Thursday, May 13, 2021
Tuesday, November 7, 2017
Something To Consider For Small Investment Accounts
One of the stock places I frequent is at http://stockaholics.net and within that site is a live chat that uses Discord as a chat app to discuss buying and selling of stocks. Within that chat I find there are a lot of young people that are trying to get into investing with 500 to 1000 dollars to work with. They tend to gravitate towards using Robinhood as a platform since it has no transaction fees. These investors also seem to get fixated on penny stocks due to their low prices. But, penny stocks are typically the worse stocks to get into and often produce losses that end up discouraging the investor to eventually abandon stock investing.
One thing I usually chat back to them is to focus on percentage returns instead of dollars and cents. One share of a 100 dollar stock of a profitable company can easily rise to 110 dollars for a 10% gain. A 50cent stock needs to rise a nickel to get that same 10% gain but typically they are companies that lose money and can struggle to pick up that 10%.
The transaction fees are a huge consideration if you have less than $5000 in a trading account. Robinhood can often cause you issues with getting trades processed quickly and several transactions over a few days will trigger a day trading warning and not let you place trades until the trigger is lifted.
Not very well known, but perfect for low accounts is to get on to a decent trading platform that offers trading in commission free ETF’s. These allow you to trade small amounts into a diversified set of stocks with no transaction fees. It is a less risky way to invest since there is no one company to take down your account. Not that you can’t lose on them but much less risky. So, I’ve done a little research for you and here are some suggestions.
First, the one I think is the “winner” of the best place to invest if you only have $500 to $2000. You can open up an investment account with Vanguard with no minimum account balance requirement. So that 500 bucks is good to go. Then you can trade any of their Vanguard ETF’s transaction cost free. Plus they do not have a requirement to hold that ETF for 30 days as other free ETF places do. The only drawback is that you have to stay within Vanguard sponsored ETF’s but considering they have some of the best low expense fee ETF’s out there this is not much of a drawback. While a lot of the share prices are over $100 per share you simply only buy one or two shares. Then as you are able to add savings into your trading account you can gradually increase. Once you get enough built up and want to transition away from commission free ETF’s into single companies you will probably want to transfer to another broker as Vanguards transaction fees can eat you up if you are under $50,000. Here is a list of the ETF’s you can get into commission free:
https://investor.vanguard.com/etf/list#/etf/asset-class/month-end-returns
Next up is Schwab. They come in second mainly because they do have a minimum balance of $1000 when opening an account. Minor drawback as long as you have that amount to start with. They offer over 200 commission free ETF’s and do not require a 30 day hold period before selling. On their site they refer to their free ETF’s as “Schwab ETF OneSource”. Here is the list of the ETF’s they have. At the top of this list you’ll see it lists “Domestic Equity” and you have to click for International, Bond, Sector and Real Assets to see all of them
Two other’s that deserve mentioning is
Etrade (must hold 30 days or fee charged)
https://www.etrade.wallst.com/v1/fundresearch/commissionfree_etfs/commissionfree_etf_results.asp?selectedcfcategory=domestic_mid_small&viewbytab=fund_category&allstarType=etf&results_view=performance&sortBy=ETDWETradeFundName&sortOrder=A&c=ETDWETradeAllStarGroup;ETDWCategorySymbol:LIKE:MB:LIKE:MG:LIKE:MV:LIKE:SB:LIKE:SG:LIKE:SV;ETDWProgramFlag:EQU:1;
And Fidelity
(must hold 30 days or fee charged)
https://www.fidelity.com/etfs/overview
Brokerage account min 2500 Traditional IRA no min
Sunday, October 8, 2017
A Look at Stock Rover
Stock Rover is as close to an all-in-one stop for stock information that I have seen. It has 2 separate sections that I refer to as the "Market" section and the "Stock Rover App" section. Both of these sections have a vast amount of useful underlying research information on the various stocks that make up the tradable stocks on the exchange. I will not be able to detail all of what you will find on this site. Just highlighting the areas that I find interesting will make for a long enough post. I can't stress enough that there is a ton of information under each tab and many more when hovering over some items or right clicking things like symbols.
You must register with Stock Rover. The registering is free and will give you access to everything I am talking about here. Premium membership is $250 per year. I don't think the Premium is necessary for most investors, especially smaller investors trying to learn. If you want to though they do have a 14 day free trial that you activate from the Stock Rover app menu with no credit card information required for the free trial. If you don't upgrade in the 14 days the app returns to the "free" version. Do not take this as an advertisement or recommendation, I have no affiliation and get no benefit from anyone subscribing.
