What should I buy? How to choose your own stocks or ETFs — a decision tree for beginners

“Boss, what stock is good to buy?”

This is the question that comes into Daus’s DMs the most. Many people ask the same thing in different words, and some ask Daus to just pick for them.

Daus understands why people ask. There are thousands of stocks and ETFs in the app, and they all look the same. But Daus will not choose for you, for two reasons.

The first reason is legal. Recommending a specific security to a specific person is investment advice, and in Malaysia that needs a licence from the Securities Commission. Daus is a Moomoo Marketing Representative, not a licensed investment adviser.

The second reason matters more. Daus does not know your situation. Daus does not know when you need this money, what your salary is, what debts you carry, or whether you can sleep at night when your account drops 20%. What is right for Daus can be wrong for you.

So Daus does something more useful instead. Daus teaches how to choose, so that from here on you can make the decision yourself, and understand the reasoning behind it.

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Part 1 — The decision tree: five questions, in order

Every investor who knows what they are doing, whether they realise it or not, answers five questions before buying. The order matters. Most people start from the last question (“which stock?”) and skip the first four.

1. What is this money for?

The goal decides everything. Money for retirement 25 years from now gets invested very differently from money for a house deposit next year. Write down one clear goal. “I want to be rich” is not a goal. “I want RM50,000 for my child’s education in 12 years” is a goal.

2. How long can this money sit untouched?

This is the question most people skip, and the one that matters most.

• Under 3 years: stocks are not the right place. Markets can fall 20% or 30% and take years to recover. If you are forced to pull the money out at that point, you lock in the loss.
• 3 to 5 years: part of it can go into stocks or ETFs, and the rest is better placed somewhere stable.
• More than 5 years: this is the horizon that suits stocks and ETFs. Short-term swings have time to recover.

3. ETF, or individual stocks?

Part 2 below explains the difference in full. In short, if you do not have the time or the interest to research companies, a broad index ETFETF (Exchange Traded Fund)A fund that holds many stocks at once, and trades just like a regular stock.See it in the glossary → is almost always the more sensible choice.

4. Shariah-compliant or not?

If yes, this is not the last filter. It is an early filter, because it narrows your list of choices right from the start. Part 3 gathers every Shariah tool in one place.

5. How much per month?

Your monthly amount decides how many things you should be buying. Every order has a fee, so with RM100 a month, splitting it across five ETFs just means you pay five sets of fees. A small amount suits one broad choice better, and it’s cheaper to save up and buy once a month.

One note: that RM100 a month is extra money after the account is open. For the first deposit, Daus suggests having RM1,000 ready. The reasons are in starting with small capital.

The right amount is the amount you can keep going for 24 months without feeling squeezed. Consistency is worth more than size.

Try it now

Answer the four questions below. The result is a direction by asset class and the tutorial you should read next. It deliberately does not name any stock or ETF.

Answer 4 questions, get your direction

1. When might you need this money back?

Within 3 years3 to 5 yearsMore than 5 years

2. How much time are you willing to spend researching companies each month?

Almost noneA few hours, and I enjoy it

3. Do you want Shariah-compliant investments only?

Yes, it is a mustNot a requirement

4. How much can you invest each month without feeling squeezed?

Under RM200RM200 to RM1,000More than RM1,000

Answer all four questions above to see your direction.

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Part 2 — When an ETF fits better, when individual stocks fit better

Picture ordering nasi campur. Individual stocks are like picking just one dish. If that dish is good, you enjoy the whole plate. If it has gone bad, the whole plate is ruined. An ETF is like taking a little of every dish from the whole stall. No single dish can ruin your plate.

	Broad index ETF	Individual stocks
Companies in one purchase	Dozens to thousands	One
If one company goes bankrupt	Small effect, since it is one out of hundreds	You can lose almost all your capital in that stock
Time needed to research	Little. Understanding the index and its fees is enough	A lot. Financial statements, competitors, management
How often to monitor	Rarely	Often, at least every quarter
Chance of a big win	Follows the market	Higher, but the chance of a big loss is just as high

An ETF fits better if:

• You are just starting out and have never read a financial statement.
• You do not have the time or the interest to research companies.
• You want to invest a fixed amount every month and let it run on its own.
• You want to sleep well even if one big company suddenly crashes.

Individual stocks fit better if:

• You already have an ETF base, and individual stocks are only a small slice of your portfolio.
• You genuinely understand the company’s business, and can explain how it makes money in two sentences.
• You are willing to read its financial reports every quarter.
• You can accept the stock falling 50% and never recovering.

If you want to start learning how to research companies, read fundamental analysis and fundamental styles with the screener. But Daus would suggest you start with paper trading first, before using real money on individual stocks.

