Dollar Cost Averaging

Archive for the Stock Market Investing Category

Dollar Cost Averaging

By Jim Walker on Wednesday, May 8th, 2019 | Comments Off

What is the most cost-efficient and profitable approach to long term investing? Market timing works for some folks. But recently, broad-based ETFs have outperformed many managed funds. Investing in stocks works best when the investor starts early and invests regularly. It helps to buy stocks directly in order to cut out fees and commissions so dividend reinvestment plans are a good idea as well. While there are always opportunities in the stock market, most people in their working years do not have the time, expertise, or interest required to take advantage of them. Thus, the best approach for most investors […]

Best Ways to Invest Your Money

By Jim Walker on Monday, May 6th, 2019 | Comments Off

Everyone should be saving money for retirement, a “rainy day” emergency, or for things like putting the kids through college or starting their own business. The best ways to invest your money will have to do with what you are investing for, how long you have before you need the money, and how much risk you are willing to accept. And, the best ways to invest your money have to do with how much time and energy you can personally devote to your investments. You need to know where to invest money to get good returns over the years and […]

Best Way to Find Good Stocks

By Jim Walker on Wednesday, April 10th, 2019 | Comments Off

The stock market has been going up for a decade ever since the depths of the Financial Crisis. During that time S&P 500 has more than tripled in value. Many investors who were hurt badly by the stock market crash of 2008 to 2009 have hesitated to reenter the market. And, many who might have invested in stocks are unsure of how to find good stocks and how to avoid losing everything should the market correct or crash again. A valid concern for investors today is not buying overpriced stocks in an aging bull market. Likewise, investors want to find […]

Which of Your Safe Investments Will Amazon.com Kill Next?

By Jim Walker on Wednesday, April 3rd, 2019 | Comments Off

We invest to make more money, do the things in life that we want, and have enough for a comfortable retirement. It has always been good advice to balance your investment portfolio with a combination of the very safe and the somewhat risky investments with growth potential. We often mention our article about how to invest without losing any money. Although the main focus is on cash in the bank, treasuries, and corporate bonds we also give a nod to value investments which are “safe stocks.” Unfortunately, many investments previously thought to be safe have been destroyed in the era […]

What is Intrinsic Stock Value?

By Jim Walker on Tuesday, April 2nd, 2019 | Comments Off

Intrinsic stock value is a concept that emerged from the carnage of the 1929 to 1932 stock market crash. It is a way to invest rationally as opposed to investing by guess work, which is closer to gambling. To get a sense of the way this concept changed the face of investing we need to go back to an era where investing in the stock market really did resemble gambling at the casino.
“Playing the Market” in the 1920s
A common expression during the steady rise of the American stock market in the roaring twenties was to “play the stock market.” Many […]

The father of value investing, Benjamin Graham, taught investors to consider intrinsic value of stocks. With this in mind just what is intrinsic stock value?

Proven Stock Market Strategies

By Jim Walker on Wednesday, March 27th, 2019 | Comments Off

There is always someone giving investment “advice” as they promote one stock or another. But, what proven stock market strategies can you follow profitably over time? In this article, we look at a general approach to reliably profitable investing and then at specifics. For most investors, the best approaches are the simple ones. These are folks who have money they want to put away for retirement, a rainy day, putting the kids through college, or starting their own business. These folks have neither the time nor the inclination to get overly involved in the details of stock market investing but […]

How Do Job Cutbacks in China Relate to Your Investments?

By Jim Walker on Monday, February 11th, 2019 | Comments Off

China has been the economic miracle of the world for decades. From Nixon’s visit in 1972 to its entry into the World Trade Organization to the current day, China has not had a negative growth year since 1978 and has average a 10% GDP growth rate. At the same time North American and Europe are ecstatic with an occasional 5% growth rate and typically languish in the 2% to 3% range. But, things are not all well in the Land of Managed Capitalism (by the Communist Party). Debt is rising and there is a potential for a long term trade […]

How to Spot Overpriced Investments

By Jim Walker on Monday, October 1st, 2018 | Comments Off

The S&P 500 has been on a steady upward climb for the last nine and a half years. As the market climbs higher and higher the smart investor needs to know how to spot overpriced investments. Ideally, one has bought low at the beginning of the bull market and can sell high before the market or individual stocks correct. The S&P 500 index is four times greater than it was in February of 2009. However, this year the vast majority of gains within the S&P 500 group have come from a handful of well-known tech stocks. CNBC noted that just […]

Will Trump’s Problems Cause You to Lose Money?

By Jim Walker on Wednesday, August 22nd, 2018 | Comments Off

No matter what is going on in the world of politics, the business of investing is to make money. Smart investors are apolitical. Their only concerns with politics have to do with the effects of laws and regulations on investing profits. We just wrote about whether or not the mid-term elections could cause you to lose money. But, now the question comes into closer focus with the legal troubles of those close to Donald Trump. What is going on and should you be concerned? In short, will Trump’s problems cause you to lose money?
Fraud Convictions for Manafort and Guilty Plea […]

Can You Profitably Time an Investment Cycle?

By Jim Walker on Monday, July 23rd, 2018 | Comments Off

Profitable investing comes from picking the right asset classes to invest in and handling your investments in such a way as to avoid losing money, instead of gaining profits. The value of an investment comes from its expected future returns. This expected future ROI is what intrinsic value is based on. And, as the economy rises and falls, so do the value of investments. What investors are willing to pay for an investment rises and falls with market sentiment. Thus the economy and the perceptions of other investors help drive an investment cycle. The best time to invest is at […]

Archive for the Stock Market Investing Category