Tag: Investments

The Time has Come – The ACTUAL, Last, Basic Investing Post

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Ok. It’s time for the actual last basic investing post. Again, don’t worry, this isn’t my last investing post. It’s just my last basic investing post.

April 1, Don’t Be Discouraged

April 7, Get to Know the CEO

Getting to know the CEO of a company you’re considering investing in is highly important.  Here are some things you should learn about a CEO before investing in their business.

  • Name
  • Age & Birth
  • Birthplace and Where they were Raised
  • Education (University education is the most important.)
  • Previous Occupations
  • Accomplishments
  • And Other Qualification as CEO

April 12 2016, Long Term Debt

Companies with debt can be more dangerous to invest in than companies without debt.

April 15, The Proxy

A Proxy is a way for investors to have a say in the company. When you receive your yearly Proxy report you get to vote on who will be on the BOD (Board of Directors). These people do things like decide who the CEO of the company will be.

April 16, Foundations of a Great Company – Microsoft

April 14, Investment Knowledge

April 27, Drips

Drips are a simple way to get more stocks at a cheaper price by buying them directly from the company.

 

If you didn’t understand my summaries of the terms above or in my previous post, go to the original post by clicking on the link above the summary.

Below are some great resources for investing. Check them out.

Investopedia.com, This website offers the definitions to 100’s of stock market terms. If there is anything you need clarity on head over there to see a video about the term.

Barchart.com, I use this website to find stocks that I can CONSIDER investing in. Afterwards I do all my research to find out if it is or is not a good investment.

The News, I’ve talked about this before. The news is a great resource for finding stocks to consider investing in and information on the stocks you own. To see my original post on the news click here.

The Stocks App, This is an app that comes with every iPhone and iPod Touch Apple sells. I’m currently not sure if Microsoft or Android device have a similar app but it is a great place to quickly check on your stocks and things like the Dow Jones.

StockWars, This is a stock market simulator app that I used to prepare for the real thing. I’d recommend using it. It’s 100% free, fun, and easy to use.

Every time I find a stock to consider I print and fill out the below information. I’ve done a ton of these. They are an easy way to collect info on a company you’re considering investing in.

Stock Report For:

________________________________

 

General Information:

Company Name:__________________________________________

Ticker Symbol:________________ Index Traded With:____________

Industry:_________________________________________________

Sub-Industry:_________________________________________

Year Founded: ________ Founders: __________________________

________________________________________________________

Important Information on Founders: ___________________________

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

Company Headquarters: ____________________________________

Number of Locations (If Applicable): ___________________________

Area Served: _____________________________________________

Products/Services:_________________________________________

Number of Employees: _____________________________________

Subsidiaries: _____________________________________________

Company Website: ________________________________________

 

CEO Information:

CEO Name: _____________________________________________

Age: _____________ D.O.B.: _________________________________

Birthplace: _______________________________________________

Education: _______________________________________________

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

Other Qualification as CEO: _________________________________

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

Previous Occupations: _____________________________________

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

Other Details: ____________________________________________

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

 

The Business & it’s Products

Target Audience: __________________________________________

Locations Available: _______________________________________

Company Partnerships: ____________________________________

Past Company Events: _____________________________________

________________________________________________________

Product Analysis:

Product 1:

Strengths: ______________________________________

Weaknesses: ____________________________________

Product 2:

Strengths: ______________________________________

Weaknesses: ____________________________________

 

The Numbers:

Stock Price: $ _______ Shares Outstanding: ____________________

Market Cap. $ ____________________________________________

Long-Term Debt: $ ________________________________________

Revenue: $ ______________________________________________

Assets: $ ________________________________________________

Notes:

 

 

I know it looks like a lot of information but when you invest you need to know everything about that business to decide if it’s a good investment or not.

That’s all for now, Ben

Drips

Drip. Drip. Drip. Drips are just another one of the many stock market terms out there an they’re a simple way to accumulate more shares in a company. Some businesses  offer Drips (Dividend Reinvestment Plans) so that you can buy stocks directly from them, rather than from a stock broker. By using a Drip you save a lot of money because you have to either pay a very small fee or no fee at all, unlike if you buy stocks from a stock broker. Sadly, there are some negatives to Drips. Not all companies offer drips, and even when they do the business sometimes requires you to already own one or more shares in that company.

