Sep 3rd, 2010 | Written by daniel | Posted in Investing |

When the stock market is volatile, everyone wants to find good stocks to invest in to protect their portfolio, and find growth and profits wherever possible.

The urge to trade frequently becomes stronger, as investors seek to chase down the investment vehicles that are offering returns today, but drop tomorrow. By definition, good stocks to buy are those that have long term value, or if not for the long term, have a growth potential that gives an investor some measure of confidence that their money will grow. But today, you have al alternative to buying stocks that can be as profitable or more.

One way is to consider areas of investing you may not have explored before. Growth in the United States for example is widely considered to be slowing, if not leveling off. Yet markets abroad are growing at a faster rate. Today, you can invest worldwide with the use of ETFs, or exchange traded funds, which are somewhat like mutual funds, in that they are baskets of stocks that have similar characteristics. You can purchase ETFs that invest in Asian stock indexes, or Brazilian stocks, for example. Or, you can buy ETFs that invest in commodities, allowing you to benefit without actually buying in the futures market directly. Currencies are another example of areas open to the ETF investor.

Another benefit of ETFs is that they trade like stocks. You can trade immediately during the trading day, and choose a market or limit price. These are easier to sell than mutual funds, which are settled only at the end of the trading day. There are no minimum balances acting as barriers to entry, nor management fees that are as high as those in mutual funds. If you’re looking at individual stocks to add to your portfolio, consider using ETFs to diversify and invest in vehicles that can help you weather the stormy markets.

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