Stocks & Mutual Fund articles

Let's say you are interested in this one company. You read its annual report, like what you see and your calculation indicates that the stock is trading way below its fair value. You are excited. It is time to buy! Hang on for a second. There are several techniques of buying stocks out there. Some are better than the other. Let me explore several useful ones.Buy all at limit price. Assume that we have done our research and we want... Read More

Day trading is all about making buy and sell decisions. When you make a trade either your going to lose money or your going to make money, and some other times you will break even. When you win some body else will lose and so forth, but that's NOT what's important.The most important aspect of day trading is the knowledge FILTER you employ to make your buy/sell decisions. There are many "fantastic" strategies outhere, but you need to test them... Read More

What is the Series 7 Exam? If you are looking to become a licensed Stockbroker, you need to know about the Series 7. The Series 7 is a 250 question exam that when passed, licenses you to act as a Registered Representative. Persons who receive this license are allowed to sell most securities. These securities would include: Stock, Bonds, Options, Mutual Funds and Annuities. The license itself is active while you are... Read More

Do you have a financial planner? Does one of your friends have a financial planner? Maybe you take your advice from your broker. As I have said countless times before a broker will make you broker. And a financial planner won't do any better. I know. You thought they would.Let's look at the real reason investors choose to take advice from these so called "experts". Once they get you into their office or sitting with you at the dining room... Read More

There are formulas for just about everything, but it has been shown that the simpler the formula or method of doing a particular task the better it works. It has evolved down to KISS ? Keep It Simple Stupid.This also applies to trading in the stock market. There are literally hundreds of formulas, both technical and fundamental that are easily available to investors. Each trader has his own method he uses. Every professional trader on the floor of the stock... Read More

Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a bucket of ?money. Money? They are continuing to fill their bucket with stocks without any consideration to the value of these equities. They are not worried at all as they are buying "safe" mutual funds.Everyone knows mutual funds are safe. Jack and Jill know they don't know how to pick good stocks so they leave that to the fund manager. He is an expert.When you look at the long term... Read More

You have heard about a particular mutual fund from a friend, saw it advertised on TV or read about it in some publication thought it would be a good buy. Next you call your broker to get his advice before you buy because he is an expert and is there to help you make money."Hello, Billy Sol (see Billy Sol Estes on Google), this is Joe Mushroom and I want to buy some XYZ mutual fund. What do you think?""Joe,... Read More

The fight continues to rage among traders who use technical indicators and those who prefer fundamental information to establish new positions and to exit current positions.The fundamentalist believe in knowing all the facts about a company such as price earnings ratios, sales growth, product margins, management capabilities, cost of production, cash flow, etc., etc. while the technicians could care less about the latter and want to see sector price trends and rank, the Relative Strength Index, MACD (moving average convergence... Read More

Ever jumped out of an airplane? It's OK if you have on a parachute. Pretty dumb if you don't.Every buy any stocks, mutual funds or Exchange Traded Funds? It's OK if you know how much you are willing to risk. Pretty dumb if you don't.Parachute investing is buying an equity with a parachute so you won't risk all your money or, better yet, give back the profit you have made as the stock or fund went up and then goes... Read More

The stock market can present you with a lot of hot stocks every day. Many of them are new technology stocks that come from the nanotech, biotech, voip, healthcare, homeland defense or internet sectors.Most of them may seem promising, but the truth is that a good number of these trading & investing opportunities are extremely risky, while others are not as good as they seem. That's why it's very important to know how to choose the best especially if you... Read More

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 certain loss level (or in some cases, profit level - more later).Therefore, a stop loss will automatically close your trade if the market reaches a certain point.For example: You have bought £1 a point of the German... Read More

The bulls and bears of the stock market are both tempting and scary to the investors. Speculators are enchanted by the stock market's potential to help them in making quick money with a big M. While those who tread with care and caution, often shy away for fear of losing. However, the stock market is not all about speculative gains or black Tuesdays. It is a place where committed companies look for raising money to fund their activities. Serious investors... Read More

One of the main reasons many of us get into investing is to become financially independent. Who isn't trying to amass a portfolio with enough income to ensure that we don't have to work when we should be playing golf or traveling the world. While there are several strategies to invest, is active trading one of the ways to become a millionaire?For those investors who want to achieve that million dollar portfolio, you may want to read The Millionaire Next... Read More

If you're like many investors who squander those small dividend checks from your stock portfolio, a Dividend Reinvestment Plan (DRP) might be just what you need. Just as its name implies, a Dividend Reinvestment Plan allows you to reinvest some or all of those dividends into more stock of the issuing company. Unlike purchases made through traditional means, partial or fractional shares, as well as whole shares, are available.Technically, there are two types of DRPs. The first type involves buying... Read More

A common problem I often see when working with living trust beneficiaries and trustees is the lack of attention in rethinking income strategies in the event of the grantor's death.When the grantor of a living trust dies, the trustee (especially a family member or close friend) sometimes feels reluctant to revise the portfolio, feeling it's an affront to the wishes of the deceased. After all, if the investments were sound during life, they should be sound enough upon his or... Read More

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... Read More

Much like the middle child, mid-cap stocks have long struggled to find their identity. Carved out from the upper echelons of the small caps and the lower end of the large caps, the mid-cap sector has a rough definition of stock with a market capitalization of greater than $2 billion, but less than $10 billion. Taking components from both worlds, some analysts argue that mid-cap stocks can offer growth opportunities found in the small caps and the relative stability found... Read More

When an individual investor wants to roll up his sleeves and do some research in the pursuit of the next big winner in the stock market, the place many start is in the small cap sector.As with the other capitulation sizes (capitalization is a stock's market value), no one can completely agree on a precise definition, but corporations under $2 billion are often considered small caps. It should be pointed out that there are two asset classes below small caps.... Read More

Sometimes the best way of lowering exposure to risk is not to invest at all! However, when we make the decision to jump into the muddy waters of the stock market, its always a good idea to have a life jacket ready, just in case.We all have stories of that "must have" "can't lose" stock that looking back, we didn't really need to buy, and it definitely lost. So, how to best protect yourself when the markets disagree with your... Read More

The demand for world oil is increasing while world reserves are decreasing. This is a known fact. The current price of oil can certainly confirm this statement. Consensus also agrees that we will never see $25.00 oil again. The logical conclusion to our above statement is oil stocks should be a good long term investment. However, the location of the oil companies' reserves can affect their bottom line and valuation.Some of the largest reserves in the world are found in... Read More