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What is “Left Tail Risk” and How is it Impacting our Stock Portfolios?

What’s going on here? Stock prices are historically inexpensive. Bond yields need a magnifying glass to detect. Earnings reports have been positively surprising for eleven consecutive quarters. There are trillions of institutional and retail investor dollars sitting on the sidelines waiting to propel the market directly to the moon. So why is the market trending […]

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Investor Psychology and the Need for Structured Plans

We just can’t sell our losers! Some will actually buy more shares to average down the cost basis. Why is that? If sticking your index finger into an outlet resulted in an uncomfortable shock would you then try it with your other fingers?  After you dipped your hand in water? Market psychology can turn an […]

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Dollar-Cost Averaging- An Investment Technique for You?

One of the most common questions asked of me is: “How do I get started if I don’t have a lot of money to invest?” Another is “What is the most conservative way to start selling covered calls?” These questions evoke the same sentiments I had when I first began educating myself in this strategy: […]

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Penny Stocks: I’ll Have the Salad

You’re out for dinner in your favorite restaurant. The waiter hands you a menu and you immediately focus in on the salad column looking for a healthy meal. Hmmm….broiled salmon on the house salad….looks good. As you continue to study your choices you notice the young couple sitting at the table to your right. Piled […]

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Common Stock vs. Preferred Stock

We’ve all heard the terms common and preferred stock. Are the common shares for retail, Blue Collar Investors while the preferred shares for the Wall Street insiders? Not exactly. They are both types of stock that a corporation may issue. Let’s clarify the difference. Definitions: Common Stock– This is a security that represents ownership in […]

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Flash Trading- The Pros and the Cons

One of the trading practices discussed in our “David vs. Goliath” analogy comparing Wall Street Insiders to average Blue Collar (retail) Investors is   called flash trading. This article intends to explain flash trading and discuss the pros and cons of the strategy. Here’s how it works: Generally speaking, if a limit order is routed […]

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What is Our Edge? Plus Stock Chart of the Week

On May 12, 2011, the Wall Street Journal published an article on the Galleon Verdict, the guilty verdict of hedge fund manager Raj Rajaratnam (henceforth referred to as “Raj”). A hedge fund is an unregulated private investment partnership limited to wealthy, accredited investors. The portfolio is aggressively managed using leverage and derivatives. It seems that Raj was […]

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Short Selling: Positives and Negatives

Short selling are transactions in which investors sell borrowed securities in anticipation of a price decline and are then required to return an equal number of shares at some point in the future. Let’s assume you are bearish on a stock that is currently trading at $50 per share. You then sell 1000 shares short or […]

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The New Stock Market- Algorithmic and High Speed Trading

Quick! Name the four largest US Stock Exchanges. The New York Stock Exchange, the Nasdaq Exchange, uhhhhhhhhh. There are more? Okay can’t answer that one, how about this question Mr. know-it-all stock investor: The heart and soul of Wall Street is located where? New York City, of course. Well you’re right about that but perhaps […]

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