Ryan Galiotto

Posts Tagged ‘stocks’

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The stock market moves up and down every day, but when movements continue downwards for a period of time the market is referred to as a ‘bear market’. Upward moving markets are ‘bull markets’. If a particular stock is doing well, it is said to be bullish. If it is losing value it is bearish. 

Bull and Bear are the terms to describe the general conditions of the share market. These do not refer to short term fluctuations - a bear market is commonly understood as one where prices of key stocks have fallen in price by 20% or more over a period of at least 2 months. Even during a bear market, however, prices may increase temporarily. Bull markets are the opposite of bear markets - they are indicated by a rise in prices of key shares over a certain period of time.

Usually stock market conditions reflect the state of the economy. During bull markets the economy is doing well, unemployment is low and interest rates are reasonable. Bear markets usually occur during times of economic slowdown.  Investors lose confidence and companies may begin laying off workers. At the extremes, an exaggerated bear market can lead to a crash brought on by panic selling. An exaggerated bull market can be caused by over-enthusiasm of investors.  It leads to a market ‘bubble’ that will eventually burst.

Although most money can be made during bull markets, there are also opportunities during bear markets. Knowing the characteristics of each type of market allows investors to profit from them. As would be expected, when the market is bullish investors wish to buy up share. The economy is doing well and people have extra money which they wish to invest in stocks. This creates a situation of short supply which drives up prices even higher. During bear markets, on the other hand, prices are falling so investors wish to unload their stocks and put their money in fixed-return instruments such as bonds. As money is withdrawn from the stock market, supply exceeds demand which drives prices down even further.

It is easiest to make money during a bull market. Getting in right at the beginning will allow you to make the most profits. During a bull market any dips in the market are temporary and should soon be corrected. The upward rising prices can’t go on forever, though, so the investor needs to be able to gauge when the market reaches its peak and sell at that time.  

Bear markets represent opportunities to pick up stocks at bargain prices. Getting in near the end of a bear market offers the greatest chance for profit. The prices will most likely fall before they recover, so the investor should be prepared for some short term loss. Short-selling is also an investment strategy during bear markets. Short selling involves selling stock that you do not own in the anticipation of further price drops, so that when it comes time to deliver you can buy the stock for less than you sold it.

Fixed return investments such as CAs and bonds can be used to generate income during a bear market. So called ‘defensive stocks’ are also safe to buy at any time. These include government owned utilities that provide necessities no matter what state the economy is in.

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A mutual fund is a diverse holding of stocks that are managed on behalf of the investors that buy into the fund. A mutual fund allows an investor to take advantage of a diversified portfolio without having to invest a large sum of money.

What is the advantage of a diversified portfolio? It offers protection against rapid market losses of any one particular stock. If a portfolio is spread across 20 stocks, if any one of those shares quickly loses value the effect is less than if the portfolio consisted of that one stock by itself.

When investing it is always a good idea to diversify. The problem for small investors is that they often don’t have the funds to buy a variety of shares. Mutual funds allow small investors to benefit from diversification with a small amount of money.

Besides shares, mutual funds can be made up of a variety of holdings including bonds and money market instruments. A mutual fund is actually a company and investors that buy into a fund are buying shares of that company. Shares in a mutual fund are bought directly from the fund itself or brokers acting on behalf of the fund. Shares can be redeemed by selling them back to the fund.

Some funds are managed by investment professionals who decide which securities to include in the fund. Non-managed funds are also available. They are usually based on an index such as the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The fund simply duplicates the holdings of the index it is based on so that if the Dow Jones (for example) rises by 5% the mutual fund based on that index also rises by the same amount. Non-managed funds often perform very well - sometimes better than managed funds.

There are downsides to mutual funds. There are usually fees that must be paid no matter how the fund performs, and the individual investor has no say in which securities can be included in the fund. Also, the actual value of a mutual fund share is not known with the same precision as shares on the stock market. 

Mutual funds are often a better choice for the small investor than either shares or bonds. They offer the diversity that provides cushion against sudden stock market movements and usually provide a greater return than bonds. Of course, mutual funds can also lose value, especially in the short term, so short term investors may be better off with bonds which offer a set rate of return.

There are three main types of mutual funds: money market funds, bond funds and stock funds. Money market funds offer the lowest risk - they consist solely of high quality investments such as those issued by the US government and blue chip corporations. Money market funds have rarely lost money, but they pay a low rate of return.

