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What should I be aware of as a young investor?
If you're tending toward stocks because you have a long time horizon, you're looking at them for the right reasons. I'm twice your age.  I have a mortgage -- two of them, actually! -- a wife, and a six-year-old.  I can't really justify being terribly risky with my money because I have others depending on my income. You're nineteen.  Unless you've gotten a really early start on life and already have a family, you can take on a lot more risk than stocks.  You have time to try things (income things) that I wish I would have tried at that age, like starting a business.  The only thing that would push me to do that now would be losing my job, and that wouldn't be the rush I'd like. That's not to say that you can't make a lot of money with stocks, but if that's what you're looking to do, really dig in and research them.  You have the time.  Whether the tide makes all boats rise or sink is a matter of timing the economy, but some of the companies will ride the waves.  It takes time to find those more often than not. Which blue chips are likely to ride the waves?  I have no clue.  But I'm not invested in them at the moment, so it doesn't matter. :)