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Stuff
I continually hear from economists, talking heads, other market letter writers, analysts and assorted "experts" that I need to know all kinds of "stuff" about the stocks and mutual funds I am going to buy and I should keep up with them on a regular basis.What is this important "stuff"?Let's see. Oh, I know. Price to Earning ratio, P/E. That's always a big one on almost everyone's list. Simply put it is how many years it will take a company's earning to pay back the price today. It can be from five to infinity if it is not earning anything. Today there are many companies that have P/Es in excess of 50. That's 50 years to earn back your investment. Kinda steep, don't you think? For y...(related: Stocks)
Successful Trading ? Establish Your Risk Level
Before you embark upon a journey of trading stocks or futures, and before you make any trades, you MUST determine and establish your risk level. Traders that fail to do this are usually doomed from the start. The fact is that most trading accounts that go bust are because of the failure to determine at what point the trader will cut their losses and move on to the next trade. Rookie traders are particularly prone to do this. They hang on to losing positions hoping that they will turn around ? only to watch the price drop even further. Too much thought and effort are expended on the buying decision instead of the selling decision. The sad truth is that it's the selling decision that will determine your fate as a successful trader. And successful trading is dependent on how long and...(related: Stocks)
Successful Trading ? Taking Profits - Part 1
So you're started trading, you bought some positions with your online broker, you've set some reasonable stop-losses to protect your account and all of a sudden one of your positions move strongly in your favor ? so what do you do now? This my friend, is probably the hardest situation to deal with in trading the market ? believe it or not.Do you take profits? Do you hold on for more profits? Do you take partial profits? There is no textbook answer to these questions as it depends on your trading objective. That's why you need to determine your objective BEFORE you start trading....(related: Stocks)
Successful Trading ? Taking Profits - Part 2
Suppose your position has made a big move and you moved your stop to your purchase price as recommended. Then let's say your stock continues to make a big move and now we're asking again the questions we asked back in the first paragraph. The first profit taking technique you can use is a trailing stop. If you moved your stop to your purchase price, then you've already used a trailing stop. Now you can continue to move your stop up as the price rises until the market "stops" you out of the position. So in essence, what you're doing is letting the market d...(related: Stocks)
Swing Trading Strategies
Using Swing Trading Strategies and Technical Analysis when Trading Stocks to Make Consistent Trading Profits.This article is one small part of a series of lessons using Swin...(related: Stocks)
Take The Time
You must take the time once a month to review your investment portfolio. It won't take long - less than one hour, maybe 15 minutes.I don't believe the average working person or business owner should own anything but mutual funds because these are the easiest to buy and evaluate. However, if you do own some stocks the first thing to ask yourself is if each issue is selling for more than you paid for it. If it isn't you must realize this is not where you want to have your money so the best course of action is to sell it NOW and put...(related: Stocks)
The 1% Solution
You probably know the story of Sherlock Holmes and the 7% solution. He had a drug addiction. He n...(related: Stocks)
The 10 Commandments
Wall Street has been preaching for years and years to investors how and where to put their money. The "experts" have put forth these ideas for so long that they seem to be carved in stone just like Moses did with God's 10 Commandments. The only difference is that what Wall Street preaches is lies that will make you broke.It will be difficult in this short space to elaborate on them, but please stop and give a long think to all of these commandments.1. Do research 2. Buy and Hold 3. Dollar Cost Average 4. Diversify 5. Buy a good stock and put it away 6. You can't afford to be out of the market 7. Never try to time the market 8. Rearrange your portfolio with age ...(related: Stocks)
The 401(k): How The Insider Has Stolen Your Retirement!
Mutual funds were moderately successful in creating a presence in the stock market until the advent of the investment retirement account and in particular the 401(k). Corporate insiders persuaded the federal government to allow for the 401(k) in lieu of offering employees the traditional pension. When this happened the employees lost the protection of a specialized financial manager who could manage both the return and the risk of the retirement m...(related: Stocks)
The Big Bad Bear
The big bad bear is stirring again. So far he has stretched, yawned and peaked out of his cave. After his almost year-long nap he is hungry. A nice big steak would hit the spot.That steak comes from cattle and not too far from his den there is a fat complacent bull munching in the pasture. He has his tail towards the bear and Mr. Bear remembers that 3 years ago he walked up to another bull and bit him in the backside. It looks like he can do it again.We know who bull and bear really are. It seems that almost everyone is bullish and thinks we are in another bull market like the one in 1999 where all investors thought they were geniuses. History has taught (for those who wish to listen and learn) that major bull markets are f...(related: Stocks)
The Bottom?