Bond funds aim to produce higher yields than money market funds and therefore carry a correspondingly higher risk. All the risks that are associated with bonds - company bankruptcy, falling interest rates - also apply to bond funds.

stock funds usually have the greatest potential for profitable investment but also carry the greatest risk. The risk is more for short-term holders of mutual funds - shares have traditionally outperformed other investment instruments in the long run.

There are different types of stock funds including ‘growth funds’ that attempt to maximize capital gain and ‘income funds’ that concentrate on stocks that pay regular dividends.

Mutual funds are an ideal investment for those with limited funds or investment experience. Choosing the right fund is a decision on how much risk you are willing to take against your expected return on your investment.

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Whereas stocks give investors part ownership of a company, bonds are loans made by investors to corporations or governments. Rather than benefiting from company profits the way that stock holders do, bond holders receive a fixed rate of return - a percentage of the bond’s original offering price. The return is called the ‘coupon rate’. Bonds have a maturity date at which time the principal amount is returned. Bonds can be issued for any period of time - some take up to 30 years to mature.

Bonds always carry the risk that the principal amount may not be paid back. Companies with higher credit worthiness are more likely to be safe investments but their coupon rate will be lower than companies with lower credit ratings. Credit ratings are provided by firms such as Standard and Poor and Moody’s Investor Service. Credit ratings range from a high AAA to a low D.

US government bonds are considered to be the safest type of bonds. Blue chip corporations (those with established performance records that span over many decades) are also very safe bond investments. Smaller corporations have a greater risk of defaulting on their bonds, but bond-holders are preferential creditors and will get compensated before stock holders in the event that the business goes bankrupt.

Bonds can be bought and sold on the open market. Their value fluctuates according to the level of interest rates in the general economy. For example, if you hold a $1000 bond that pays 5% per year in interest you can sell the bond at higher than face value as long as interest rates are below 5%. If they rise above 5%, your bond can still be sold but usually at less than face value. This is because investors are able to get a higher interest rate than what your bond pays so in order to offset the difference your bond has to be sold at a lower cost.

Most bonds are traded in the Over-The-Counter (OTC) market which is made up of banks and security firms. Some corporate bonds are also listed on stock exchanges and may be bought through share brokers. New issues of bonds are usually sold in $5000 increments while bonds bought and sold after the initial issues are quoted in increments of $100. A bond that is listed at 96 is selling for $96 per $100 face value.

Shares or Bonds

When deciding whether to invest in stocks or bonds, the risks versus the potentials have to be weighed. stocks have much greater potential to increase in value but they are also more subject to market fluctuations. Investment grade bonds (those with a rating of BBB or better) carry less risk but offer a relatively low yield.

Most investors agree that for the short term, bonds offer greater security and return. The situation changes, however, when time spans of longer than 10 years are considered. The share market has consistently outperformed bond investments by a large factor. This is because companies continue to increase in value and any short term fluctuations in the stock market are smoothed out over time.

Bonds still have their place in most portfolios, however. They provide a stable investment which helps to cushion against stock market fluctuation. A mixture of investments including shares from various industries, bonds and other fixed-income investments is the way to provide maximum growth while securing your investment funds for the future.

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The stock market is a reliable indicator of the actual value of companies which issue stock. Values of shares are based on verifiable financial data such as sales figures, assets and growth. This reliability makes the share market a good choice for long term investing - well-run companies should continue to grow and provide dividends for their shareholders.

The share market also provides opportunities for short-term investors. Market skittishness can cause prices to fluctuate quite rapidly and investor psychology can cause prices to fall or rise - even if there is no financial basis for these variations.

How does this happen? News reports, government announcements about the economy, and even rumors can cause investors to become nervous or to suspect that a company will increase in value. When the price starts to fall or rise, other investors will jump on the bandwagon, causing an even faster acceleration in price. Eventually the market will correct itself, but for savvy short-term investors who watch the market closely, these price changes can offer opportunities for profitable trading. 

Short term traders are divided into 3 categories: Position Traders, Swing Traders, and Day Traders.

Position Traders

Position trading is the longest term trading style of the three. stocks could be held for a relatively long period of time compared with the other trading styles. Position traders expect to hold on to their stocks for anywhere from 5 days to 3 or 6 months. Position traders are watching for fundamental changes in value of a stock. This information can be gleaned from financial reports and industry analyses. Position trading does not require a great deal of time. An examination of daily reports is enough to plan trading strategies. This type of trading is ideal for those who invest in the stock market to supplement their income. The time needed to study the stock market can be as little as 30 minutes a day and can be done after regular work hours.