Image 1 below is the main Markets page. I've highlighted a few things on here. Black menu bar at top is main sections and this shot is on Markets. On the Market section there is a lot to see. Notice the first set of tabs. It also is on Markets showing the performance of the overall indexes. Note that you can change the time frame to get up to one year performance. This tab also provides a lower table which is currently on Market Summary showing yet another table below that which is currently on Sectors. You can also change the time frame on sectors to get various views on strong sectors for whatever period you select. If you trade on the uptrends you want to use this to find which sectors are the best then drilling down into them to see what stocks are strong.
Notice the tabs along this table. In addition to Market Summary you have a Stocks, ETFs, Bonds, Commodities and Daily Analyst Ratings. Each of them has a summary for that day. Stock tab will show the largest movers for the day and top performers and top losers. Also note, the daily analyst tab shows companies that have been upgraded or downgraded for that day.
Image 1
Image 2 shows the screen that you get when staying on the Markets section (top black menu) but moving the first table down to "Quotes". Here, if you have no tickers entered you need to have one. This shot is looking at Oracle (ORCL). Note the table right under that is currently on Financials but you have a Details, Chart, News, and Peers in addition. I just wanted to highlight the Financials so you could see the fundamental data available here. By clicking the + mark in each line reveals the data for that item. It is currently on Financial Health. Note the data and graphs. On the left side if you click on the existing "X" it will remove that item from the graph. Clicking on the graph icon will add the item. You can have up to 4 items in the graph.
Image 2
In Image 3 we again stay in the Markets section (Black menu bar at top) but in the first table we clicked on "Ideas". Stock Rover keeps a few "featured screeners" to run without having to go into the Stock Rover app (image 4 below) I just want to point out that in the image below sitting just below the list of screened stocks is "Other Featured Screeners" Click on one of them for a different type of screen. The active screen shows the details of what is being screened to the left of the list of stocks. Also not you can access he CNBC Video Feed (Lower Right of Image 3)
Image 3
Lastly is Image 4 below which is the Stock Rover App. If you look on the images above it is located on the black menu bar at the top on the far right. Click the orange button "Launch SR" and it should open this up in a new tab or window depending on how you have your browser setting. This has just as many different places to explore as the "Markets" page so I won't try to get into too much detail here. I just want to highlight a few things. See the Start button (upper left of image 4)? Clicking that down arrow brings up a menu shown in Image 5 below. Look over the sections on this page. On the left side is the Market Summary, Quotes and Navigation. You simply have to click on the areas that I have highlighted in the Navigation section to see how really intensive this section is. As you highlight any of the stocks in the table in the middle (Research Tickers) It will populate the bottom chart and the right section labeled Insight for (symbol). Notice the grading system I highlighted in that box. Also note the tabs for additional details.
Image 4
Image 5 - Clicking arrow next to "Start" this is under the start menu
So this post just touches on the many features of this well laid out stock research website. I strongly recommend you spend a little time clicking through things here. As you click around in here you will probably come across some of the features only available to premium members but as of now it has not compelled me personally to pay for it. For me, I have another stock screening app that I am presently paying for that runs out in January of next year. At that time I might consider trying the premium. Lastly, below is a few links for more information about Stock Rover.
Compare features of Free vs Premium
https://www.stockrover.com/plans/compare/
Detailed Help for Stock Rover app (not Markets page)
https://www.stockrover.com/how-to/stock-rover-basics/right-click-menus/
17 page Getting Started Guide in PDF format for the Stock Rover app (not Markets page)
https://www.stockrover.com/library/pdf/getting-started-in-stock-rover.pdf
Created with Microsoft OneNote 2016.
Saturday, September 23, 2017
Not Just the Fed’s Balance Sheet That’s Changing
(Excerpt's from AAII’s Charles Rotblut journal Sept. 21 2017 on the results of the September Fed meeting.)
Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) announced its plan to unwind its balance sheet. Starting next month, the Federal Reserve will stop reinvesting $6 billion of proceeds from maturing Treasury securities and $4 billion proceeds from maturing agency debt and agency mortgage-backed securities. The dollar amounts will be gradually rising each month, subject to adjustments as warranted. By not reinvesting the proceeds of maturing bonds, the central bank is effectively reducing demand for those bonds. The effect of this on the credit market will be the subject of economic studies and textbooks for decades to come. Fed officials are going to have to be sensitive to any ripples in the credit markets and adjust accordingly. To predict how things will turn out is to make a big guess. It’s an uncertainty, but it’s a well-telegraphed uncertainty and so far the bond markets have not shown signs of fear about it.
