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Posts Tagged ‘stocks’

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The stock market moves up and down every day, but when movements continue downwards for a period of time the market is referred to as a ‘bear market’. Upward moving markets are ‘bull markets’. If a particular share is doing well, it is said to be bullish. If it is losing value it is bearish. 

Bull and Bear are the terms to describe the general conditions of the share market. These do not refer to short term fluctuations – a bear market is commonly understood as one where prices of key stocks have fallen in price by 20% or more over a period of at least 2 months. Even during a bear market, however, prices may increase temporarily. Bull markets are the opposite of bear markets – they are indicated by a rise in prices of key shares over a certain period of time.

Usually stock market conditions reflect the state of the economy. During bull markets the economy is doing well, unemployment is low and interest rates are reasonable. Bear markets usually occur during times of economic slowdown.  Investors lose confidence and companies may begin laying off workers. At the extremes, an exaggerated bear market can lead to a crash brought on by panic selling. An exaggerated bull market can be caused by over-enthusiasm of investors.  It leads to a market ‘bubble’ that will eventually burst.

Although most money can be made during bull markets, there are also opportunities during bear markets. Knowing the characteristics of each type of market allows investors to profit from them. As would be expected, when the market is bullish investors wish to buy up share. The economy is doing well and people have extra money which they wish to invest in stocks. This creates a situation of short supply which drives up prices even higher. During bear markets, on the other hand, prices are falling so investors wish to unload their shares and put their money in fixed-return instruments such as bonds. As money is withdrawn from the share market, supply exceeds demand which drives prices down even further.

It is easiest to make money during a bull market. Getting in right at the beginning will allow you to make the most profits. During a bull market any dips in the market are temporary and should soon be corrected. The upward rising prices can’t go on forever, though, so the investor needs to be able to gauge when the market reaches its peak and sell at that time.  

Bear markets represent opportunities to pick up stocks at bargain prices. Getting in near the end of a bear market offers the greatest chance for profit. The prices will most likely fall before they recover, so the investor should be prepared for some short term loss. Short-selling is also an investment strategy during bear markets. Short selling involves selling stock that you do not own in the anticipation of further price drops, so that when it comes time to deliver you can buy the share for less than you sold it.

Fixed return investments such as CAs and bonds can be used to generate income during a bear market. So called ‘defensive shares’ are also safe to buy at any time. These include government owned utilities that provide necessities no matter what state the economy is in.

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Below you will find a short overview on ETF (Exchange Traded Funds) trend trading, which will allow you to make a more informed decision about whether it is the right type of investment for you.

It was during the 90′s that ETFs were introduced into the world of investment. Today, they are used as an investment vehicle, traded comparable stocks or shares on the stock exchanges. They are seen as an attractive option to investors because they are low cost and tax efficient. Many are also drawn to them because they work in the same way as stocks do, which makes them somewhat familiar to those who are encountering them for the first time.

ETF trend trading is similar in some ways to the more commonly known about mutual funds, in that small investors are able to purchase different types of securities through funds. However, those two are distinguishable.

Most of the features of ordinary stocks, such as limit orders, options and short selling, can also be found with ETFs. As well as those features, you will also find that ETFs offer easy diversification, expense ratios and tax efficiency of the index funds.

As with stocks, the value of ETFs change throughout the trading day as they are bought and sold by investors. These value changes can be tracked and monitored using financial indexes, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average being a prime example.

It has often be said that ETFs are one of the most innovative types of investment to come about in the last two decades. In deed, studies have shown that around two-thirds of professional investors have changed the way that they build their investment portfolios as a direct result of ETFs.

For the most part, ETFs are seen as a long term investment plan, with the reason being that there is always a chance that they may be economically acquired. However, there is definitely money to be made in the short term through regular day-to-day trading of them, so long as you are aware of, and can implement, specific investment strategies.

Speaking of learning investment strategies, there are some courses that you will be able to take on the Internet that will make you a better trader. You should go for one that will be willing to teach you all you need to know along with the tips and secrets of the trade. While you take that course, you need to pay attention to every bit of it as overlooking any aspects of it could result in you losing money once you begin trading.

