The number of people getting attracted to the stock market is increasing at a rapid pace across the world. The main reason for the growth of this trend is the great returns received by investors over the past few years. The facility of online stock trading for beginners has helped to invest in stocks of companies more quickly than in the traditional way of giving orders to the broker. The explanation related to online trading in the succeeding paragraphs will be helpful for those who wish to learn how to trade stocks online fast.
Suggestions for Trading Stocks Online
How to Trade Stocks Online: Understand the Online Procedure Well
Many people are of the opinion that the online procedure is the best way to trade stocks. However, understanding this procedure well is very important for investors. In order to trade stocks online, you should sign up with a brokerage company providing online trading services. Before you trade in stocks, you would have to enter the user name and the password provided to you by the company. It will be entirely your responsibility to protect your password. Once you sign in, you can click on the appropriate buttons and buy and sell the shares. However, the buying of the stocks is possible only if you have deposited sufficient amount of money with the broker who will use them to execute the order. Since there is no physical person to confirm your transactions, you should be extremely careful and think twice before pressing any of the buttons. If you trade online, you get the advantage of keeping a tab on the fluctuations in the stock market and change your investment strategy as per your wish. The total procedure of stock investing, that includes buying and selling stocks, takes place fast with this method.
How to Trade Stocks Online: Conduct a Good Research Before Investing
Whether you trade the stocks online or follow the conventional method of the stock market transactions, you should not invest in the market without conducting a good research of the company in which you wish to invest. Since you will be investing your hard earned money, you should check out the financials of the company, such as the balance sheet, the sales and the profits registered by the company over the years, the reputation of the company in the market and also how capable and experienced the board of directors are. Invest in companies who do their trade following business ethics and have good, long term prospects. The company management should be ambitious and capable of taking fast decisions for the benefit of the company and its shareholders. Also find out how much return the company has provided to its investors over the years and how much cash and assets it has to deal with in difficult times. You should remember that investing in companies which do not have a strong financial position can be quite dangerous as you stand to lose money if the company collapses. You should also consider whether the company has a history of giving bonus shares and dividends to its share holders before investing in it. The cheapest way to trade stocks is through the direct purchase plans in which the investors buy stocks from the firm itself.
How to Trade Stocks Online: Create a Portfolio
While creating a good stock portfolio, you need to determine the best time to trade stocks through a thorough market research. You should buy stocks of companies functioning in different sectors to minimize your risk. The amount you should invest would depend on your income and other expenses.
Friday, April 30, 2010
Resurgence of Indian Financial Markets
India managed to display tremendous resilience in the economic downturn which managed to have a big impact on some of the most developed countries in the world. The impact of the global recession was felt in India as well, however it was not on the scale of what was evident in many Asian countries as well as countries like America, Japan and other European countries.
The recently concluded General Elections in India brought back the UPA Government in power with a comfortable majority and minus the support of Left parties. It was a difficult going for the previous UPA Government as it had an ally in Left popular for its obstructive policies which were a hindrance to the economic development of India. Now that the new Government is in place India can look forward to coming out of the recession and move ahead with its march towards economic prosperity.
Signs of this upward march have started surfacing with a strong upward rally by the stock market, renewed foreign investor confidence, increased consumer spending, more job creations, etc. Moody's a premier rating agency has come out in support of this revival in its report post the election results. It has given a Thumbs Up to the stable outlook of India. "This unexpected outcome provides scope for rationalizing spending, pushing ahead with disinvestments, and key reforms," the report said.
Following the election, Morgan Stanley, one of the world's largest diversified financial services company raised India's growth forecast to 5.8 percent from 4.4 percent in the fiscal year ending March 2010.
"India can actually outperform at the margin versus the rest of Asia as it has a more balanced economy," Morgan Stanley Asia chairman Stephen Roach told an earlier media conference, referring to India's limited reliance on exports.
He said for the first time in 12 years he was more optimistic on India than China, as the latter had pushed its export-led model too far and left itself too dependent on external factors.
The worse it seems is over for India and the country is back on the tracks of economic development. Government will have to ensure that it continues with good economic policies which takes India to greater heights.
