Today was the second quarter earnings conference call for Radio One Inc. I wanted to get on the call because I just recently purchased some shares of the stock and the calls allow you to keep up with what’s going on in the company. In the post I did yesterday, Alfred Edmond made a comment about black people not being used to the idea of investing. I agree with him 100%, but times have changed. We have the capital and the tools to get involved, so why aren’t more of us investing in the market?

Are we fearful of losing money or is it that we don’t know how to get started? The stock market can be an intimidating place with all the terms and analysts throwing out numbers on those financial talk shows, but it doesn’t have to be that way. If you aren’t interested in doing it yourself, there are a number of places you can go to get someone to manage your portfolio. Over the next couple of months, I’m going to get mention some of the services I’ve used and share the experiences I’ve had in the process. I’m no financial planner, so this isn’t advice. It’s just my personal testimony on what did and didn’t work for me.

I invested in Radio One (ROIAK) because I believe in the company as a whole. Their financial numbers aren’t the best right now, but I like the direction they’re going. According to the conference call, the radio industry is suffering and the revenue in ad placement isn’t what it used to be. They realize this and talked about their internet strategy which they hope will bring them additional revenue in the next couple of years. I like the fact that they have interests in TV One and I’m of the belief that you should invest in what you like.

Unless things start going terribly wrong, this is a long-term investment for me. Sure there’s risk and the potential to lose money, but this is just one way we can support black businesses. It’s easy to do and it doesn’t hurt that the stock price is in a place where I can get a good number of shares at one time. I’m always looking other publicly traded black-owned businesses because I think there are a lot of opportunities out there to support them and make some money.

To purchase stocks I use Zecco.com. They have low commission rates at $4.50/trade and if you have over $2500 in your account you get 10 free trades a month (end commercial). There are other services to use, but Zecco has really worked for me. If you are interested in checking them out, use my referral code because I get a little change if you sign up (a brotha needs all he can get). If you decide to sign up, let me know and I’ll email you my username so you’ll know who I am in the forums. It’s all about finding ways to build wealth.

Once again, this post is not financial advice and you can lose money when investing. If you’re not comfortable with it, consult a professional. Always do your homework on a company. If you’re interested in learning more about Radio One, listen to the Conference Call to learn more about them before making any decisions.

If you have any good investments you’d like to share feel free to leave a comment.

Radio One Website
Radio One 2008 Q2 Conference Call (Audio Archives)
Radio One Stock Ticker (ROIAK)
My Zecco Referral Link