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Part 3 — The Shariah route, in one place

If you want to invest in Shariah-compliant assets only, here are the four tools you need, in the order Daus personally follows.

1. ETFs that track a Shariah index. Some ETFs hold companies from the S&P 500 that have been screened by Shariah criteria, for example SPUS, and some hold Shariah-compliant companies outside America, for example SPWO. These two are examples for you to look up and research yourself, not a recommendation to buy. Conventional banking and insurance companies, alcohol, and companies with too much interest-based debt are excluded from that index. The Compare stocks & ETFs tutorial lines up a Shariah ETF side by side with a regular S&P 500 ETF, so you can see the difference in holdings, fees and performance with your own eyes.

2. The Shariah filter in Screener. If you want to look for individual stocks, Moomoo’s Screener has a Shariah: Compliant filter. Find it with the Search box at the top of the Select Filters screen, and combine it with other filters. For Bursa stocks there’s a shorter route: Markets → MY → Shariah. The full steps are in Shariah filtering in the screener tutorial and fundamental styles.

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1. Shariah filter

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3. For Bursa, check the SC’s official list. The Securities Commission’s Shariah Advisory Council publishes the List of Shariah-compliant Securities twice a year, usually in May and November. A stock’s status can change with every review. So even though the app’s filter makes things easier, the SC’s list is the final reference for Bursa stocks. Search “List of Shariah-compliant Securities” on the SC’s official website.

4. Gold has a Shariah version too. If you want exposure to gold, there are two ringgit routes with a Shariah adviser: the Bursa ETF 0828EA and the AHAM Shariah Gold Tracker unit trust under MYR Funds. How to buy both is in gold in ringgit, and how to sell the fund is in the sell unit trusts tutorial.

5. Why regular VOO isn’t Shariah-compliant, and SPUS vs HLAL. Both questions are answered with screenshots in Is it halal?

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Part 4 — What Daus personally does (an example, not a recommendation)

Daus shares this because so many people ask, and because a real example is easier to understand than theory. But remember, this is Daus’s situation. Daus’s age, income, goals and risk tolerance are different from yours.

Daus’s Moomoo account as of 18 October 2026 (names only, no RM values):

• The biggest part sits in broad index ETFs. Daus’s largest holding is VOO (an S&P 500 ETF), and it’s also the biggest gainer. Daus also holds MGK (large US growth companies), VT (companies worldwide) and SPUS (a Shariah-compliant S&P 500). All four ETFs are in profit.
• Individual US stocks are only a small slice. NVDA, MSFT, GOOGL, AVGO and TSM, plus FUTU (Moomoo’s parent company). Most are in profit. FUTU is losing money, and TSM is slightly down.
• Bursa stocks are a small slice too, and slightly down overall. ECOSHOP and VITROX are up. KJTS, TENAGA and 5ER are down, with 5ER (an IPO) the worst. So yes, Daus holds losers too.
• Small weekly RSPs. Daus has five RSPs running in Moomoo, USD25 each per week: VOO, SPUS, GOOGL, NVDA and FUTU. The purchases run on their own without Daus opening the app. But Daus has to be honest about the cost: on a buy as small as USD25, the fee is about USD0.49 each time, roughly 2% (a real example from Daus’s VOO buy). That’s a high percentage. That’s why, for small capital, Daus suggests buying less often but in bigger amounts, for example saving up and buying once a month.
• Money Daus needs in the near term does not go into stocks at all. It sits in savings with a fixed price.

If you notice, Daus’s pattern is close to the decision tree above: a broad base first, individual stocks as a small addition, and everything automatic.

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Part 5 — Write down your choice

A written decision is harder to break when the market falls. Fill in this worksheet. If you want Daus to look at it, tap the green button and send it on WhatsApp. Daus will not say your choice is right or wrong, but Daus can ask questions you may have missed.

My choice

Answer the decision tree above first, and your answers will be included in the message too.

What this money is forWhat I choseWhy I chose itWhat would make me sell

Send to Daus on WhatsAppCopy answersClear

Your answers are saved in this browser only. Nothing is sent unless you tap Send in WhatsApp.

That last field is the one most people leave blank, and it is the most useful one. If you do not know when you will sell, you will end up selling in a panic. How to sell stocks has three valid reasons to sell.

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Part 6 — You know what to buy. What next?

Once you’ve chosen, the questions usually turn to when, how much and how. These are the six that come up most. Every answer below is a way of thinking, not a buy instruction. This is not financial advice.

Just deposited RM1,000: buy one ETF first, or split it?

For most beginners, starting with one broad index ETF is a common first step. An ETF like that already holds hundreds of companies, so even one purchase gives you diversification.

The second reason is fees. Every order has a fee, so fewer, larger orders are usually cheaper than many small ones. For US shares, for example, a RM1,000 order pays roughly 0.5% in fees, but a RM100 order pays roughly 2%. Splitting RM1,000 into five small orders means paying fees five times.