Online Directory of India
Surfindia is a online directory on India providing extensive information on many different aspects related to India. Get fast and popular search results using this free web directory of India.
The recently concluded General Elections in India brought back the UPA Government in power with a comfortable majority and minus the support of Left parties. It was a difficult going for the previous UPA Government as it had an ally in Left popular for its obstructive policies which were a hindrance to the economic development of India. Now that the new Government is in place India can look forward to coming out of the recession and move ahead with its march towards economic prosperity.
Signs of this upward march have started surfacing with a strong upward rally by the stock market, renewed foreign investor confidence, increased consumer spending, more job creations, etc. Moody's a premier rating agency has come out in support of this revival in its report post the election results. It has given a Thumbs Up to the stable outlook of India. "This unexpected outcome provides scope for rationalizing spending, pushing ahead with disinvestments, and key reforms," the report said.
Following the election, Morgan Stanley, one of the world's largest diversified financial services company raised India's growth forecast to 5.8 percent from 4.4 percent in the fiscal year ending March 2010.
"India can actually outperform at the margin versus the rest of Asia as it has a more balanced economy," Morgan Stanley Asia chairman Stephen Roach told an earlier media conference, referring to India's limited reliance on exports.
He said for the first time in 12 years he was more optimistic on India than China, as the latter had pushed its export-led model too far and left itself too dependent on external factors.
The worse it seems is over for India and the country is back on the tracks of economic development. Government will have to ensure that it continues with good economic policies which takes India to greater heights.
Online Directory of India
Surfindia is a online directory on India providing extensive information on many different aspects related to India. Get fast and popular search results using this free web directory of India.
Automated Forex Trading System
Automated Forex Trading System: Does it Work?
If you're considering an automated forex trading system, this article reviews a popular system.
Automated Forex Trading System: Does it Work?
Automated forex trading has become a popular way to make a profit by dealing in currency trading. Participants use the foreign currency exchange in much the same way they play the stock market. There are a number of advantages to trading currency instead of trading stocks.
If you are serious about getting a huge return on your investment by working smarter, not harder, check out this proven automated forex trading system.
Automatic forex trading utilizes a software program to predict rises and falls in currency rates and make profitable trading decisions. The software also makes the trades for you. With a Forex trading system like this one, you simply start up the program and begin turning a profit with very little effort. Your auto Forex trading can continue working around the clock so trades happen when news breaks rather than when the market opens.
Many people have seen success with automated forex trading but not all packages are created equal. Some have undergone a more rigorous testing process than others. For example, the FAP Turbo software has been tested in both back tests and live trades to ensure the product works. Most software packages have only been back tested, so they may or may not do well in live trading. It is better to find a software package that has been tested in both environments to ensure results.
Most people who opt for a forex trading system have little knowledge about the foreign currency trade market. That is one of the biggest advantages to forex trading software. These programs do all of the work for you, so all you have to do is install the software and kick off the program. Installation usually takes a few minutes and results can be seen the same day. Even people who have never traded currency before can make a profit with Forex.
Forex trading systems take much of the guesswork out of the foreign currency exchange market. You can begin the process with as little as $50 and quickly see the profits begin to accumulate. According to the makers of FAP Turbo, serious profits can be seen in just a few weeks' time. The more you make, the more you can invest and the more you invest, the more you make. The cycle has been a profitable one for many who have used these forex systems.
If you want to make money in the foreign currency market, check out automated forex trading. The FAP Turbo program is a particularly good choice because it has been well tested and proven. With forex trading software like FAP Turbo, you can make money without any prior experience in foreign currency trading. It's an excellent investment.
If you're considering an automated forex trading system, this article reviews a popular system.
Automated Forex Trading System: Does it Work?
Automated forex trading has become a popular way to make a profit by dealing in currency trading. Participants use the foreign currency exchange in much the same way they play the stock market. There are a number of advantages to trading currency instead of trading stocks.
If you are serious about getting a huge return on your investment by working smarter, not harder, check out this proven automated forex trading system.