Swing Traders

Swing traders hold shares for shorter periods than position traders - generally from one to five days. The swing trader is looking for changes in the market that are driven more by emotion than fundamental value. This type of trading requires more time than position trading but the payback is often greater. Swing traders usually spend about 2 hours a day researching shares and executing orders. They need to be able to identify trends and pick out trading opportunities. They usually rely on daily and intraday charts to plot share movements.

Day Traders

Day trading is commonly thought of as the most risky way to play the share market. This may be true if the trader is uneducated, but those who know what they are doing know how to limit their risk and maximize their profit potential. Day trading refers to buying and selling stock in very short periods of time - less than a day but often as short as a few minutes. Day traders rely on information that can influence price moves and have to plot when to get in and out of a position. Day traders need to be rational and analytical. Emotional buyers will quickly lose money in this type of trading. Because of the close attention needed to market conditions, day trading is a full-time profession.

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The investor has many tools at hand when making decisions about which stocks to buy. One of the most useful of these is fundamental analysis - examining key ratios which show the worth of a share and how a company is performing.

The goal of fundamental analysis is to determine how much money a company is making and what kind of earnings can be expected in the future. Although future earnings are always subject to interpretation, a good earning history creates confidence among investors. stock prices increase and dividends may also be paid out.  

Companies are required to report earnings on a regular basis and share market analysts examine these figures to determine if a company is meeting its expected growth. If not, there is usually a downturn in the share’s price.  

There are many tools available to help determine a company’s earnings and its value on the share market. Most of them rely on the financial statements provided by the company. Further fundamental analysis can be done to reveal details about the value of a company including its competitive advantages and the ratio of ownership between management and outside investors.

Financial Statements
Every publicly traded company must publish regular financial statements. These statements are available in printed form or on the Internet. All statements must include an income statement, a balance sheet, an auditor’s report, a statement of cash flow, a description of the business activities and the expected revenue for the coming year.

Auditor’s Report
The auditor’s report is one of the most important sections of the financial statement. The auditor is an independent Certified Public Accountant firm which examines the company’s financial activities to determine if the financial statement is an accurate description of the earnings. The auditor’s report contains the opinion of the auditor concerning the accuracy of the financial statement. A financial statement without an independent auditor’s report is essentially worthless because it could contain misleading or inaccurate information. An auditor’s report, although not a guarantee of accuracy, at least provides credibility to the financial statement.

Balance Sheet
Another important section of the financial statement is the balance sheet. This is a ’snapshot’ as it were, of the financial condition of the company at a single point in time. The balance sheet shows the relationship between assets (cash, property and equipment), liabilities (debt) and equity (retained earnings and share).

Income Statement
The income statement shows information about the revenue, net income, and earnings per share over a period of time. The top line of the income statement shows the amount of income generated by sales, underneath which the costs incurred in doing business are deducted. The bottom line show the net income (or loss) and the income per share.

Cash Flow
The statement of cash flow is similar to the income statement - it provides a picture of a company’s performance over time. The cash flow statement, however, does not use accounting procedures such as depreciation - it is simply an indicator of how a company handles income and expenses. A statement of cash flow shows incoming and outgoing cash from sales, investments, and financing. It is a good indicator about how the company is run on a day-to-day basis, how it handles creditors and from where it receives growth capital.

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Stock options are contracts to buy (or sell) a share at a certain price before a certain time in the future. Buyers of options have the right to buy the stock at the specified price, but they are not obligated to exercise their option.  Sellers of options have the obligation to sell the underlying stock if the buyer of the option wishes to exercise it.

A contract to buy is called a ‘call option’. The buyer of a call option hopes the price of the underlying share will rise, allowing him to buy it at less than market value. The seller of the call option expects that the price of the stock will not rise, or at least is willing to accept a partial loss of profits made from selling the call option.

For example: An investor buys a call option on IBM with a ’strike price’ (the price the stock can be bought) of $50. The current price of IBM shares is $40 and the cost of the call is $5. If the price rises above $55 (strike price + cost of call) the buyer could exercise his right to buy and make a profit by reselling on the open market. The seller would still gain from the increase in price from $40 to $55 plus the $5 he made by selling the call. If the price remains below $55 the call would not be exercised and the seller would profit by $5 per share and the buyer would lose his $5 per share.

