Everything you invest in has risk so you want to do your research before you put your money on the line.
For example, when McDonald's opens a new restaurant (please, don't call it a hamburger joint) they will investigate as many of the relevant facts as possible. The demographics of the area - age and income of those within a certain driving distance. Who, where and how much is local competition? The number of cars driving by each day will be counted and will be tallied at one-hour increments. Local labor costs must be figured in. The cost of acquiring the land and construction of a new building or rental of an existing location is estimated. These and many other factors are added up to get an idea of the approximate operating costs and amortization of fixed assets.
When they have all that then they will be able to figure out how many hamburgers will need to be sold to break even. This true and meaningful research to decide whether to risk money for investment - in this case return on investment or as Wall Street calls it, ROI.
Unfortunately, Wall Street also tells you to do similar research before you buy stock in a company. There is almost no correlation between doing research for ROI and doing similar research to determine if a stock is going to go up. There are thousands of companies that have excellent Operating Statements, but the stock goes nowhere year after year. One of the easiest ways to see this is to go to www.bigcharts.com , type in the symbol of the stock and check back on its price performance for the past 5 to 10 years. If it doesn't have a nice steady upward movement it will be best not to buy it. Also if the price action is extremely volatile you should also pass even if your broker says to buy it, especially if your broker says to buy it.
The type of research brokerage firms tell you to do means absolutely nothing as far as finding out if the stock price will go up. Wall Street-type research is basically worthless.
Let's says you have done some intelligent research and have found a stock or mutual fund that has been going up for the past several months or even years (these are very rare) and you decide to buy it. There is no guarantee it will continue to go up, but you want to limit your risk. How? There are a couple of very simple things you can do.
The first and simplest is to determine how much you are willing to risk in this investment. Maybe the stock cost $60 per share and you are going to buy 100 shares for $6,000. You decide you are willing to risk $1,000, no more. At the time you make the purchase you also put in another order with the broker. Tell him to place a Good Til Canceled Stop- Loss Order for $50 per share. If the stock drops to that price you are out.
The second way is to go back to the Internet and the above web site and print out a chart for the past one, three or five-year time periods. Then draw in a trendline along the bottoms of the price action. Connect a straight line along the lowest price. Usually you will have at least three places that will hit this line as it is progressing upward. When that line is penetrated you want to sell out.
Investing in anything without risk control could mean large losses of capital. Wall Street trained brokers are not taught risk control. If you want to preserve your capital it is up to you.
Al Thomas' book, "If It Doesn't Go Up, Don't Buy It!" has helped thousands of people make money and keep their profits with his simple 2-step method. Read the first chapter at http://www.mutualfundmagic.com and discover why he's the man that Wall Street does not want you to know.
Copyright 2005
taxi from O'Hare Bismarck .. Lockport Chicago limo O’HareI am taking the time to help others learn the... Read More
Investors who exclusively use broadly diversified, no load mutual funds... Read More
It is finally catching up with them. The brokerage companies... Read More
The trading method you employ to approach the stock market... Read More
The recent criminal fiasco in the mutual fund industry is... Read More
I am sure that if you have a brokerage account... Read More
Hello Inflation, it has been awhile, I see you on... Read More
One of the greatest challenges of investing in stocks is... Read More
Just 30 years ago the stock market was a shadow... Read More
Duck! No I don't mean a quack, quack. I meant... Read More
Stock trading can be a very profitable activity. You can... Read More
Caught in a whirlpool and being sucked under. No life... Read More
Among the largest forces that affect stock prices are inflation,... Read More
Robert Rodriguez likes to buy stocks at their lows. When... Read More
We all know that emotions control every decision that an... Read More
When you stand on the ocean shore and watch the... Read More
Investing in long-term financial vehicles give you the most gains... Read More
As an investor you will want to check out any... Read More
I mean it when I say that. While plastic silverware... Read More
Very few people, even professionals, have heard of the Dalbar... Read More
I would like to share with the reader an article... Read More
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall and all the King's... Read More
Have you been listening to the talking heads on CNBC-TV?... Read More
On November 17 I bought 7 different mutual funds and... Read More
The stock market is very unstable at this time going... Read More
Granger Lincoln Stretch limo rentals ..When the stock market is going up and all your... Read More
There are many good penny stock investments available, which could... Read More
Mutual funds were created with the idea that one person... Read More
Most stock traders know that momentum trading can be a... Read More
As the man said, "I've got some good news and... Read More
In today's volatile and confusing stock markets everyone is searching... Read More
When is a dividend not a dividend?The latest thing "conservative"... Read More
I don't know what kind it is, but I saw... Read More
Every Wall Street analyst, financial planner and broker will tell... Read More
When it comes to stock market trading it PAYS to... Read More
The higher the market goes the more confusing are the... Read More
A recent cartoon in my daily newspaper showed two guys... Read More
Congress recently passed another new law that is supposed to... Read More
There is a current movie entitled "Eternal Sunshine of the... Read More
Caught in a whirlpool and being sucked under. No life... Read More
That sounds like good advice doesn't it? Don't lose all... Read More
Using Swing Trading Strategies and Technical Analysis when Trading Stocks... Read More
You may have wondered why your mutual funds have been... Read More
It is commonly reported that the stock market averages about... Read More
With the stock market stubbornly refusing to settle down and... Read More
In November of 2000 when the NASDAQ was trading at... Read More
Refuse is a serious issue in any society, about as... Read More
Last time we looked at the real performance of the... Read More
Forget making a profit; instead focus on the income provided... Read More
It seems that every day I turn on the TV... Read More
Stocks & Mutual Fund |