consumers and investors.

J.C. Penney has no cash available to grow stock

As J.C. Penney tried to get customers back, it burned through a lot of cash- a warning sign that a stock is bound to fail. Many growth stocks have a lot of cash on hand to reinvest back into the corporations. However, stocks that are tanking often are in too much debt with no chance at profitability. J.C. Penney is about $4 billion in debt and has had to close hundreds of stores nationwide. J.C. Penney only has $386 million of available cash. In contrast, growth stocks have a lot of cash on hand to weather Wall Street volatility.

Growth stocks like Netflix has debt, but also has a positive net income of $1.9 billion in 2019. While there is no one magic way to predict a growth stock, the contrast between J.C. Penney shares and other stocks show a clear contrast. Investments in innovation, growth in profits, and of course, a rising stock.

J.C Penney is a cautionary tale about stocks and corporations. Companies have to innovate or serve a niche need in order to increase their influence with investors. Corporations like Zoom are shaping the present and are building a strong future. On the other hand, dinosaur retailers like J.C. Penney are falling because it fell behind the times and couldn’t turn a profit.

Research is key to picking growth stocks

If investors want to learn more about how to pick the best growth stocks, thorough research is best. Investors can investigate earnings reports, stock price movements, and more through Trading Sim. With Trading Sim’s expert analysis and platforms to analyze stocks, investors can make wiser stock picks. Investors may even be able to spot the next growth stock with Trading Sim’s guidance and analysis.

Zoom and other growth stocks show that by being innovative leaders or filling niche needs, investors can see an increase in their portfolios.

Tracking growth stocks can be complicated, but studying Trading Sim’s charts can help investors keep track of which stocks are rising like Zoom and which ones are plummeting like J.C. Penney. By simulating trades first, investors can test out Trading Sim’s theories about what creates a growth stock. Trading Sim’s trading platforms can help investors possibly find the next potential growth stock.

How a Roth IRA withdrawal can impact investors

What are the rules for a Roth IRA withdrawal?

What are the penalties of early Roth withdrawal?

Some financial advisors say not to make Roth withdrawals

Consulting a financial advisor is key to Roth

Can a Roth IRA withdrawal buy a home?

What is the difference between traditional and Roth IRA withdrawals?

Roth IRA withdrawals have more options for account holders

CARES Act helps make Roth IRA withdrawals easier

Roth IRA withdrawal can benefit account holders

Relaxed limits on Roth withdrawals are key in COVID-19 era

Financial expert Suze Orman says Roth IRA withdrawals may not be wise

Top 10 Stocks for Roth IRA investors

1. Apple

Apple’s new products will help stock rise

2. Amazon

3. Netflix

4. Zoom

Zoom will grow as a Roth IRA withdrawal supplement

5. Google

6. Microsoft

7. Gilead

8. Pfizer

Analysts says Pfizer is a buy for Roth IRA’S

9. IBM

10. NVDA

Roth IRA withdrawals can be beneficial with proper planning

What is QQQ stock?

What is TQQQ stock?

ProShares advise caution about TQQQ

Why should investors buy QQQ stock to track the NASDAQ 100?

1. Amazon

Amazon wants to increase empire with wearables

Analysts say Amazon is a top QQQ holding

2. Google

Google a buy to some analysts

3. Apple

Apple stock split may help QQQ stock grow

4. Tesla a key QQQ stock holding

Tesla has strong Q2 2020 earnings report

Tesla stock split boosts shares

Some analysts say stock splits help QQQ stock

Some experts think stock split will hurt QQQ stock

5. Facebook

Facebook a profitable holding in QQQ stock

6. Netflix

Financial experts bullish on Netflix stock

7. Zoom

Analysts rate Zoom a buy for investors

8. Nvidia

Analysts bullish on Nvidia stock

Cowen also says Nvidia key part of QQQ stock

9. Microsoft

Experts bullish on Microsoft stock

10. Adobe

Experts say Adobe is vital part of QQQ stock

QQQ stock a good addition to investors’ portfolios

What is a slope of hope?

Is the U.S. still in a recession?

Why are stocks sliding down the slope of hope?

When did the slope of hope start?

Why is the stock market rising despite negative economic news?

Some economists are pessimistic about stock market recovery

Some analysts say stock market is still on wall of worry instead of slope of hope

1. Clorox

Clorox had excellent Q3 2020 earnings

Analysts rate Clorox stock as a buy

2. Proctor & Gamble a stock that takes Wall Street on slope of hope

Analysts rate P&G stock as a buy

3. Zoom

Zoom growth drives Wall Street down a slope of hope

Analysts rate Zoom stock a buy

4. Amazon leading Wall Street down a slope of hope

Is Amazon stock a buy?

5. Tesla

Tesla stock soars after stock split

Analysts bullish on Tesla stock as Wall Street goes down slope of hope

6. Moderna

Moderna leads investors on slope of hope with robust Q2 2020 earnings

Moderna a buy to many financial experts