How do you spot a good stock?

Question

I am new to the stock market. And there are vitually thousands of different company and market to choose from. Where to I begin to look? And what is a good place to start investing to get my feet wet? Is there a web site that provides tutorials? Please advise

Answer 1

the best way to start out is to jump in and get involved. for example, the first thing you need to do is open an account like etrade or others, there are lots to choose from. once you get an account set up, buy a small number of shares of some large company that you are familiar with. for example, you could buy GE or microsoft. if you are nervous about losing money, keep it very small, just buy 1 share or 10 shares, this will start exposing you to the market. once you do this, you will start to learn about what is going on. at that point, come back and ask more questions, and i or someone else can start telling you about p/e ratios and more complicated things.

Answer 2

Many on line brokers, if not all, provide a great deal of research material. I use Fidelity and they have more than I could possibly take advantage of.

Investing is very uncertain. A company that appears to have a bright future today may very well be in chapter 11 tomarrow. So prudence is always a necessity.

Start by reading several books on investing. Learn about fundamental investing and technical investing. Learn how to read an income statement and a balance sheet and a price chart.

Learn how to cut your losses because every investor suffers these.

Also learn how and when to take a profit and when to let your your investments ride.

The U S stock market appears to be in a bear phase at the moment with probably a ways to go yet, so there is no hurry about jumping in just yet. Now is the time to begin your research.

Yahoo will let you set up portfolios and track how they do. You can select stocks, enter a hypothetical buy price and then over time see if you made good choices or bad choices. You can also test different investment strategies with different portfolios.

For example, one strategy that has worked well for investors, is one of cutting ones losses rapidly and adding to positions periodically that are gaining. Try that out on a hypothetical basis.

Do not discount purchasing good mutual funds. That is an easy way to obtain a diversified basket of investments. But you have to be very selective in your choices. 70% of mutual funds underperform the market in general.

Answer 3

Best place to learn is to read the wall street journal everyday. But Jim Cramer has written some good books too. But the best way to find a stock is to do a lot of research. Look at market trends, forecasts, prospectus reports, and company strategies.

But it is not an easy thing. Do your homework. There is no easy way, if someone says there is they are lying.

Good Luck, and stick with it. Investing is a funny and productive hobby which can truly help you plan out your finances.

Answer 4

Get a copy of Hulbert Financial Digest (1-866-428-6568). They give an unbiased rating of virtually all the investment newsletters on the market. You can see which ones have the best long-term or short-term track record, get a subscription to the one(s) you choose, and follow their recommendations. The two I follow are No-Load Fund-X and The Prudent Speculator. You can also check their risk-adjusted ranking (actual return adjusted for the amount of risk involved for that newsletter's recommendations), and they do in-depth analyses of individual newsletters.

Answer 5

i'm from malaysia but i invest some of my money in u.s stock markets for the past 4 years. I think you should read William O'neil Books - Founder of Investor's Business Daily. You'll learn how to make money in good market and how to safe you money in bad market...If you want to play option trading..
Need info futher, Just email me at [e-mail].

Answer 6

You have to have the best hunting gear. Tricks of the trade. Unfortunately the way most of us have had to learn is by being burned a few times. Try fidelity on line or many others. Good Luck. It is a challenging market. I am sure you know!!!

Answer 7

how to spot is not that easy...cos u have to do analyzed the company fundamental and technical..and the other thing is market sentiment.in term of the fundamental.. u have to c the company financial strength ....and from technical u have to analyzed whether the price is low enough or bottom...a good place to invest is Asia market especially Malaysia Market..anything you want to know can email me [e-mail] or feel free to call me at 0168747685(Malaysia)

Answer 8

Go to Wall street and befriend a drunk stocker. He will reveal his secrets and you will be RICH RICH RICH.