Every day I hear someone on CNBC proclaim that "this is the bottom" and you should get in there and buy all those "bargains". "The valuations of the DOW stocks are a steal."The low of DOW 8,000 immediately after September 11 was "the low" and the market did...(related: Stocks)
The Club
Yesterday I received my monthly issue of MONEY magazine. This issue has the special feature called "The Ultimate Investment Club" that highlights their picks for the top mutual fund managers. Let's see how their members made money for their shareholders.My readers know that the only thing that counts in my book is performance and performance means they make money and do NOT lose money so I went back to preview their record since these experts took over. When you see the result...(related: Stocks)
The Cub; Ii
We keep hearing about this bear market and that the bottom is "in" or "very close" so we should be invested in these bargain basement prices to take advantage of the next bull so we won't lose out on the expected huge profits.This is not a big bear market - yet. What you are experiencing is the cub phase. The full size bear has not appeared. It is going to be one of the biggest, meanest, ugliest Kodiaks the stock market has ever experienced. If you think you have lost money in the last 2 ½ years wait a while as this cub is eating everything in sight as he grows larger each day.If you haven't thrown your paper down because you think I'm nuts let's try on these facts that the talking heads don't want to...(related: Stocks)
The Elephant
Four blind men were asked to give a description of an elephant. They had not seen one or ever encountered such a beast.One grabbed hold of its tail. Another put his arms around a leg. The third gripped its trunk and the fourth walked into the side. The description given by each one was correct and accurate except it did not describe the elephant'...(related: Stocks)
The Exclusive Club Of Large Caps
Picture one of those clubs where only the real heavyweights need apply. In the library the old aristocrats, General Motors and JP Morgan, are dozing in their leather chairs. On the terrace, a late luncheon is underway for those who have only improved their standing through marriage. ExxonMobil and Citigroup are part of the party. At the bar, a number of the"nouveau riche" have gathered - Microsoft seems to be buying for Intel and Hewlett Packard. Welcome to the world of the Large Cap Stock Club, the biggest of the worlds publicly traded companies.For those interested in applying, membership includes a minimum market capitalization of at...(related: Stocks)
The Golden Goose Is Sick
It is finally catching up with them. The brokerage companies I mean. For years they have been feeding bad food to their flock and now the flock is rebelling. The customer has been low man on the totem pole for too long. That food has been the disinformation that has caused customers to lose large sums of money.Last year there were 33,000 brokerage company recommendations for thousands of stocks. Things like Strong Buy, Buy, Long Term Buy, Outperform, Underperform, Neutral, and Hold. The one word that was missing was Sell. Of those thousands of messages sent to their clients only 125 were Sel...(related: Stocks)
The Great Stock Market Secret
When the stock market is going up and all your stocks and mutual funds are making money you feel like a genius. It is too bad that some folks don't remember what happened in 2000. Of course, right now we are in one of those genius phases.Your broker and financial planner are encouraging you to buy, buy, buy. And I can't fault that at this time. You remember back in 2000 how many times they told you to buy, buy, buy while the market was going down, down, down. Are we in another of those periods now that are leading up to a humongous crash? Hey, I don't predict, but I do l...(related: Stocks)
The Holy Grail (of Investment)
Every year I go to the Money Show in Orlando, Florida. Thousands attend. It is mostly an older crowd with the youngsters about 40 years of age. I have been saying for years that until you have lost enough money trying to make a fortune you will not become serious about investing. The under 40's are shooting for the moon and it has finally dawned on the over 40's (maybe it's the over 50's) that they must find a better way to get rich.The Money Show presents a forum of recognized experts in their field. It may be long-term or short term trading. It could be in stocks, bonds, mutual fund, ETFs (Exchange Traded Funds), oil and gas properties, options, commodity futures, managed accounts and other more esoteric venues.Each one of the "experts" allows ...(related: Stocks)
The I Word Is Coming To A Town Near You
Hello Inflation, it has been awhile, I see you on your way back again. Inflation? What inflation? Oh things like; Energy, diesel fuel, Aviation Fuel, Gasoline, Natural Gas, Milk, Wheat, Corn, Beef, Poultry, Hogs, Soy Beans, Building materials, paper, housing, Au...(related: Stocks)
The Importance Of Using Stop Loss Orders When Spread Trading The Financial Markets
A Guide to Using Stop Loss Orders Stop losses are market orders designed to allow you to limit your losses.When you place a stop loss you are instructing the spread betting company or stock broker to cut your position when it reaches a ...(related: Stocks)
The Information Age
It is wonderful to be alive in the information age. We know in a matter of seconds the change in the value of gold in Switzerland, the death of a world leader or the birth of a peasant in Israel.We are inundated with facts and figures and the emotional tribulations of both famous and infamous people. Can we possibly assimilate all this? Does it help us...(related: Stocks)
The Inside Scoop On Mutual Fund Rip Offs