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A mutual fund is a diverse holding of shares that are managed on behalf of the investors that buy into the fund. A mutual fund allows an investor to take advantage of a diversified portfolio without having to invest a large sum of money.

What is the advantage of a diversified portfolio? It offers protection against rapid market losses of any one particular stock. If a portfolio is spread across 20 stocks, if any one of those stocks quickly loses value the effect is less than if the portfolio consisted of that one stock by itself.

When investing it is always a good idea to diversify. The problem for small investors is that they often don’t have the funds to buy a variety of shares. Mutual funds allow small investors to benefit from diversification with a small amount of money.

Besides shares, mutual funds can be made up of a variety of holdings including bonds and money market instruments. A mutual fund is actually a company and investors that buy into a fund are buying shares of that company. Shares in a mutual fund are bought directly from the fund itself or brokers acting on behalf of the fund. Shares can be redeemed by selling them back to the fund.

Some funds are managed by investment professionals who decide which securities to include in the fund. Non-managed funds are also available. They are usually based on an index such as the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The fund simply duplicates the holdings of the index it is based on so that if the Dow Jones (for example) rises by 5% the mutual fund based on that index also rises by the same amount. Non-managed funds often perform very well – sometimes better than managed funds.

There are downsides to mutual funds. There are usually fees that must be paid no matter how the fund performs, and the individual investor has no say in which securities can be included in the fund. Also, the actual value of a mutual fund share is not known with the same precision as stocks on the stock market. 

Mutual funds are often a better choice for the small investor than either stocks or bonds. They offer the diversity that provides cushion against sudden share market movements and usually provide a greater return than bonds. Of course, mutual funds can also lose value, especially in the short term, so short term investors may be better off with bonds which offer a set rate of return.

There are three main types of mutual funds: money market funds, bond funds and stock funds. Money market funds offer the lowest risk – they consist solely of high quality investments such as those issued by the US government and blue chip corporations. Money market funds have rarely lost money, but they pay a low rate of return.

Bond funds aim to produce higher yields than money market funds and therefore carry a correspondingly higher risk. All the risks that are associated with bonds – company bankruptcy, falling interest rates – also apply to bond funds.

stock funds usually have the greatest potential for profitable investment but also carry the greatest risk. The risk is more for short-term holders of mutual funds – shares have traditionally outperformed other investment instruments in the long run.

There are different types of share funds including ‘growth funds’ that attempt to maximize capital gain and ‘income funds’ that concentrate on stocks that pay regular dividends.

Mutual funds are an ideal investment for those with limited funds or investment experience. Choosing the right fund is a decision on how much risk you are willing to take against your expected return on your investment.

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If you are interested in penny stocks you are sure to hear about the Pink Sheets. It is an electronic quotation system for many Over-The-Counter (OTC) securities. The name comes from the colour of the paper the quotes were originally printed on. Today the Pink Sheets publishes quotations on the Internet, and most of its listings are so-called penny stocks.

Penny stocks are securities that are less than $5 in value. Although they can be traded on regular stock exchanges, companies that are listed in the Pink Sheets usually do so because they cannot meet the requirements of other exchanges like the NYSE and Nasdaq. The Pink Sheets has no listing requirements – even companies with no financial history can be listed.

The Pink Sheets is not a registered share exchange. As such, it can list companies that would otherwise be unable to raise capital through stock offerings. Although it is not regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) its trading system is only accessible by brokers licensed by the National Association of Security Dealers (NASD) and these brokers are required to follow NASD regulations. Companies which issue stock listed in the Pink Sheets must follow Federal and State security laws.

As an unregulated exchange, stocks listed in the Pink Sheets carry more risk than shares on the big exchanges like AMEX.  The lack of financial data means that companies may be facing bankruptcy and are issuing share in a last ditch effort to stay afloat. Not all companies are in dire straights, however. Some may be in the process of becoming listed on the regular exchanges and use the Pink Sheets as an intermediate step to raise capital.