Automatic forex trading utilizes a software program to predict rises and falls in currency rates and make profitable trading decisions. The software also makes the trades for you. With a Forex trading system like this one, you simply start up the program and begin turning a profit with very little effort. Your auto Forex trading can continue working around the clock so trades happen when news breaks rather than when the market opens.
Many people have seen success with automated forex trading but not all packages are created equal. Some have undergone a more rigorous testing process than others. For example, the FAP Turbo software has been tested in both back tests and live trades to ensure the product works. Most software packages have only been back tested, so they may or may not do well in live trading. It is better to find a software package that has been tested in both environments to ensure results.
Most people who opt for a forex trading system have little knowledge about the foreign currency trade market. That is one of the biggest advantages to forex trading software. These programs do all of the work for you, so all you have to do is install the software and kick off the program. Installation usually takes a few minutes and results can be seen the same day. Even people who have never traded currency before can make a profit with Forex.
Forex trading systems take much of the guesswork out of the foreign currency exchange market. You can begin the process with as little as $50 and quickly see the profits begin to accumulate. According to the makers of FAP Turbo, serious profits can be seen in just a few weeks' time. The more you make, the more you can invest and the more you invest, the more you make. The cycle has been a profitable one for many who have used these forex systems.
If you want to make money in the foreign currency market, check out automated forex trading. The FAP Turbo program is a particularly good choice because it has been well tested and proven. With forex trading software like FAP Turbo, you can make money without any prior experience in foreign currency trading. It's an excellent investment.
Forex Trading Basics
Forex Trading Basics
The global foreign exchange market is the biggest market in the world. The 3.2 trillion USD daily turnover dwarfs the combined turnover of all the world's stock and bond markets.
There are many reasons for the popularity of foreign exchange trading, but among the most important are the leverage available, the high liquidity 24 hours a day and the very low dealing costs associated with trading.
Of course many commercial organisations participate purely due to the currency exposures created by their import and export activities, but the main part of the turnover is accounted for by financial institutions. Investing in foreign exchange remains predominantly the domain of the big professional players in the market - funds, banks and brokers. Nevertheless, any investor with the necessary knowledge of the market's functions can benefit from the advantages stated above.
In the following article, we would like to introduce you to some of the basic concepts of foreign exchange trading. If you would like any further information, we suggest that you sign up for a FREE Membership on this website, where you will be able to exchange views with other Forex traders and get answers to any questions you might have.
Margin Trading
Foreign exchange is normally traded on margin. A relatively small deposit can control much larger positions in the market. For trading the main currencies, Saxo Bank requires a 1% margin deposit. This means that in order to trade one million dollars, you need to place just USD 10,000 by way of security.
In other words, you will have obtained a gearing of up to 100 times. This means that a change of, say 2%, in the underlying value of your trade will result in a 200% profit or loss on your deposit. See below for specific examples. As you can see, this calls for a very disciplined approach to trading as both profit opportunities and potential risks are very large indeed. Please refer to our page Forex Rates & Conditions for current Spreads, Margins and Conditions.
Base Currency and Variable Currency
When you trade, you will always trade a combination of two currencies. For example, you will buy US dollars and sell euro. Or buy euro and sell Japanese yen, or any other combination of dozens of widely traded currencies. But there is always a long (bought) and a short (sold) side to a trade, which means that you are speculating on the prospect of one of the currencies strengthening in relation to the other.
The trade currency is normally, but not always, the currency with the highest value. When trading US dollars against Singapore dollars, the normal way to trade is buying or selling a fixed amount of US dollars, i.e. USD 1,000,000. When closing the position, the opposite trade is done, again USD 1,000,000. The profit or loss will be apparent in the change of the amount of SGD credited and debited for the two transactions. In other words, your profit or loss will be denominated in SGD, which is known as the price currency. As part of our service, Saxo Bank will automatically exchange your profits and losses into your base currency if you require this.
Dealing Spread, but No Commissions
When trading foreign exchange, you are quoted a dealing spread offering you a buying and a selling level for your trade. Once you accept the offered price and receive confirmation from our dealers, the trade is done. There is no need to call an exchange floor. There are no other time-consuming delays. This is possible due to live streaming prices, which are also a great advantage in times of fast-moving markets: You can see where the market is trading and you know whether your orders are filled or not.
