Educated Investing
Finding Ideas for the Individual Investor
Benjamin LeBlanc
Issue date: 11/3/09 Section: Voices
If you are at Stern to become the next Steve Cohen or Julian Robertson then you can safely ignore this article. Also, you are exempt from reading this article if you are one of those who catch themselves watching the TiVo-ed version of Fast Money every night instead of spending quality hours at Half Pint. But, if have some sort of affiliation with Stern and you still rely on your barber/hair-dresser or your super to give you the next hot investment tip for your PA then A) Shame on you! B) Read this article and C) Who's your barber??? j/k.
There are many effective ways to find good investment ideas. Listed below are some easy to use sources.
The Financial News
It goes without saying that everyday, major (and minor) newspapers and TV stations across the world run stories about the economy and individual companies. Some, such as The New York Times and Financial Times, mainly write articles for informative purposes. Others, such as Barron's, are specifically dedicated to investment ideas for the individual investor. And nearly every newspaper, including local papers from your hometown, will include the occasional column dedicated to personal investing. Similarly, there are many television channels - CNBC, Bloomberg TV, Fox Business, etc - dedicated solely to financial news that can also be a source of ideas, assuming you can block out the screaming heads and focus on the issues at hand. Finally, there are countless websites and blogs dedicated to investing. Investment ideas can come from all of these sources. Some are obvious - "Why You Should Buy Amazon NOW!" (N.B. this is a fictional example of a headline and not a recommendation to buy Amazon). For other stories, you may need to digest the main topic and then take additional steps on your own. For instance, an article about farmers in Iowa switching to biofuels could lead you to investigate into what companies are leaders in the biofuel industry. But caveat emptor, you should never take an investment idea from a source and immediately act on it without performing your own due diligence. Taking just 20 minutes to look at a company's financials, read articles about the company, and evaluate the opinions of professional analysts covering the company can save you heartache - and $$$!
There are many effective ways to find good investment ideas. Listed below are some easy to use sources.
The Financial News
It goes without saying that everyday, major (and minor) newspapers and TV stations across the world run stories about the economy and individual companies. Some, such as The New York Times and Financial Times, mainly write articles for informative purposes. Others, such as Barron's, are specifically dedicated to investment ideas for the individual investor. And nearly every newspaper, including local papers from your hometown, will include the occasional column dedicated to personal investing. Similarly, there are many television channels - CNBC, Bloomberg TV, Fox Business, etc - dedicated solely to financial news that can also be a source of ideas, assuming you can block out the screaming heads and focus on the issues at hand. Finally, there are countless websites and blogs dedicated to investing. Investment ideas can come from all of these sources. Some are obvious - "Why You Should Buy Amazon NOW!" (N.B. this is a fictional example of a headline and not a recommendation to buy Amazon). For other stories, you may need to digest the main topic and then take additional steps on your own. For instance, an article about farmers in Iowa switching to biofuels could lead you to investigate into what companies are leaders in the biofuel industry. But caveat emptor, you should never take an investment idea from a source and immediately act on it without performing your own due diligence. Taking just 20 minutes to look at a company's financials, read articles about the company, and evaluate the opinions of professional analysts covering the company can save you heartache - and $$$!
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
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posted 12/17/09 @ 9:59 AM EST
I agree that there are many effective ways to find good investment ideas.
Tim
posted 3/19/10 @ 6:26 PM EST
Certainly one cannot invest in todays market without some sort of education or risk getting taken for all you're worth.
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