To get listed in the Pink Sheets a company needs a broker dealer to quote the stock. The only requirement is that the broker is a member of the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD). Once listed, the company remains in the Pink Sheets as long as the share is quoted. It can happen that a share that no longer exists still is quoted in the Pink Sheets – a situation that highlights the need for researching any company that lists here.

The main advantage of buying Pink Sheet securities is their low cost. Investors who hope to get in on a new company right at the beginning can pick up stock for literally pennies. In the event that the company does well and grows the small initial investment will pay large dividends.

There is a very real risk, though, that the company will simply vanish, leaving behind valueless stock issues. The investor interested in penny stock in the Pink Sheets should be prepared to lose all. For this reason, Pink Sheet investments should represent only a small portion of an overall investment portfolio.

Another risk to the investor is the lack of liquidity of Pink Sheet listings. Volume is generally quite low and finding a buyer for stock may be difficult. The seller may have to settle for a much lower price than anticipated in order to unload his shares.

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Penny stocks are low-priced stocks – usually with a value of less than $5 – of small companies. These stocks are traded on the Over-The-Counter-Bulletin-Board (OTCBB) and the Pink Sheets. Both these trading venues do not have the same kind of minimum requirements of exchanges such as Nasdaq or the NYSE set by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Companies which issue penny stocks may be new businesses or close to bankruptcy. A new issue of stocks could be a way to inject quick capital to try to save the business.

All of these factors – low price, lack of standards, and lack of stability – make penny shares one of the riskiest investments around. It is true that if a company succeeds the payoff will be great, but the vast majority of penny shares end in bankruptcy. Other reasons why penny stocks are risky include…

– Lack of information about the company. Companies listed in the Pink Sheets or the OTCBB do not have to issue financial statements. Most companies also have little reportable history.

– Low liquidity. Penny stocks are infrequently traded, so finding a buyer may be difficult. The price may have to     lowered substantially to interest someone in buying the share.

– Potential fraud. Due to their unregulated nature, penny shares are often used by con artists who sell them through     spam email or off-shore brokers.

So penny stocks are risky but are there any benefits to them?

Not all penny stocks are frauds or companies facing bankruptcy. Some represent hard-working businesses that are struggling to meet the requirements to get listed on Nasdaq or the NYSE. Investing in these companies offers real growth potential – you have the opportunity to get in at the ground floor and ride all the way to the top.

The difficulty is finding which companies have this growth potential. Getting this information requires a lot of research and unless you are willing to take the time to personally investigate a company, you may again be the victim of fraud.  Some companies specialize in offering ‘inside information’ about companies selling penny stock, but they may simply be fronts for pushing a particular share on unsuspecting investors.

There are two ways to play the penny shares – do research or play craps. The low cost of these stocks means that you will not lose a lot money if the company goes under, and as long as you are prepared to lose this money penny stocks can be an interesting and fun addition to any portfolio. It must be stressed, however, that penny stocks should only make up a small portion of any portfolio. The odds are that most penny stocks will end up in a total loss.

If you would like to buy penny stocks you need to find a broker that will place an order for you. Many brokers will not cover them because of the difficulties in tracking them, but some online brokers specialize in penny shares. Regulations require brokers to receive written confirmation from the client concerning the transaction. The broker is also required to give the client a document outlining the risks of speculating with penny stocks.

Finally, the broker must disclose the current market price of the stock and the amount of compensation the firm receives for the trade. Monthly statements must be sent to the client detailing market value of each penny share in the account.

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Whereas stocks give investors part ownership of a company, bonds are loans made by investors to corporations or governments. Rather than benefiting from company profits the way that stock holders do, bond holders receive a fixed rate of return – a percentage of the bond’s original offering price. The return is called the ‘coupon rate’. Bonds have a maturity date at which time the principal amount is returned. Bonds can be issued for any period of time – some take up to 30 years to mature.