Later, if you want a second ETF, make sure its contents are different from the first. How to check for overlap is in managing your portfolio.

All at once, or bit by bit (DCA)?

People use both.

• All at once means all your money is working in the market from day one. If the market rises afterwards, you gain more. If it falls the next day, you feel the full pain.
• Bit by bit (DCA, dollar cost averaging) means investing a fixed amount every month regardless of price. When prices fall, the same money buys more units. When prices rise, it buys fewer. Over time, your average price evens out.

DCA suits people investing from their salary every month, and people who are afraid of getting the timing wrong. People who already have large savings sometimes put part in now and spread the rest over a few months. The automatic way to DCA in Moomoo is RSP, and how to think about larger savings is in savings of RM10k to RM50k.

When is a good time to buy? Should I wait for prices to drop?

The honest answer: nobody can time the market accurately and consistently, Daus included. People who wait for “the price to drop first” often watch it keep rising, then buy higher, or never buy at all.

That’s why many long-term investors don’t try to guess. They buy on a schedule, for example every month after payday, and hold for years. What matters isn’t when you buy, but how long you hold. If moving in and out with daily price swings appeals to you, read trading vs long-term investing first, because the statistics for day traders aren’t pretty.

Keep it as cash first, or buy now?

It depends on what the money is for.

• Long-term money with a plan: leaving it as cash for too long has a cost too, because the money isn’t working. If you already know what to buy and understand the risks, follow your plan.
• Not sure what to buy yet: there’s nothing wrong with holding cash while you learn. Better to wait a month and understand than to buy today out of fear of missing out.
• Money you need within 1 to 3 years: don’t put it into shares at all. Read short-term money.

One point for new users who have claimed the reward: the RM25 stock cash coupon only turns into money when you place one buy order of at least RM200 within the coupon’s 90-day validity. After the order fills, RM25 is returned as cash within 3 trading days. One coupon per order, so two coupons need two orders. Details on the reward page.

How to check whether a company is actually listed (avoid pre-IPO scams)

If someone offers you “pre-IPO” shares over WhatsApp or Telegram, promising the company will list soon and the price will multiply, be careful. This is one of the most common scams.

How to check for yourself:

1. Search the company name in Moomoo’s Search. If it’s already listed on Bursa or another market Moomoo supports, it will appear with a stock code.
2. For Bursa IPOs, open Markets → MY and look at the IPOs section. It has Available (open for applications), To be Listed and Listed tabs. A genuine Bursa IPO is applied for through a licensed broker like this, not by transferring money to someone’s personal account.
3. If you can’t find it at all, and the person wants you to pay them directly, stop. Check their licence on the SC list first.

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1. Bursa IPOs

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Other scam warning signs and how to check a licence in two minutes are in investor scams and safety. How to apply for a Bursa IPO properly is in CDS account for IPOs.

Afraid to hold long-term because prices can fall

This feeling is normal, and it’s better to think about it now than when the market is red.

Here’s a real example from Moomoo’s Compare screen. Over the past 3 years, the S&P 500 ETF (VOO) fell about 17% from its peak at one point, and the Shariah ETF SPUS fell about 22%. Since launch, SPUS’s deepest fall was about 31%, during Covid in March 2020. That means if you invest RM10,000, there will be times your balance looks like RM7,000 to RM8,000. That isn’t a sign you did something wrong. It’s part of the price of long-term returns. The full numbers are in Compare stocks & ETFs.

Three things make these falls easier to sit through:

• Only invest money you won’t need for 5 years or more. Money you need sooner belongs somewhere stable. Read short-term money.
• Pick a broad ETF, not a single stock. One company can fall and never recover. A broad ETF holds hundreds of companies, so one failure doesn’t wreck your whole holding.
• Write down why you bought in the worksheet above. When the market falls, read that reason again before you tap Sell.

If you’re more drawn to investments that pay regular distributions from rent, such as REITs, read REITs in Moomoo.

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Common mistakes when choosing

Choosing by last year’s performance. A stock or ETF that rose 80% last year is usually already expensive. Past performance is not a prediction.

Choosing whatever went viral on TikTok. If everyone is already talking about a stock, the price has usually already gone up because so many people bought in.

Buying too many things. Ten ETFs that all hold the same companies is not diversification. That is one investment you pay ten sets of fees for.

Switching your choice every month. Every time you switch, you pay fees and may lock in a loss. An ordinary choice held for 10 years usually beats a great choice switched every month.

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This is a guide on how to choose, and an example of what Daus personally does, not financial advice and not a recommendation to buy any security. Stocks and ETFs can fall in value, and past performance does not guarantee future performance. The final decision is yours, based on your own circumstances.