Interested in a little hosting?

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Would you like to share your travels? Perhaps you’d like to keep in touch with friends or family? Ever thought of starting your own little business online?

A Wordpress-based site is an easy to use tool that can help you share your ideas, photographs, and products, whether you’re setting up a simple blog or a website.

Let me help you get started using Wordpress to build your own website and/or blog. I can help you with basic wordpress training & set you up with your own site to run.

Drop me an email address or mobile phone number where I can reach you, if you’d like me to set you on the Wordpress road.

Stock investment strategies: Can they make a difference?

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Following The Stock Market Timeline Through The Great Recession

The past twelve years have made successful stock trading difficult and many stock investing strategies obsolete for most people: a quick look at the chart of the Dow Jones from 1998~2010 reveals only part of the reason why.

Let’s face it: It’s been a Roller Coaster Ride for most Stock Investment Strategies

DowJonesIndustrialAverageChart

Chart of the Dow Jones Industrial Average: 12 years

Summary 1998 ~ 2010

In January 2000, the market peaked and started sliding as the Dot Com Bubble came to an end in panicked selling as the air was sucked out of those stocks. But it wasn’t until the last quarter or 2001 when the Dow Jones hit its first of four troughs at around 8000 points that many stock investing strategies came undone.

In March 2003, we then saw a bull market that ran the stock market index from just south of 8000 to a peak of 14093 in October 2007, a rise of almost 75% or more. But of course, that represented a double top, indicating markets had nowhere to go but south.

Within 2 years, the market had headed south of 7000 as institutional sellers flooded the market with sell orders and found few buyers. Prices plummeted to a 12 year low before rebounding as the fear subsided, and confidence returned.

With 20-20 hindsight, those doing successful stock trading or stock investment strategies would have made a killing. Would have. Why didn’t we? In truth, volatile times make certain types of trading more profitable but wipes out portfolio values where more traditional buy and hold investing approaches hold sway.

For those investors tossed by the waves of uncertainty, buying high and selling low has only compounded the difficulties of their portfolio surviving the unsettling storms of the times.

A Personal Example of My Failed Stock Investment Strategies

During this twelve year stretch, my own portfolio invested soared to over $21,000 then dipped, then climbed again before falling back to only 1/3 of that amount. Right now, it’s treading water at a little more than 54% of its high point, and I’m sure that total performance has been much worse.

Many investors also saw their portfolio value in the money and on sale during these ten years, and it didn’t help a lot seeing the hard-earned savings disappearing in a puff of virtual smoke. I know. I’ve been there.

What’s your excuse?

And, like me, you’ve probably been either too busy or too scared to know what stock trading to do during these volatile times in the past ten years. Too busy because your career or profession precluded you from taking the time to really study your investment strategy; too scared because, if you were at all like me, you found out that stocks can really go to $0. Thanks, AtHome.

I’ve been writing about stocks, personal finance, and stock investment strategies for more than four years during this time, and I’ve tried to get a handle on the basics. That combined with extensive reading and owning my own business have helped me to focus on the real essentials of investing.

And yet…

… even now, I’m convinced that if you (I?) can manage successful trading stocks, then you will find that they are a rewarding part of your investments for the long term, whatever trading style you choose to adopt.

However, for many people, stock investment strategies are like a lottery: you buy a stock because you like the stock name, the product or the boss… but very often there is no real rational between the purchase of these stocks. In the end, it’s a lottery. But it needn’t be that way, if you know how to …

Choose your stock investment strategies

Broadly, stock trading strategies can be divided into those bought after a technical analysis of the stock and those purchased as the result of a fundamental analysis. So what’s the difference?

Fundamental analysis is usually based on analysis of historical and present data, with the aim of trying to determine both current and future value of the stock. Assessments of stocks using this means are a favorite of investors like Warren Buffett; and are often used to determine whether the actual or ‘intrinsic’ value of a company is currently undervalued or fairly-valued or over-valued.

As an example, looking at the chart above, you may determine that dow jones stocks were somewhat overvalued prior to 2008, but were on sale during much of 2008-9.

Technical analysis, on the other hand, looks at the future direction of stock prices through the study of past market data, especially pricing and volume. While there are many schools of thought, the general goal is to determine the direction and strength of a future stock price by looking for patterns in the stock price movements.

A quick look at the chart shows in 2007 a double top pattern, where the index twice reached a high of around 14000, and to technicians as a bearish signal in the market.

My Own Experience

Over the past twelve years, I’ve had some wonderful successes and abysmal failures in stock trading, all of which I will be happy to share with readers of Successful Stock Trading!

In time I learned from my many mistakes and became a better at stock trading. I also discovered other reasons why stock trading is such a great investment vehicle. One of the ones that occurred to me recently is that there is a…

The Stock Market Reaches Into Everyone’s Lives

Though there is risk in stock trading, “Yes, I do love the risk,” there are a few other things that I enjoy about trading as well, such as how the stock market seems to impact everything in our daily lives; and how everything in our daily lives seems to have an impact on the stock market.