Want to know what companies offer Drips? Go to http://www.giveashare.com/drips.asp to see a list of some of the business that offer them.

That’s all for now, Ben

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Investment Knowledge

Look how much knowledge you’ve gained about investing since you started reading my posts. If you’ve read every post that I’ve published on the Stock Market, then you’re almost ready to buy your first stocks! This week I will finish writing about some of the absolutely essential information you’ll need and then you’ll be ready to buy your first shares in any company! I’ll even give you some more investing tools to work with on Friday. So stay tuned for the final posts about the basics of the stock market.

That’s all for now, Ben

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Get to Know the CEO

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The CEO (Chief Executive Officer) of any business is definitely the most important person involved in the success of that company. They’re responsible for almost all big business moves and have control over the entire company. When you find a corporation you’d like to invest in, you’ve got to learn everything you can about the CEO. This can include simple things like their name and age but also stuff like their education and previous occupations, which can have a huge effect on how they run their company. Below is a checklist of the minimum things you should learn about the CEO before investing in their company.

  • Name
  • Age & Birth
  • Birthplace and Where they were Raised
  • Education (University education is the most important.)
  • Previous Occupations
  • Accomplishments
  •  And Other Qualification as CEO

That’s all for now, Ben

Don’t Be Discouraged

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Stock market trading can be hard, but don’t be discouraged. Every skill in the world requires practice before success. Just don’t give up and keep investing. Don’t worry if you lose money, it’s all part of learning to invest and is a very important stage in the skill. Remember to do your research and don’t give up. Eventually you’ll develop a strong strategy that will almost always guarantee success.

The News, Your New Best-Friend (Sort of)

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The stock market is always changing. One minute a great stock could be at $3 the next it could be at $15, and a few more minutes later it could be at $1. You’ve got to learn to find great stocks quickly in the stock market and know when a stock will go up or down. To know when a stock price will change you have to look at a lot of different factors, but the most important of these is the news. If a news article is published highlighting the great ways you can get in touch with others using social media the stock price of companies like Facebook and Twitter will likely go up. And the opposite could happen too. If a news article comes out warning readers of the dangers of eating fast food, the McDonalds and Wendys stock price could go down. Try flipping through a newspaper or searching through a news website often to get a feel for what industries will be affected by the articles and to find great new industries to invest in.

That’s all for now, Ben

Check out some of these news websites. CNN, The New York Times, USA Today, and BBC News.

Apple

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Last week Apple announced several new products including the iPhone SE and a new iPad. If you look at the charts for the Apple stock, you’ll see that it has been steadily rising in the past month in anticipation of the announcement event. These kind of real life events are a huge influence on the stock price. It’s very important to focus on real life things when you’re looking for stocks to invest in.

That’s all for now, Ben

Diversify Your Portfolio

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Diversifying your portfolio is always important when trading in the stock market, but first of all, what’s my portfolio? Your portfolio is a collection of all the stocks you own. To diversify your portfolio is to buy shares in many different companies and industries. This allows some “safety” if the price of one of your stocks dives. Generally the overall price of a stock goes up from year to year, so diversifying your portfolio will ensure that you make money all the time.

Volume

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To explain it simply, volume is the amount of shares traded in a single period of time. This number is very important. Generally you want a minimum volume of 750 000, but the higher the number the better. This ensures that you will have a chance to sell your stocks when you do decide to sell them. If nobody completes a trade with you, you’ll be stuck with your shares until someone does decide to trade with you. You don’t ever want to be stuck with a stock you don’t want, so it’s very important to make sure that the volume is always high.

That’s all for now, Ben

Stock Market Simulators

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Stock Market Simulators are a great way to learn how to invest in companies. They can teach you a lot and you don’t have to worry about losing money. There are several great online stock market simulators and I know of one great app that anyone can use. There is a downside to stock market simulators though. For the most part people make short term investments rather than long term ones on these simulators and although short term investments are great, you need to learn about both to be truly experienced in the stock market.

That’s all for now, Ben