Jim Cramer’s 7 rules for new investors

Investment apps as game changers

In 2021, Cramer, one of the most famous stock-market commentators in the world, used a segment on his show to address the Reddit investors at the center of the GameStop (GME) situation.

“When things get Biblical, you gotta get careful,” Cramer said.

“Right now, we’re hearing a lot about David versus Goliath, how newer investors have taken on the hedge fund behemoths, armed with commission-free trading and more knowledge than ever — the people united will never be defeated,” he sarcastically exclaimed before pressing a button that called up a photo of the Wall Street bull.

Cramer acknowledged that investment apps like Robinhood have revolutionized the investing world.

“They used a terrific app and commission-free trading to attract 17 million investors. Most of whom are new to the game,” he says. “Even if they don’t stick with Robinhood in particular, they love stocks. And they’re learning how to be better investors and I think that’s terrific.”

But Cramer urged the mass of new investors to re-evaluate their motivations for investing.

“I recognize the appeal of that story, but this is not a morality play,” he said. “You’re not sticking it to the man when you buy GameStop or AMC Entertainment. There’s only one good reason to own stocks — and that, of course, is to make money.”

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Cramer’s rules for new investors

Cramer’s skepticism toward what he saw as vigilante investing proved prophetic: as prices on the meme stocks tumbled, newbie investors from Reddit lost millions of dollars from their accounts.

He said we are now facing a possible retail revolution in the investing world — but he warned that revolutions often fall apart and the old regime sticks around.

So what does he advise? Putting down the slingshot and picking up his rulebook. Here are the CNBC host's list of rules for the new crop of app-armed investors.

7 'rules for revolutionaries'

1. Put your money in the stocks of companies that deserve to go higher over time.
2. Don’t try to wipe out other investors.
3. Find opportunities to capitalize on stock moves driven by emotional trading.
4. Don’t depend on the government to introduce regulatory changes.
5. Don’t borrow money from brokers to buy stocks.
6. Keep calm, use your head and follow corporate earnings reports.
7. Invest in companies that are doing well, but poised to do better in the future.

Tools to invest

Essentially, Cramer's message to observers of the Reddit/GameStop schmozzle was that, even though the stock market is now more accessible than ever, thanks to the new generation of apps, you still have to do your homework if you want to see real, steady wealth gains out of your portfolio.

But, as Cramer alluded to, the great thing is you have plenty of options in the investing app arena. Robinhood is just the beginning. Other investment apps like Stash allow you to buy fractional shares, meaning you can start investing in big-name companies with as little as $5.

Another player popular investment apps is Acorns, which can take your spare change from purchases on your credit or debit card and turn it into a serious portfolio.

Using one of these apps to return to the fundamentals of investing might not make you millions of dollars in a week, but it also means you won’t immediately lose your gains (and potentially a lot more).

Instead, you can expect to see steady growth in your investments over the long term.

Before long, you’ll have what Cramer calls the “very high-quality problem” of high returns — even while sticking to your revolutionary principles.