I am a fresh grad who is keen on starting my investing portfolio as soon as I earn my first paycheck. What should I invest in and how much capital should I have before opening an account?

It is important that you first figure out your finances! Think about how much you would need for your emergency funds, which should be 6-12 months of living expenses that you cannot go without. Put that amount into a high savings account like Jumpstart.

After that is settled, as for beginners, you may look into investing in ETFs as they are lower risk investments as you are investing in the market as a whole, compared to individual stocks, mutual funds and other securities. One recommendation I always give is the S&P500 ETF which has historical returns around 10%.

The amount of capital you have does not need to be a lot as you can buy in smaller divisions. It just needs to be the excess amount you have!

There is no fixed amount you should have before your invest. As long as you have enough savings and emergency fund set aside, you are ready to invest.