Options are traded on specific stocks. They detail the name of the share, the strike price (the price the stock can be bought or sold at), the expiration date and the premium (the price of the option itself). After the expiration the option cannot be exercised and is worthless. Options have a value and are actively traded. An option to buy Microsoft, for example, is listed like this:

MSFT Jan10 22.50 Call at $2.00

This tells us that an option to buy 1 share of Microsoft at $22.50 before the third Friday in January 2010 can be bought for $2.00. Options usually expire on the third Friday of the specified month, and they are usually traded in lots of 100. To buy this particular option you would have to pay $200 (plus brokerage fees).

An option to sell a share is called a ‘put option’. This gives the holder the right (but not the obligation) to sell a particular stock within a certain time period at a certain price. In this situation the buyer is expecting the price of the stock to fall but does not want to sell outright in case the price rebounds. The seller feels that the price is stable or is willing to acquire the stock at the low price. 

For example: An investor buys a put option on Microsoft with a ’strike price’ (the price the stock can be sold) of $35.  The current price of Microsoft is $40 and the cost of the put is $5. If the price falls below $30 (strike price + cost of put) the buyer could exercise his right to sell at a higher price than market. The seller would have to buy the share at the higher-than-market price but any losses are offset by the $5 he made by selling the put. If the price remains above $30 the put would not be exercised and the seller would profit by $5 per share and the buyer would lose his $5 per share.

As can be seen, stock options can be used to protect against loss or as an investment opportunity in their own right.  They are generally used as part of a trading strategy which combines the purchase of stock with the purchase of options.

For example, in a bull (rising) market you could buy stocks and call options and sell put options. This allows you to take full advantage of rising stock prices - the stocks you buy will rise in value, the call options will allow you to buy stock at less than market prices, and if the market dips and the buyer of your put option exercises it, you can pick up additional stocks at low prices. If the buyer does not exercise the option, you make money from the sale of the option.

Conversely, in a bear market, you can sell stocks, sell calls, and buy puts to limit losses and generate profits.  Unstable markets can use a mixture of puts and calls to maximize profit potential.

Options are traded on Futures and Options Exchanges. There are 6 such exchanges in the United States including the American stock Exchange (AMEX) and the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE). In Europe the main options exchanges are Euronext.liffe and Eurex.

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Brokers handle most of the buying and selling on the share market, and the average investor will use a brokerage service to handle his trades. There is a broad range of brokerage services available. There are brokers who offer many services for aiding their clients meet their investment goals. These ‘full-service brokers’ can give advice about which stocks to buy and sell and often have full research facilities for analyzing market trends and predicting movements.

These perks are not free - full service brokers charge the highest commission rates in the industry. Whether or not you decide to use a full-service broker depends on your level of self-confidence, your knowledge of the share market and the number of trades you regularly make.

Investors who wish to save on commission fees can use a ‘discount broker’. These brokers charge much lower commissions but don’t offer advice or analysis. Investors who like to make their own trading decisions and those who make many trades often use discount brokers for their transactions. Some traders may use both types - there is no reason why you can’t have two brokers.

The least expensive way to trade shares is usually with an online brokerage. Both full-service and discount brokers usually offer discounts for orders placed online. Some brokers operate exclusively online and offer even better rates.

No matter what type of broker you choose, you must first open an account. Each broker sets their own requirements for maintaining an account balance but it is usually between $500 and $1000. When choosing a broker look at the fine print and find out about the fees involved. Some brokers charge an annual maintenance fee while other charge fees whenever your account balance falls below the minimum.  

There are two basic types of brokerage accounts. A ‘cash account’ offers no credit - when you buy you pay the full amount of the share price. A ‘margin’ account, on the other hand, allows you to buy stock ‘on margin’ - the brokerage will carry some of the cost of the stock. The amount of margin varies from broker to broker but the margin must be protected by the value of the client’s portfolio. If the portfolio falls below a specified amount the investor will have to add more funds or sell some stock. Margin accounts allow investors to buy more stock with less cash thereby realizing greater gains (and losses). Because they involve more risk than cash accounts, margin accounts are not recommended for inexperienced traders.