Bonds always carry the risk that the principal amount may not be paid back. Companies with higher credit worthiness are more likely to be safe investments but their coupon rate will be lower than companies with lower credit ratings. Credit ratings are provided by firms such as Standard and Poor and Moody’s Investor Service. Credit ratings range from a high AAA to a low D.

US government bonds are considered to be the safest type of bonds. Blue chip corporations (those with established performance records that span over many decades) are also very safe bond investments. Smaller corporations have a greater risk of defaulting on their bonds, but bond-holders are preferential creditors and will get compensated before stock holders in the event that the business goes bankrupt.

Bonds can be bought and sold on the open market. Their value fluctuates according to the level of interest rates in the general economy. For example, if you hold a $1000 bond that pays 5% per year in interest you can sell the bond at higher than face value as long as interest rates are below 5%. If they rise above 5%, your bond can still be sold but usually at less than face value. This is because investors are able to get a higher interest rate than what your bond pays so in order to offset the difference your bond has to be sold at a lower cost.

Most bonds are traded in the Over-The-Counter (OTC) market which is made up of banks and security firms. Some corporate bonds are also listed on share exchanges and may be bought through share brokers. New issues of bonds are usually sold in $5000 increments while bonds bought and sold after the initial issues are quoted in increments of $100. A bond that is listed at 96 is selling for $96 per $100 face value.

Shares or Bonds

When deciding whether to invest in stocks or bonds, the risks versus the potentials have to be weighed. shares have much greater potential to increase in value but they are also more subject to market fluctuations. Investment grade bonds (those with a rating of BBB or better) carry less risk but offer a relatively low yield.

Most investors agree that for the short term, bonds offer greater security and return. The situation changes, however, when time spans of longer than 10 years are considered. The stock market has consistently outperformed bond investments by a large factor. This is because companies continue to increase in value and any short term fluctuations in the share market are smoothed out over time.

Bonds still have their place in most portfolios, however. They provide a stable investment which helps to cushion against stock market fluctuation. A mixture of investments including stocks from various industries, bonds and other fixed-income investments is the way to provide maximum growth while securing your investment funds for the future.

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Brokers handle most of the buying and selling on the stock market, and the average investor will use a brokerage service to handle his trades. There is a broad range of brokerage services available. There are brokers who offer many services for aiding their clients meet their investment goals. These ‘full-service brokers’ can give advice about which shares to buy and sell and often have full research facilities for analyzing market trends and predicting movements.

These perks are not free – full service brokers charge the highest commission rates in the industry. Whether or not you decide to use a full-service broker depends on your level of self-confidence, your knowledge of the stock market and the number of trades you regularly make.

Investors who wish to save on commission fees can use a ‘discount broker’. These brokers charge much lower commissions but don’t offer advice or analysis. Investors who like to make their own trading decisions and those who make many trades often use discount brokers for their transactions. Some traders may use both types – there is no reason why you can’t have two brokers.

The least expensive way to trade shares is usually with an online brokerage. Both full-service and discount brokers usually offer discounts for orders placed online. Some brokers operate exclusively online and offer even better rates.

No matter what type of broker you choose, you must first open an account. Each broker sets their own requirements for maintaining an account balance but it is usually between $500 and $1000. When choosing a broker look at the fine print and find out about the fees involved. Some brokers charge an annual maintenance fee while other charge fees whenever your account balance falls below the minimum.  

There are two basic types of brokerage accounts. A ‘cash account’ offers no credit – when you buy you pay the full amount of the share price. A ‘margin’ account, on the other hand, allows you to buy share ‘on margin’ – the brokerage will carry some of the cost of the stock. The amount of margin varies from broker to broker but the margin must be protected by the value of the client’s portfolio. If the portfolio falls below a specified amount the investor will have to add more funds or sell some stock. Margin accounts allow investors to buy more stock with less cash thereby realizing greater gains (and losses). Because they involve more risk than cash accounts, margin accounts are not recommended for inexperienced traders.

Before choosing a particular broker the investor should carefully consider his needs. Does he wish to receive advice about which stocks to buy? Is he uncomfortable making trades on the Internet? If so, he should go with a full-service broker. Technology savvy investors who have the knowledge and confidence to make their own trading decisions are better off with a discount broker.