The FOMC also updated its forecasts for economic growth, keeping the annual long-term projection for GDP expansion at 1.8%. Interest rates were left unchanged and expectations for how rates will be raised next year trended downward.
All of this is occurring as Fed Chair Janet Yellen’s term will expire in February. President Trump will have four Federal Reserve Board vacancies to fill once vice chair Stanley Fischer steps down in October. The sheer number of personnel changes could alter future monetary policy from what it would have been. Yellen’s approach has been dovish. Whether the president’s appointees to the Federal Reserve will be comparatively more hawkish or dovish remains to be seen.
Trump has relied heavily on borrowing. This would suggest a preference to keeping interest rates low. As long as inflation remains at tame levels, the economic data would make it hard to justify a shift to a significantly more hawkish monetary stance.
Monday, April 24, 2017
A Couple of Worthy News Sites
In addition to the obvious business news sites that investors seek out for stock information like Google Finance, Yahoo Finance, Reuter’s and Bloomberg, there are also smaller less known sites that offer very good insight into stocks. Here are two that I like.
The Wellesleys News
Screen shot above shows the home page. They update frequently during the day and categorize their stories according to the menu you see in black across the top of the page for Business, Consensus & Forecast, Sector Snapshot, Trending Equities, and Top Yields. Each section gives you a list of articles related to that topic. This is a good place to check on watch list stocks as well as keeping current on the companies in your active portfolio.
The Cerbat Gem
Market News and Analysis
hhttps://www.thecerbatgem.com/category/headlines
Screen shot above shows the home screen. Note the menu across the top just underneath the logo. That separates articles by category much like Wellesley site. I especially like the M&A section and Analysts’ Updates. Both of these sites are worthy of bookmark space. Another thing these sites are useful for is discovering good companies that may not turn up on other screens that you run to select stocks to research.
Monday, March 27, 2017
3/25/17 Barron’s Picks and Pans
(BZ Newswire) --
This weekend's Barron's takes a look at a long-suffering media company poised for a turnaround.
Other featured articles offer the prospects for a solar power outfit with a strong balance sheet and a lender in a sweet spot of high growth.
The outlooks for a chip maker riding a tailwind and a consumer electronics giant with a respectable dividend yield are also examined.
"Viacom Flips the Script: Stock Has 40% Upside" by Robin Goldwyn Blumenthal makes the case that long-suffering media company Viacom, Inc. (NASDAQ: VIAB) is tracking a new course toward a turnaround. See how a new CEO is shaking things up, shifting priorities and reinvesting in the company. The stock has risen since he took up the reins but still looks cheap, according to Barron's.
In "Dark Clouds May Be Lifting for SolarEdge," Andrew Bary suggests that shares of Solaredge Technologies Inc (NASDAQ: SEDG), which makes optimizers and inverters, could rise by 40 percent or more in the next year. See why Barron's thinks that, with its strong balance sheet, the solar power outfit offers staying power until the industry comes back in vogue.
Jack Willoughby's "Why Silicon Valley Bank's Stock Could Rise 25%" takes a look at whether this lender to venture capitalists and startups is headed into a sweet spot of high growth. Discover why Barron's believes SVB Financial Group (NYSE: SIVB) is poised for several years of rapid earnings growth that dwarfs expectations for most other banks.
While the growth cycle at Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) could be extended, it won't last forever, according to "Micron, Up 170%, Could Move Higher. But Be Wary" by Tiernan Ray. The current market conditions for Micron are proving extraordinarily favorable, though the CEO announced his retirement last month and the company has yet to name a successor.
In Johanna Bennett's "Apple iPhone, Dividend Buzz Can Keep Stock Hot," see why one key analysts says that even with Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) shares near an all-time high, investors should expect another 20 percent gain. While Apple is trading near its highest price-to-earnings multiple in five years, there is much to like, including a respectable dividend yield.
Keep up with all the latest breaking news and trading ideas by following Benzinga on Twitter.
Sunday, January 15, 2017
Arnold Van Den Berg: "Experiential Wisdom on Value Investing" | Talks at...
Arnold gives a very interesting talk on his experience as a value investor and as the talk goes on he provides some very good information on current status of the Market, how to look at one indicator of market tops and market bottoms as well as 2 areas of opportunity he sees in today's market. Worth the hour it takes to listen