The bear market that showed up at the end of 2000 has every brokerage house-as well as the entire mutual fund industry-scrambling to find creative ways to boost both their image and bottom line. Unfortunately, this is often at the investors' expense.Fund managers are ever on the lookout for ways to spin the stats to hide lousy track records and to find ways to obscure fees. To add insult to (financial) injury, investors end up being penalized for selling. So what's an investor to do? In this case, knowledge is power. Here are some of the ways mutual fund investors are being taken advant...(related: Stocks)
The Next Bull Market
We are already in it, but you can't see it. It doesn't look like the one we had in '99. Like the magician who has you watching what he wants you to and with the other hand he is doing something else that is what is happening in the stock market today. The magician is the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the Nasda...(related: Stocks)
The Power Of A Proven Stock Investment Plan
When you invest in the stock market for ever-increasing cash dividend income, verses trying to make a buck in the stock market, your mindset will change. There will no longer be a fear of losing money in the stock market. With the right type of investment plan and investment choices all worries of losing money in the stock market will disappear.The mind set that will emerge when you adopt a proven income producing investment plan in the stock market will create an air of worry-free concern about the up and down turmoil of a volatile stock market. Whether your investment portfolio is rising or falling won't make a difference. You...(related: Stocks)
The Problem With Hedge Funds
Are hedge funds a suitable investment for you? Hedge funds are an appropriate investment for qualified purchasers with a net worth above one million dollars and an annual income exceeding two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Purchasers are often required to sign an acknowledgement confirming their qualifications to invest in hedge funds. However, just because one is qualified to invest in a hedge fund doesn't necessarily mean they should do so. There is a major problem with this type of investment. Oftentimes, the risk associate...(related: Stocks)
The Right Mutual Funds For Baby Boomers
If you are a baby boomer, time is not on your side. Many baby boomers see retirement age fast approaching with little to nothing in the way of retirement assets that will allow them to actually retire and live a comfortable lifestyle.With the benefit of time in short supply, substantial investment performance in a shorter than normal time frame becomes strikingly import...(related: Stocks)
The Secret Art Of Backtesting
If you have not back tested your trading system, you might as well trade with your eyes close. In fact, whatever technical analysis criterion you use to trade with, be it moving averages, candle sticks, volatility breakouts, fibonacci retracements or any other trading system you have devised you're going to need to back test your trading system thoroughly and objectively in order to remove any possible doubt about it's capability.To remove any self-doubt you need to thoroughly back test or simulate your trading system in such away that it matches the conditions under which it will be traded. Once you have established that you have a reliable and robust trading system only then will you be confident in trading your system. W...(related: Stocks)
The Secret Method To Selecting A Winning Trading System
Every successful trader has a winning system. There are of course, as many systems out there, as there are traders. Some systems get you t...(related: Stocks)
The Secret To More Winning Trades Is As Simple As Avoiding This Common Mistake
If you're a normal human being, your need to feel good about yourself probably causes you to sell your winners too soon ? and -- your need to avoid feelings of regret, causes you to hang on to your losers too long.At one time or another, we're all guilty of letting our emotions dictate our investment decisions. But the only way to succeed in the market, is to keep greed, fear, pride and hope away from your trades.The most successful investors know exactly when they're going to sell a stock, the moment they buy it. Often they use "trailing stops" which move along with the closing price of the stock. It's a purely mechanical decision they make as an impartial observer ? and never based on feelings or instincts.How many times has "fear of loss" caused you to sell a stock that...(related: Stocks)
The Seven Mistakes All Novice Traders Make And How To Correct Them
We learnt the following the hard way! If any of these things applies to you, don't worry ? there is an easy solution!MISTAKE ONELack of Knowledge and No PlanIt amazes us that some people expect to trade the stock market successfully without any effort. Yet if they want to take up golf, for example, they will happily take some lessons or at least read a book before heading out onto the course.The stock market is not the place for the ill informed. But learning what you need is straightforward ? you just need someone to show you the way.The opposite extreme of this is those traders who spend their life looking for the Holy Grail of trading! Been there, done that!The truth is, there is no Holy Grail...(related: Stocks)
The Shadow
The Shadow knows. There used to be a radio program called The Shadow where the hero, Lamont Cranston, the Shadow, would overcome the shadowy forces of doom by clouding the vision of those around him. "Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men" was their intro line. They were great shows and you can still find them on the Internet.The stock market is kind of like the shadow. As you walk along with the sun at your back you cast a shadow. No m...(related: Stocks)
The Skinny On Mutual Fund Investing
