Hello I have 10 years experience from stocks and stuff and I think you should read a book with the name: "Money masters of our time". The books explains different strategies used by people such as Warren Buffett and Peter Lynch and it gives you a broad picture of the different alternatives you may use. http://www.amazon.com/Money-Masters-Time-John-Train/dp/08873...
You may also want to hang out at http://www.trejdify.com/ which is like Hacker News but business only!