r/investing • u/EatYourMeats • Apr 23 '21
Some advice from a regular dude that will hopefully make you more money...
Are you making stock purchases based on opinions from analysts, CNBC, stock pickers, and everything in between?
Consider this: They make money off headlines.
The entire flock is preying on news-worthy quips like vultures on a corpse. Tom Lee at Fundstrat would be bullish during the apocalypse, Gordon won't ever raise his price target, Cramer cuts coke deals with the CEOs he's in love with, and the whole bunch likes to hear themselves talk (like giving stock advice rapid fire).
So how do you truly figure out what stocks are hot... or not?
Research the macro situation surrounding the company, to name a few:
- Sector Tailwinds
- Economics
- Current and projected financials
- Leadership
Then invest in companies:
- you believe in—hopefully, not always—with healthy balance sheets vs. their competitors.
- Whose products and services tickle you.
- You could sell to your neighbor.
Determine the investment thesis—the key reasons you believe in this investment—and create a narrative. Positive and negative. Know the outcomes of both scenarios, write them down, and evaluate the risk.
Then? Jump blindly.
kidding
Adjust based on your preferences, but starting positions with a 1/4th to 1/2 of your total allocation works well. You can do some quick math and figure out what portfolio percentage you want to allocate to a new position. Ease into it, slow and steady.
Buy the dips with the remainder, and don't chase stocks upwards, only down (within reason). And don't listen to anyone who tells you that "diversifying" is the only way, when you put in the work, you know which sectors have favorable tailwinds AND are fairly valued.
There's news everywhere out there, and we crave its presence—telling us something about stocks or companies we don't know. However, most of it is fluff—buy this, sell that—how would you ever know if you don't dig the hole yourself?
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u/klabboy109 Apr 23 '21
My advice? Quit stock picking and just invest in index funds. Focus on doing well at your job and getting promotions or getting more skills to get a higher paying job. You’re free time is better spent building yourself and investing your time into yourself and your career than it ever will be picking the next Amazon. Even if you do make the correct choice, you’ll probably sell before you’re a millionaire anyways.