Before choosing a particular broker the investor should carefully consider his needs. Does he wish to receive advice about which shares to buy? Is he uncomfortable making trades on the Internet? If so, he should go with a full-service broker. Technology savvy investors who have the knowledge and confidence to make their own trading decisions are better off with a discount broker.

After deciding which type, compare a few competitors. There can often be significant differences in costs when all the annual fees and brokerage rates are factored in. Try to gauge how many trades you expect to make in a year, how much cash you can deposit into your account, whether you wish to use margin accounts and which services you need. This information will allow you to compare the actual costs of various brokers.

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A mutual fund is a collection of money, pooled together by all of its investors, used to purchase specific types of securities. The investments within the mutual fund are decided by investment professionals who run the mutual fund. The professional picks among a wide variety of stocks, bonds, money market instruments, or other financial choices.

Green Mutual Funds are funds that invest in companies that are good for the environment. Typically these companies either are engaged directly in helping the environment,like innovative recycling, waste management, or asbestos removal companies. Or, they have clean, sustainable, Green business models, meaning that their processes are not environmentally harmful

These Green funds have been gaining popularity recently as more and more investors are starting to think about the environment. Possibilities of global warming and increasing rates of natural disasters are pretty threatening, and many believe that if we don’t start caring for of the environment, this Earth may not be a very good place in the near future.

Green Energy mutual funds have interesting possibilities. Today, alternative Energy is everybody’s green choice. The only thing is, it’s not quite the time to go Green with alternatives just yet. Most of these things like wind energy, solar energy, and fuel cells. are still in their developmental stage. That will mean that stuff is expensive and are not very profitable.

If you decide to dabble in a mutual fund investing, you will be faced with a slight challenge, which mutual fund do I choose? A great path to start is by researching different funds’ past records and future goals. Along with this you should also consider the fees the mutual fund charges, it is usually a good idea to go with a fund that offers a low expense ratio and will avoid funds with additional sales charges.

Did you know you can discover historical Stock Market with Yahoo? It’s real!

If you are interested in several kinds of stocks, it is pretty likely that you’ve discovered the finance website which is sponsored by Yahoo called “Yahoo! Finance”.

When it comes to the points on this website, you are likely to be pretty pleased at all that they have to offer. There is even a page that is applied to examining stock prices.

All you have to do, simply go directly to the Yahoo! Finance web site at: http://finance.yahoo.com. There you can get the current stock prices of any company.

The major thing about this specific web site is that you can look for facts referred to recent stocks, as well as stock prices that are considered to be important.

The major thing that you’ll have to do to see stock prices at Yahoo! Finance is to go to the page above that boost in the process of researching various kinds of stocks. When you get there, you will intend to perform a simple “search”. For example, type the company name into the Yahoo! Finance text box - it will then display a list of all possible company matches!

You’ll observe that there’s a section which says “Set Date Range”. You have to conclude the dates of the historical stock prices that you want to examine, and then set this information in.

You can then pick to see the prices for “Daily”, “Weekly”, “Monthly” and even have the option of “Dividends Only”. It is really simple to look over historical stock prices with Yahoo! Finance! It’s really is the easiest way to obtain stock quotes for anyone, as long as they have internet connection!

Don’t let the stock market scare you. It’s not as intimidating as it may seem. You can make a lot of money with the stock market, so make sure you take advantage of it for all it’s worth.

So then, why should you invest in stocks? Because you will never make as much money investing as you will if you start investing in stocks right now. If you want to make money in stocks, you need as much time and money as possible.

If you start investing today, you will have more time to let your money grow and multiply. Even if you wait a year or if you wait twenty years, you are giving up a lot of money that you could be earning and letting it compound.

When you are ready to start investing, begin by studying up on stocks, the stock market, and investing as a whole. You don’t want to just throw your money anywhere. If you do this, you could end up losing money.

When investing in stocks, you need to know how to do correct research. This is of utmost importance. It is the research behind your stocks that you will need in order to make good investment decisions.

You also need to make sure you keep your investments well diversified. Never buy stock of just one company. This is a lot of risk with practically no chance for a higher return. If that stock does bad, so does your entire portfolio. If that company goes bankrupt, you might lose all your money.

Try to invest in at least 4 or 5, if not more, different companies and make sure they are in different industries as well. Read up on diversification and learn how to correctly diversify your portfolio. Also, keep some money in cash for future deals.

If you only get one good piece of information out if this, it should be that you know you should invest in the stock market. Don’t worry about the short term swings, understand that you will make money in the long term.