Seecrets on Investment: Tired of Making Huge Losses in the Stock Market - Part 2


Fundamental analysis.

Fundamentals analysis says the best way to predict the future trends of a stock is to understand the financial figures of the underlying company. The fundamental analyst would calculate a theoretical value of the company using cash flow analysis, recent dividends and earnings, future dividends and earnings projections plus a host of other economic numbers. If the current stock price is lower than the calculated value, a trader who uses fundamental analysis would buy this stock.

This writer has the opinion that fundamental analysis is difficult to master for it to be useful as a forecasting tool. Understanding and analyzing balance sheets and profit and loss accounts is not enough. You will need to analyze the micro and macroeconomic picture as well. Often you will need to be have the same knowledge equivalent to senior-management of a company you want to analyze - minus the leadership and management skills.

Take the example of Google's free 2 GB e-mail service. How much does it cost them? Probably about $2 yearly for each customer. Assuming 100 million internet users sign up, the advertising revenues from this segment alone would provide a tidy profit. It is the analyst job to provide a good educated-guess of this number. More importantly, this new signings will provide a customer base to challenge Yahoo and Microsoft. With Google's dominance in the search engine market, the data mining of such a huge pool of internet users will provide them with an edge in deciding future strategies over its two nearest rivals. Try translating this to what can Google earn in the next two quarters.

One of the better tools is the Z-Score, developed by Edward Altman, a financial economist and professor at New York University's Stern School of Business, in 1968 to predict corporate bankruptcies within a two-year period. This formula has a 70-plus percent accuracy rate

Technical analysis.

The "price action discounts everything" premise is central to charting, also known as technical analysis. Technical analysis uses graphic representations for prices and makes uses of various quantitative techniques to forecast price trends.

A technician makes profits in any market by having positions in line with the price trend. When the trend is up, then buy. Conversely, when the trend is down, then look to sell. Technical analysis is not an exact science, but it is easy to learn and effective.

Technical analysis is a good starting point for beginners. The foundation should include classical technical analysis, Japanese candlesticks, trendlines, RSI, MACD, ADX, stochastics and moving averages. Learners can complete these core topics within three to six months. With constant practice, you should be able to independently analyze and identify the current trends in the stock market.

Most users of stock charts may only focus on daily charts. However, if users pay equal attention to weekly as well as monthly charts, the picture is intuitively more complete. This is equivalent to understanding how the short, medium and long-term investors are viewing the markets, after all three main types of investors form the market. A handful of stock charting software has this feature of showing say, the relative strength index for the daily, weekly and monthly values on a single screen.

One last point - no single method in technical analysis is sufficient for real-world investing. For example, even if you master Elliott Wave Theory or Gann techniques, by itself it would bring more heartache and disappointment. Often, you will need knowledge from other disciplines and sources to improve your overall investing skills.

Some tips for successful investing in stock markets.

1. Investing is a business. The rules of running a profitable business are the same as investing in stock markets.

2. Learn to spot your own mistakes fast. When a mistake is made, exit your position and live to fight any day. The faster you realize your own mistake and the faster you react will reduce your losses, hence increasing your chances of winning in the long run. A useful method is using a 10% stop loss exit strategy. If you are long, and your stock price goes down by 10%, exit. If this same stock reverses and starts to surge, take this as your mistake of not identifying a more accurate (lower) entry point.

3. Understand yourself inside out. What makes you happy, sad, excited, depressed, ecstatic - the whole spectrum of human emotions are merely states of the mind. This is easier said than done but you have to keep improving your own control mechanisms.

4. Learn the methods of successful fund managers - diversification, emotional detachment and having realistic expectations. Investing is a marathon not a sprint.

5. Money management skills. Whether the amount is $10,000 or $10 billion, the same rules apply. There are plenty of sources of information on this subject from the internet.

6. Learn technical analysis.

The main thrust of this article is to avoid making mistakes that will cost you dearly. How you prepare yourself for bear markets, sideways markets and market crashes are vital to your success.

There are no secrets in investing - no magic formula, no discovery of some useful ancient secrets. Just knowledge, hard work, common sense and discipline will serve you well in the years ahead. This verse from a 2500-years-old text is a useful reminder:

"Those who know do not speak,Those who speak do not know."
- Tao Te Ching, 56th verse

Stan Seecrets' Postulate: "There are two types of people in the world - those who know what they don't know and those who don't know what they don't know."

You may freely reprint this article provided you publish it in its entirety, including the author's bio and activating the link to the URL below.

The author, Stan Seecrets, is a veteran software developer with 25+ years experience at (http://www.seecrets.biz) which specializes in protecting digital assets. He has developed real-time prices delivery systems and has witnessed stock markets collapse of 1987 and 2000/2001 in real-time. You can contact him via email (Stan at Seecrets.biz).

© Copyright 2005, Stan Seecrets. All rights reserved.


MORE RESOURCES:

Washington Post-ABC News poll
Washington Post, United States - 22 hours ago
This Washington Post-ABC News poll was conducted by telephone October 8-11, 2008, among a random national sample of 1101 adults, including additional ...


Crisis may spawn big US wealth transfer moves
Reuters - 4 hours ago
The wealthy use trusts to pass on stocks, mutual funds and physical assets such as real estate. The tax rates for such transfers are linked to interest ...


Anxious investors hanging on despite heavy stock market losses
Los Angeles Times, CA - 19 hours ago
... have about half a million dollars in the market, including retirement savings, individual stocks, mutual funds and money market accounts. ...


Siglo21

The financial crisis and the candidates
Siglo21, MA - 10 hours ago
... since the financial crisis has entered a unexplored and terrifying ground, in which the value of almost all goods-houses, stocks, mutual funds, ...


Government should stay within our means
Myrtle Beach Sun News, SC - 21 hours ago
Our stock markets are going in the toilet, and the retirees who rely on stocks, mutual funds and 401(k) income are hurting. Rather than asking how did we ...


Course explores 'Investing for Income'
Independent Press, NJ - Oct 12, 2008
We will explore bonds, high dividend paying stocks, mutual funds making generous distributions and a host of other income-producing investments."


Following the stock market is no game
Stamford Advocate, CT - Oct 11, 2008
The class focuses on educating students about stocks, mutual funds and bonds. Reid says her aim is to teach students to invest early and responsibly. ...


Earning the Boy Scouts' personal management badge
Forbes, NY - Oct 10, 2008
_Explain the advantages and disadvantages of putting money into the following: stocks, mutual funds, CDs, bonds, savings accounts. ...


Our View — Let free market be free
Mankato Free Press, MN - Oct 11, 2008
Why not require the same thing with stocks, mutual funds and other investment instruments? It would be less costly than the current bailout. ...


Morningstar, Inc. Reports Third-Quarter 2008 European Fund Performance
MarketWatch - Oct 7, 2008
Morningstar provides data on more than 280000 investment offerings, including stocks, mutual funds, and similar vehicles. The company has operations in 18 ...

Stocks-Mutual-Funds - Google News

home | site map
© 2006