After deciding which type, compare a few competitors. There can often be significant differences in costs when all the annual fees and brokerage rates are factored in. Try to gauge how many trades you expect to make in a year, how much cash you can deposit into your account, whether you wish to use margin accounts and which services you need. This information will allow you to compare the actual costs of various brokers.

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The stock market is a reliable indicator of the actual value of companies which issue stock. Values of stocks are based on verifiable financial data such as sales figures, assets and growth. This reliability makes the stock market a good choice for long term investing – well-run companies should continue to grow and provide dividends for their stockholders.

The share market also provides opportunities for short-term investors. Market skittishness can cause prices to fluctuate quite rapidly and investor psychology can cause prices to fall or rise – even if there is no financial basis for these variations.

How does this happen? News reports, government announcements about the economy, and even rumors can cause investors to become nervous or to suspect that a company will increase in value. When the price starts to fall or rise, other investors will jump on the bandwagon, causing an even faster acceleration in price. Eventually the market will correct itself, but for savvy short-term investors who watch the market closely, these price changes can offer opportunities for profitable trading. 

Short term traders are divided into 3 categories: Position Traders, Swing Traders, and Day Traders.

Position Traders

Position trading is the longest term trading style of the three. stocks could be held for a relatively long period of time compared with the other trading styles. Position traders expect to hold on to their stocks for anywhere from 5 days to 3 or 6 months. Position traders are watching for fundamental changes in value of a stock. This information can be gleaned from financial reports and industry analyses. Position trading does not require a great deal of time. An examination of daily reports is enough to plan trading strategies. This type of trading is ideal for those who invest in the stock market to supplement their income. The time needed to study the share market can be as little as 30 minutes a day and can be done after regular work hours.

Swing Traders

Swing traders hold shares for shorter periods than position traders – generally from one to five days. The swing trader is looking for changes in the market that are driven more by emotion than fundamental value. This type of trading requires more time than position trading but the payback is often greater. Swing traders usually spend about 2 hours a day researching stocks and executing orders. They need to be able to identify trends and pick out trading opportunities. They usually rely on daily and intraday charts to plot share movements.

Day Traders

Day trading is commonly thought of as the most risky way to play the stock market. This may be true if the trader is uneducated, but those who know what they are doing know how to limit their risk and maximize their profit potential. Day trading refers to buying and selling share in very short periods of time – less than a day but often as short as a few minutes. Day traders rely on information that can influence price moves and have to plot when to get in and out of a position. Day traders need to be rational and analytical. Emotional buyers will quickly lose money in this type of trading. Because of the close attention needed to market conditions, day trading is a full-time profession.

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Learn Options Trading

Trading options is both similar to and different from trading stocks. There are many ways to make money trading stocks from going long to day trading.In this regard,options and stock trading, are similar.

The starting point for learning options trading is knowing the difference between an option and a stock. An option is a “right to purchase” a particular stock over a period of weeks or months,and it expires on a specific date.Since we’re talking about stock prices here, there is volatility in their value over the option expiration interval.

Options, on the other hand, expire on a specific date, so you’ll need to exercise them on or before that date. And you don’t even have to exercise your option if you so choose. And you can purchase a stock for much less than it’s market price by purchasing an option.Options traders can leverage their investment by being able to trade more stocks.through an option, they can buy a $100 stock for a fraction of that price.Hence, they can acquire options for more stocks than if they were actually purchasing the stocks outright.This ability to leverage your investment makes options very attrative.

There are several different types of options. You can exercise an American option any time up to and including the expiration date, but European options can only be exercised on the expiration date.and to make matters more confusing, where you purchase the option has no bearing on whether it’s American or European.The “American” options tend to apply to stocks and bonds, while the “European” type applies more often to indexes. And options expire on the Saturday after the third Friday of the month. But U.S. markets are closed on weekends, so “American” options expire on the third Friday of the month and ”European” options the following day.