The dealing spread is typically 3-5 points in normal market conditions. This means that you can sell US dollars against the euro at 1.7780 and buy at 1.7785. There are no further costs, commissions or exchange fees.
This ensures that you can get in and out of your trades at very low slippage and many traders are therefore active intra-day traders, given that a typical day in USDEUR presents price swings of 150-200 points.
Spot and forward trading
When you trade foreign exchange you are normally quoted a spot price. This means that if you take no further steps, your trade will be settled after two business days. This ensures that your trades are undertaken subject to supervision by regulatory authorities for your own protection and security. If you are a commercial customer, you may need to convert the currencies for international payments. If you are an investor, you will normally want to swap your trade forward to a later date. This can be undertaken on a daily basis or for a longer period at a time. Often investors will swap their trades forward anywhere from a week or two up to several months depending on the time frame of the investment.
Although a forward trade is for a future date, the position can be closed out at any time - the closing part of the position is then swapped forward to the same future value date.
Interest Rate Differentials
Different currencies pay different interest rates. This is one of the main driving forces behind foreign exchange trends. It is inherently attractive to be a buyer of a currency that pays a high interest rate while being short a currency that has a low interest rate.
Although such interest rate differentials may not appear very large, they are of great significance in a highly leveraged position. For example, the interest rate differential between the US dollar and the Japanese yen has been approximately 5% for several years. In a position that can be supported by a 5% margin deposit, this results in a 100% profit on capital per annum when you buy the US dollar. Of course, an even more important factor normally is the relative value of the currencies, which changed 15% from low to high during 2005 – disregarding the interest rate differential. From a pure interest rate differential viewpoint, you have an advantage of 100% per annum in your favour by being long US dollar and an initial disadvantage of the same size by being short.
Please refer to our page Forex Rates & Conditions for current Spreads, Margins and Conditions!
Such a situation clearly benefits the high interest rate currency and as result, the US dollar was in a strong bull market all through 2005. But it is by no means a certainty that the currency with the higher interest rate will be strongest. If the reason for the high interest rate is runaway inflation, this may undermine confidence in the currency even more than the benefits perceived from the high interest rate.
Stop-loss discipline
As you can see from the description above, there are significant opportunities and risks in foreign exchange markets. Aggressive traders might experience profit/loss swings of 20-30% daily. This calls for strict stop-loss policies in positions that are moving against you.
Fortunately, there are no daily limits on foreign exchange trading and no restrictions on trading hours other than the weekend. This means that there will nearly always be an opportunity to react to moves in the main currency markets and a low risk of getting caught without the opportunity of getting out. Of course, the market can move very fast and a stop-loss order is by no means a guarantee of getting out at the desired level.
But the main risk is really an event over the weekend, where all markets are closed. This happens from time to time as many important political events, such as G7 meetings, are normally scheduled for weekends.
For speculative trading, we always recommend the placement of protective stop-lossorders. With Saxo Bank Internet Trading you can easily place and change such orders while watching market development graphically on your computer screen.
The global foreign exchange market is the biggest market in the world. The 3.2 trillion USD daily turnover dwarfs the combined turnover of all the world's stock and bond markets.
There are many reasons for the popularity of foreign exchange trading, but among the most important are the leverage available, the high liquidity 24 hours a day and the very low dealing costs associated with trading.
Of course many commercial organisations participate purely due to the currency exposures created by their import and export activities, but the main part of the turnover is accounted for by financial institutions. Investing in foreign exchange remains predominantly the domain of the big professional players in the market - funds, banks and brokers. Nevertheless, any investor with the necessary knowledge of the market's functions can benefit from the advantages stated above.
In the following article, we would like to introduce you to some of the basic concepts of foreign exchange trading. If you would like any further information, we suggest that you sign up for a FREE Membership on this website, where you will be able to exchange views with other Forex traders and get answers to any questions you might have.
Margin Trading
Foreign exchange is normally traded on margin. A relatively small deposit can control much larger positions in the market. For trading the main currencies, Saxo Bank requires a 1% margin deposit. This means that in order to trade one million dollars, you need to place just USD 10,000 by way of security.