Mutual fund investing is a lot like Thai cooking. Everyone has heard of it, most know a little something about it, but very few actually know how to do it and do it well. To invest in mutual funds wisely, it is important to have a good grasp on what mutual funds are, how they work, and what the risks involved may be. The fact that mutual fund investments are often considered safer than stocks, options, and other investments often misleads people to think that their investment in mutual funds are risk free. This, as you will see, is not the case.The Risks of Mutual Fund InvestingFirst of all, mutual fund investments are not insured by the FDIC or any other federal insurance program or government agency. Even in cases where mutual funds are purchased through a bank (some may even bear the name of the bank), it is possible to lose ...(related: Stocks)
The Stock Market Doesnt Care If You Are A Beginner?. Get Prepared To Succeed At Trading
Stock trading remains a very competitive field and the stock market doesn't care if you are an experienced stock trader or an aspiring one. The rules and the trading opportunities are the same for all of us, so either youre going to make money when you pick a stock and make a trade, or you are going to lose some of it in favor of the more seasoned traders.As an online stock trader your homework is all about studying and testing different online trading strategies that can help you take advantage of stocks and at the same time protect your profits. Just always keep in mind that a good st...(related: Stocks)
The Stock Market - How Just One Question Will Tell You All You Need To Know About Your Stock Broker
Last time we looked at the real performance of the stock market (we used the Dow Jones as a reference point) and the apparent performance that makes the headlines and can be seen by a casual look at a chart or "ballpark" figures - briefly; the Dow went up, for example, less than 50 points between April 1999 and April 2005 - essentially 6 years with no growth!But behind that seemingly "becalmed" Dow there were at least 10 significant moves each and every year totalling many thousands of points!But did the Wall Street Moguls, the so-called "Masters of the Universe" make you any money from those huge movements?No.Of course they didn't!Here's how I know...Th...(related: Stocks)
The Stock Market Investor?s Worst Enemy
Every stock market investor faces one primal enemy. An enemy so perverse, it will drive thousands of investors from the stock market through its...(related: Stocks)
The Stock Market Is A Roller Coaster: Prepare For The Ups And Downs
IT'S REMINISCENT OF THE OLD children's tale about an old Chinese farmer who tells his friends his story, and they enjoin with "That's good" or "That's bad" on alternating lines:Farmer: My horse ran away.Friends: That's bad.Farmer: She came back with a majestic stallion by her side.Friends: That's good.Farmer: My son tried to ride the stallion and broke his hip.Friends: That's bad.Farmer: The emperor came through town that week and took every able-bodied young man away to war. My son was spared.Friends: That's good, et cetera.Recent market trends bring this story to mind. On this emotion...(related: Stocks)
The Stock Market - Part 1: Believe It Or Not, Its Always Been Your Best Friend And Always Will Be
Regardless of the fact that the world's stock markets have shown absolutely no growth between the date of writing this article (Late April 2005) and the late 1990s, they should still be looked at with more than just a sideways glance.Speak gently to them, speak well of them to your friends, learn to trust them, cuddle up close and get to know them - and they will reward you i...(related: Stocks)
The Stock Trading Plan - Why You Must Have One To Trade Successfully
This is the continuing story of our two imaginary traders, Peter and Paul.Peter is a professional trader, Paul is not. Peter has a tested, proven, written trading plan that he follows each time he enters a trade, Paul does not.Peter and Paul have had vastly different Stock trading experiences - Peter has just made another substantial profit - this time from the Bear market, Paul has lost heavily.A chance meeting with Peter's group of friends one day at lunch launches Paul on a l...(related: Stocks)
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The Skinny On Mutual Fund Investing
Mutual fund investing is a lot like Thai cooking. Everyone has heard of it, most know a little something about it, but very few actually know how to do it and do it well. To invest in mutual funds wisely, it is important to have a good grasp on what mutual funds are, how they work, and what the risks involved may be. The fact that mutual fund investments are often considered safer than stocks, options, and other investments often misleads people to think that their investment in mutual funds are risk free. This, as you will see, is not the case.The Risks of Mutual Fund InvestingFirst of all, mutual fund investments are not insured by the FDIC or any other federal insurance program or government agency. Even in cases where mutual funds are purchased through a bank (some may even bear the name of the bank), it is possible to lose ...(related: Stocks)
The Next Bull Market
We are already in it, but you can't see it. It doesn't look like the one we had in '99. Like the magician who has you watching what he wants you to and with the other hand he is doing something else that is what is happening in the stock market today. The magician is the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the Nasda...(related: Stocks)
Performance Funds
Mutual funds are doing more and more to discourage investors from leaving them and taking their money to a better performing fund. What does better performing mean? It has nothing to d...(related: Stocks)
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