An option is a contract that gives you the right to sell (a put option)a stock or buy (a call option) a stock on or before its expiration date.There are several strategic choices when you purchase an option. You can either hold it until its expiration date and exercise it just before it expires, or you can exercise it any time before that date.Or you can sell the option itself before the expiration date and recoup some of your investment. If the option expires and you don’t exercise it, you lose your investment.Let’s look at these situations more closely:

Let’s say you buy an option for Acme Chemicals Corp.for $2 a share with a strike price of $20. Now most options contracts require a minimum purchase of 100 shares, so you’d have to pay $200 (for 100 shares) for the contract.Acme’s stock rises to $25 shortly thereafter and you decide to take your money and run, so you exercise your option. You exercise your option and buy the stock for $20, then you turn around and and sell right away it for $25.You deduct the  $2-per-share cost of the option and you’re left with a $3 per share profit,or $300 less brokerage fees.Pretty conservative, but you made money.And that’s a good thing!

But let’s look at the opposite scenario. What happens if the Acme’s share price doesn’t rise. What if it goes below $20? If you sold your options for half of what they cost you, in this example,you’d only be out $100. Just remember that just because you own an option, you do not have to exercise it. So you can sell the option and recoup a portion of your investment. This is better than acquiring 100 shares of Acme’s stock outright. You could exercise your option as soon as you can realize a profit or you could wait it out and try for a bigger profit any time before the expiration date. My personal recommendation is to take the conservative approach and you’ll more likely see consistently positive returns, but most likely not any big killings. But that’s just me. The higher the risk, the higher the return. Greater profits. And potentially greater losses.Just like most other investments.

This is just a simplified explanation of what trading options entails. This is more complicated that this example, so you really should educate yourself on this subject before you start investing your money. The best options trading trading tutorial I know is the one taught by David Vallieres, which you can review here and the video above from the free demo video series he provides. This course is the best in my opinion because Mr. Vallieres not only teaches you the basics but also shares with you his money making guidance.

Every informed investor is looking for that next get rich quick scheme. It is practically an American institution. But there’s a reason why they call it a scheme, which typically means a devious or secret plan of action. Most schemes that promise to make you millions by day trading, are about as likely as winning in roulette. Yes, it is true that most day trading systems are little more that informed gambling, but they are gambling all the same. If you think about it, day trading is gambling, you are betting you are fast enough to enter and exit in a very short period of time and escape with a profit.

So what does it take to make a successful day trade? For starters, you have to know that easy money is a non-existent term. You should never go into a day trade thinking that you are going to make a million. Day trading is all about making small profits several times a day which eventually add up. A day trader that know what their doing will proceed quite cautiously on any particular day trade. Instead, they buy small numbers of shares of companies that they’re familiar with.

How do day traders know which stocks to trade? Most traders will select stocks that they have been following for quite some time. After reviewing all the numbers and watching them for weeks at a time, a trader may eventually gain the confidence to start trading a stock.

Though there are a number of different strategies that day traders employ, most day trading strategies rely heavily on technical analysis. Technical stock analysis means he can see patterns in stock movement by studying charts. For example, a trader may discover that a certain stock tends to move in a tight trading range most days. This may mean that a stock moves only two or three points every day. For example, one day it can open at 33, move to 36, then fall to 34. A day trader closely watches these types of trades and looks for any day to day patterns in their activity.Learning to watch and pay attention to these types of regular volatility patterns will really pay off in the long term for anyone looking to day trade.The key is to focus on just a few names in the beginning, because it is easy to watch far too much and get into information overload stage.

This method may seem easy, but it works. All a trader has to do is to concentrate on one particular stock and watch its movements each and every day. It won’t take very long before the trader will feel able to take on making a day trade. While this approach probably will not help you to become rich overnight, you should be able to earn some profit numerous times throughout each day, which can add up to a significant income over time. It isn’t unusual for day traders to trade the exact same stock over a hundred times each day.  This is because they believe they have discovered the secret to the successful day trade and that the more they trade the more they will make.