In other words, you will have obtained a gearing of up to 100 times. This means that a change of, say 2%, in the underlying value of your trade will result in a 200% profit or loss on your deposit. See below for specific examples. As you can see, this calls for a very disciplined approach to trading as both profit opportunities and potential risks are very large indeed. Please refer to our page Forex Rates & Conditions for current Spreads, Margins and Conditions.
Base Currency and Variable Currency
When you trade, you will always trade a combination of two currencies. For example, you will buy US dollars and sell euro. Or buy euro and sell Japanese yen, or any other combination of dozens of widely traded currencies. But there is always a long (bought) and a short (sold) side to a trade, which means that you are speculating on the prospect of one of the currencies strengthening in relation to the other.
The trade currency is normally, but not always, the currency with the highest value. When trading US dollars against Singapore dollars, the normal way to trade is buying or selling a fixed amount of US dollars, i.e. USD 1,000,000. When closing the position, the opposite trade is done, again USD 1,000,000. The profit or loss will be apparent in the change of the amount of SGD credited and debited for the two transactions. In other words, your profit or loss will be denominated in SGD, which is known as the price currency. As part of our service, Saxo Bank will automatically exchange your profits and losses into your base currency if you require this.
Dealing Spread, but No Commissions
When trading foreign exchange, you are quoted a dealing spread offering you a buying and a selling level for your trade. Once you accept the offered price and receive confirmation from our dealers, the trade is done. There is no need to call an exchange floor. There are no other time-consuming delays. This is possible due to live streaming prices, which are also a great advantage in times of fast-moving markets: You can see where the market is trading and you know whether your orders are filled or not.
The dealing spread is typically 3-5 points in normal market conditions. This means that you can sell US dollars against the euro at 1.7780 and buy at 1.7785. There are no further costs, commissions or exchange fees.
This ensures that you can get in and out of your trades at very low slippage and many traders are therefore active intra-day traders, given that a typical day in USDEUR presents price swings of 150-200 points.
Spot and forward trading
When you trade foreign exchange you are normally quoted a spot price. This means that if you take no further steps, your trade will be settled after two business days. This ensures that your trades are undertaken subject to supervision by regulatory authorities for your own protection and security. If you are a commercial customer, you may need to convert the currencies for international payments. If you are an investor, you will normally want to swap your trade forward to a later date. This can be undertaken on a daily basis or for a longer period at a time. Often investors will swap their trades forward anywhere from a week or two up to several months depending on the time frame of the investment.
Although a forward trade is for a future date, the position can be closed out at any time - the closing part of the position is then swapped forward to the same future value date.
Interest Rate Differentials
Different currencies pay different interest rates. This is one of the main driving forces behind foreign exchange trends. It is inherently attractive to be a buyer of a currency that pays a high interest rate while being short a currency that has a low interest rate.
Although such interest rate differentials may not appear very large, they are of great significance in a highly leveraged position. For example, the interest rate differential between the US dollar and the Japanese yen has been approximately 5% for several years. In a position that can be supported by a 5% margin deposit, this results in a 100% profit on capital per annum when you buy the US dollar. Of course, an even more important factor normally is the relative value of the currencies, which changed 15% from low to high during 2005 – disregarding the interest rate differential. From a pure interest rate differential viewpoint, you have an advantage of 100% per annum in your favour by being long US dollar and an initial disadvantage of the same size by being short.
Please refer to our page Forex Rates & Conditions for current Spreads, Margins and Conditions!
Such a situation clearly benefits the high interest rate currency and as result, the US dollar was in a strong bull market all through 2005. But it is by no means a certainty that the currency with the higher interest rate will be strongest. If the reason for the high interest rate is runaway inflation, this may undermine confidence in the currency even more than the benefits perceived from the high interest rate.
Stop-loss discipline
As you can see from the description above, there are significant opportunities and risks in foreign exchange markets. Aggressive traders might experience profit/loss swings of 20-30% daily. This calls for strict stop-loss policies in positions that are moving against you.
