Ok for starters, Google and Apple are not risks, at all. In fact they are some of the safest bets on the market. Pretty much anything in the DOW 30 (CAT is also a member of the DOW) is a safe bet to not lose your money (I think only 2 have gone under in like the last 50 years). Where they become not good choices is they also aren’t going to drastically increase your money. Think of it like this, if a company made 50 dollars last year and another company made 5 billion dollars last year, which one is more likely to double its income in the coming year?
What you should do is look for middle-market cap companies. These are companies that are “bigger” but not huge like Wal-Mart or what have you. For example, GE has a market cap of 171 billion dollars, while something like First Solar has a market cap of 8.4 billion. Middle-market cap companies are a lot less likely than small cap companies to go under (whether its go under in the next month or the next decade). They’re not as secure a bet as a huge company, but they’re also a lot more likely to increase their annual income.
You should also stick to areas you know. My portfolio has a pair of drug manufacturers, First Solar (the largest solar panel maker in the world), and Intel. I’m an analytical chemist and studied a lot of energy and drug related stuff in college, so its “my field” I’m familiar with it. When I read the news about First Solar or Abbott labs, I can at least somewhat comprehend what they’re talking about and whether or not its good or bad news. I wouldn’t invest in CAT (caterpillar) because I have no clue whatsoever about the construction equipment industry.
Right now is a perfect time to invest if you have money, because the market is out taking a sh*t. Everything is down, so it’s just a matter of making a smart decision and not putting money into a company that will fail. I’m assuming you’re not putting this money in for short term gain, so don’t do what bad investors do and pull your money out the second you hit a big increase in value or the second a bad news headline drops your portfolio 10%. Ups and downs happen in the market (especially one dominated by the scum of the Earth, Day traders). If you trust the company you’ve invested in to stay afloat and do well, why on Earth would you pull your money out because of a small drop.
I bought my stock in First solar for an average value of about $130 a stock. Right now its trading at $90. So what am I going to do? I’m getting ready to buy as much more stock of it as I can afford. Because I am confident that First Solar will continue to be the leading solar panel producer, and 5 years from now when the market thins out and solar power picks up steam cuz oil is up again… I’ll have a ton of stock that I bought for dirt cheap prices.