Think about it…

…every day you spend money. Everyone spends money differently than the next person. And everyone spends it on different things. The one thing that unites our spending is…

…you guessed it, the stock market. So, next time you pull into a gas station or are at the check out line at the grocery store, think to yourself how your purchase will affect the stock market and how the stock market affects the product or service that you will be purchasing.

There is Risk

With each different type of trading, there is a different amount of risk. When you buy a stock long, you can only lose the money that you put in. There is a little bit more risk with selling short.

Buying Short and Selling Long

Even with that risk however, I have come to prefer (along with many others) short selling. There are two reasons why I prefer short selling. The first is that stocks can go down faster than they go up.

The second isn’t necessarily a preference to short selling. I just like to know that I have the option to make money when I think a stock is going to go down. And not just when its going to go up.

So, with buying short and selling long there is not much risk. However, with more advanced trading strategies you will encounter more risk. So, you should be comfortable with the basics before you dive in to these other methods of trading.

The other advanced forms of trading that you may want to check out when you master the basics include stock options and buying on margin.

Stocks, Options and Margin

Investing in stock options is a more advanced form of stock investment strategies. Individual investors issue options and other individual investors purchase them. The issuer is betting that a stock will do something and the purchaser is betting that it will do the opposite. This is a very lucrative investment strategy but one that takes lots of practice to master.

Finally, buying on margin. This is as simple as it sounds. Buying on margin is when your borrow money from your stock broker in order to purchase more stocks. If you borrow money elsewhere, say a bank or a friend, it’s pretty much the same thing. And it is just as risky. Of course, like with any time you take out a loan, you will want to get the best rate possible.

A Solid Investment Vehicle

Win the lottery and people will most kindly inform of all the ways that you could invest your money. There are many different legitimate investments, lots of stock investing strategies and not a few that are shady. But, I have come to find that stock trading can be one of the most rewarding and educational ones you could pursue.

Leasing Commercial Office and Retail Space for the Budding Entrepreneur

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There is a lot of opportunity in investing right now, especially since we’re at the beginning of an upturn in the economy. So, if you are setting up your new business, you will undoubtedly need to lease space, whether you’re opening a retail space or office.

It’s just so much more commercially viable if you can plough your capital into the business, not the purchase of the units. For start-up businesses, the cost of renting vs. purchasing office space offers tremendous advantages in saving precious start-up capital. However, you’ll need to look into leasing your space.

Property Managers

Professional property managers specialize in handling residential and commercial real estate which businesses can lease as office or retail space at affordable rates. Commercial properties are leased on specific terms and conditions that are stipulated in contracts provided by the property management firms. You will need to sign one if you wish to lease space:

Retail Space

Stores need to open up in attractive locations that can draw in customers. You’ll find commercial retail space is available for rent through property management companies. Prime retail locations are typically situated inside shopping malls, at busy shopping plazas, and even in popular high street venues. Commercial property managers also usually charge premium fees per square foot for the most desirable retail locations.

Office Space

Office spaces can command quite a premium, depending on its location in urban or non-urban environments. Additionally, you will need to look out for such additional aspects: public transport to the location, parking lots (esp. if you have lots of workers), restaurants and other infrastructure for your staff, location in respect of your suppliers, deliverers and your customers. Are you, for example, near an interstate or railway station?

The Lease…

Once you have completed the crucial task of identifying a business location, the next step is to negotiate a lease. Considering this is often one of the biggest expenses you will have, do your homework before you lock yourself into anything. For starters, do not assume a commercial lease is the same thing as a residential lease.

… and its conditions

General maintenance and care of the property will likely be your responsibility. You will not have the luxury of calling up the landlord to fix your air conditioning units. But commercial property managers may be responsible for all exterior maintenance of an office building. Snow removal and landscaping are done as needed by a management company. Similarly, the common areas such as the lobby or lounge will need to be maintained by the management (if the property is shared by others).

Also, it may be challenging to find a 1-year lease. If you cannot, then it becomes increasingly important to ensure you understand the lease in detail and are fully aware of all potential fees. The last thing you want to do is create a budget which later on is inaccurate due to surprise costs.

Along those lines, consider obtaining legal help. If this is your first time leasing commercial space, then save the learning curve for a less significant expense.

Financial Advantages

While a seasoned and established business owner may choose to consider purchasing real estate, that may not be an affordable option for someone just starting out. By leasing space from a company like Hi-Reit (which leases office and retail space in the United States of America) you are not tied to a mortgage.

Perhaps your monthly rent will even qualify as a tax deductible business expense. There is the additional benefit of not tying up your money in ownership, but rather investing it into the launching of your business.

The Exit

Regardless of the successes or struggles with your business, make sure you have an exit strategy. Without knowing what the future holds, you would be wise to insist upon defining a termination process. If you need to move or close up shop, you want to have minimal constraints to do so. Remember, your time to negotiate is before you sign the contract, not after.

Have you had problems starting up your company because you couldn’t find a location? I know we had terrible trouble trying to find a property that was zoned so we could get the business licenses needed.