Fortunately, there are no daily limits on foreign exchange trading and no restrictions on trading hours other than the weekend. This means that there will nearly always be an opportunity to react to moves in the main currency markets and a low risk of getting caught without the opportunity of getting out. Of course, the market can move very fast and a stop-loss order is by no means a guarantee of getting out at the desired level.
But the main risk is really an event over the weekend, where all markets are closed. This happens from time to time as many important political events, such as G7 meetings, are normally scheduled for weekends.
For speculative trading, we always recommend the placement of protective stop-lossorders. With Saxo Bank Internet Trading you can easily place and change such orders while watching market development graphically on your computer screen.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
What is Forex Indicator
What is Forex Indicator
For some traders, they prefer to use the forex indicators to make some trading decisions. They spend hours in front of the computers to observe the movements of the indicators to make sure that they have already made the perfect decision.
For them, they accuracy on examining the indicators is the life of their trading sessions. Once they made mistake, it would be a bit hard to recover.
They need to determine the direction of the market to make some decision. Are they going to buy, or they want to get the sell position? The decision could be made after they see and examine the forex indicators. Those traders realized that not all the time those signal forex combinations are correct. They might make misjudge of a movement of the market that surely might impact the whole trading process.
To avoid this situation, those traders should really understand about the forex indicators. This is the best way to eliminate some mistakes that might be done.
Stuboo and Forex
Stuboo and Forex
Foreign Exchange (FOREX) is the arena where a nation's currency is exchanged for that of another. The foreign exchange market is the largest financial market in the world, with the equivalent of over $1.9 trillion changing hands daily; more than three times the aggregate amount of the US Equity and Treasury markets combined.
Unlike other financial markets, the Forex market has no physical location and no central exchange (off-exchange). It operates through a global network of banks, corporations and individuals trading one currency for another. The lack of a physical exchange enables the Forex market to operate on a 24-hour basis, spanning from one zone to another in all the major financial centers.
Traditionally, retail investors' only means of gaining access to the foreign exchange market was through banks that transacted large amounts of currencies for commercial and investment purposes. Trading volume has increased rapidly over time, especially after exchange rates were allowed to float freely in 1971.
Today, importers and exporters, international portfolio managers, multinational corporations, speculators, day traders, long-term holders and hedge funds all use the FOREX market to pay for goods and services, transact in financial assets or to reduce the risk of currency movements by hedging their exposure in other markets.
MG Financial, now operating in over 100 countries, serves all manner of clients, comprising speculators and strategic traders. Whether it’s day-traders looking for short-term gains, or fund managers wanting to hedge their non-US assets, MG's DealStation™ allows them to participate in FOREX trading by providing a combination of live quotes, Real-Time charts, and news and analysis that attracts traders with an orientation towards fundamental and/or technical analysis.
Foreign Exchange (FOREX) is the arena where a nation's currency is exchanged for that of another. The foreign exchange market is the largest financial market in the world, with the equivalent of over $1.9 trillion changing hands daily; more than three times the aggregate amount of the US Equity and Treasury markets combined.
Unlike other financial markets, the Forex market has no physical location and no central exchange (off-exchange). It operates through a global network of banks, corporations and individuals trading one currency for another. The lack of a physical exchange enables the Forex market to operate on a 24-hour basis, spanning from one zone to another in all the major financial centers.
Traditionally, retail investors' only means of gaining access to the foreign exchange market was through banks that transacted large amounts of currencies for commercial and investment purposes. Trading volume has increased rapidly over time, especially after exchange rates were allowed to float freely in 1971.
Today, importers and exporters, international portfolio managers, multinational corporations, speculators, day traders, long-term holders and hedge funds all use the FOREX market to pay for goods and services, transact in financial assets or to reduce the risk of currency movements by hedging their exposure in other markets.
MG Financial, now operating in over 100 countries, serves all manner of clients, comprising speculators and strategic traders. Whether it’s day-traders looking for short-term gains, or fund managers wanting to hedge their non-US assets, MG's DealStation™ allows them to participate in FOREX trading by providing a combination of live quotes, Real-Time charts, and news and analysis that attracts traders with an orientation towards fundamental and/or technical analysis.
