Investing in Stock

Gathering information is critical in your stock-investing pursuits. There are two times to gather information on your stock picks: before you invest . . .and after. You obviously should become more informed before you invest your first dollar. But you also need to stay informed about what’s happening to the company whose stock you are buying and also about the industry and the general economy.

When you are ready to invest, you will need a brokerage account. How do you know which broker to use? Once you get past the basics, you can get to the “meat” of stock picking. Successful stock picking is not mysterious, but it does take some time, effort, and analysis. It’s worth it since stocks are a convenient and important part of most investors’ portfolios.

Imagine that you like eggs and you’re willing to buy them at the grocery store. In this example, the eggs are like companies, and the prices represent the prices that you would pay for the companies’ stock. The grocery store is the stock market. What if two brands of eggs are very similar, but one costs 50 cents while the other costs 75 cents? Which would you choose? Odds are that you would look at both brands, judge their quality, and, if they were indeed similar, take the cheaper eggs. The eggs at 75 cents are overpriced. The same is true of stocks. What if you compare two companies that are similar in every respect but have different share prices? All things being equal, the cheaper price has greater value for the investor. But the egg example has another side.

What if the quality of the two brands of eggs is significantly different but their prices are the same? If one brand of eggs is stale, of poor quality, and priced at 50 cents and the other brand is fresh, of superior quality, and also priced at 50 cents, which would you get? I’d take the good brand because they’re better eggs. Perhaps the lesser eggs are an acceptable purchase at 10 cents, but they’re definitely overpriced at 50 cents. The same example works with stocks. A badly run company isn’t a good choice if you can buy a better company in the marketplace at the same — or a better — price. Comparing the value of eggs may seem overly simplistic, but doing so does cut to the heart of stock investing. Eggs and egg prices can be as varied as companies and stock prices. As an investor, you must make it your job to find the best value for your investment dollars. (Otherwise you get egg on your face. You saw that one coming, right?)

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