Blue chip stocks - not a poker game
Blue chip stocks - not a poker game
Investing in conservative blue chip stocks may not have the allure of a hot high-tech investment, but it can be highly rewarding nonetheless, as good quality stocks have outperformed other investment classes over the long term.
Historically, investing in stocks has generated a return, over time, of between 11 and 15 percent annually depending how aggressive you are. Stocks outperform other investments since they incur more risk. Stock investors are at the bottom of the corporate "food chain." First, companies have to pay their employees and suppliers.
Then they pay their bondholders. After this come the preferred shareholders. Companies have an obligation to pay all these stakeholders first, and if there is money leftover it is paid to the stockholders through dividends or retained earnings.
Sometimes there is a lot of money left over for stockholders, and in other cases there isn't.
Thus, investing in stocks is risky because investors never know exactly what they are going to receive for their investment.
What are the attractions of blue chip stocks?
1. Great long-term rates of return.
2. Unlike mutual funds, another relatively safe, long term investment category, there are no ongoing fees.
3. You become a owner of a company.
So much for the benefits - what about the risks?
1. Some investors can't tolerate both the risk associated with investing in the stock market and the risk associated with investing in one company. Not all blue chips are created equal.
2. If you don't have the time and skill to identify a good quality company at a fair price don't invest directly. Rather, you should consider a good mutual fund.
Selecting a blue chip company is only part of the battle - determining the appropriate price is the other. Theoretically, the value of a stock is the present value of all future cash flows discounted at the appropriate discount rate. However, like most theoretical answers, this doesn't fully explain reality. In reality supply and demand for a stock sets the stock's daily price, and demand for a stock will increase or decrease depending of the outlook for a company. Thus, stock prices are driven by investor expectations for a company, the more favorable the expectations the better the stock price. In short, the stock market is a voting machine and much of the time it is voting based on investors' fear or greed, not on their rational assessments of value. Stock prices can swing widely in the short-term but they eventually converge to their intrinsic value over the long-term.
Investors should look at good companies with great expectations that are not yet imbedded in the price of a stock.
Investing in conservative blue chip stocks may not have the allure of a hot high-tech investment, but it can be highly rewarding nonetheless, as good quality stocks have outperformed other investment classes over the long term.
Historically, investing in stocks has generated a return, over time, of between 11 and 15 percent annually depending how aggressive you are. Stocks outperform other investments since they incur more risk. Stock investors are at the bottom of the corporate "food chain." First, companies have to pay their employees and suppliers.
Then they pay their bondholders. After this come the preferred shareholders. Companies have an obligation to pay all these stakeholders first, and if there is money leftover it is paid to the stockholders through dividends or retained earnings.
Sometimes there is a lot of money left over for stockholders, and in other cases there isn't.
Thus, investing in stocks is risky because investors never know exactly what they are going to receive for their investment.
What are the attractions of blue chip stocks?
1. Great long-term rates of return.
2. Unlike mutual funds, another relatively safe, long term investment category, there are no ongoing fees.
3. You become a owner of a company.
So much for the benefits - what about the risks?
1. Some investors can't tolerate both the risk associated with investing in the stock market and the risk associated with investing in one company. Not all blue chips are created equal.
2. If you don't have the time and skill to identify a good quality company at a fair price don't invest directly. Rather, you should consider a good mutual fund.
Selecting a blue chip company is only part of the battle - determining the appropriate price is the other. Theoretically, the value of a stock is the present value of all future cash flows discounted at the appropriate discount rate. However, like most theoretical answers, this doesn't fully explain reality. In reality supply and demand for a stock sets the stock's daily price, and demand for a stock will increase or decrease depending of the outlook for a company. Thus, stock prices are driven by investor expectations for a company, the more favorable the expectations the better the stock price. In short, the stock market is a voting machine and much of the time it is voting based on investors' fear or greed, not on their rational assessments of value. Stock prices can swing widely in the short-term but they eventually converge to their intrinsic value over the long-term.
Investors should look at good companies with great expectations that are not yet imbedded in the price of a stock.
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