To be able to know what stocks to buy, it is important to carry out research on the companies on your own. By this, I do not mean reading analyst reports or gather views from internet from others. This is because one cannot be sure if these analysts or others have "hidden agendas", in that they may be vested in these stocks, and are therefore inclined to persuade others to take up these stocks as well in order to drive up prices.
Of course, by the above statement, I do not mean that all analyst reports or views of others have hidden agendas. Nor do I mean that you should not read any analyst reports or not consider another's views. I just think that it is dangerous to rely
only on these information sources and base
only on them for your decision to buy or sell.
Thankfully, with technology, information is readily available on the internet. Some may be obtained freely, for example, on the company's own website. However, I think that it is worthwhile to pay a subscription fee, especially if you are actively trading, to subscribe to a portal that is able to provide the information to you of all the listed companies, available to you when you require it (instead of going through the hassle of searching for it, or tabulating the data).
One such portal I have used is Share Investment (www.shareinv.com). Its online subscription fee per month is SGD$7, and a yearly subscription costs $70. Information such as articles, charts, share price performance, financial ratios such as Price Earning ratio (PE ratio), Earnings per Share (EPS), Price to Book ratio (PB ratio), Yield, net asset value (NAV), dividend payout history, company announcements, quarterly performance, analysts reports are provided. There is also the possibility to customise your own watchlist, or to do stock screening, for example, to select companies based on lowest PE or PB ratios, or highest yields.
Of course, there are other possibly better portals out there, for example, those that provide you with ticker tapes, or which is able to give indication of whether the big boys are buying (through buying/selling lot sizes). However, I think that these information are not really necessary if you are not doing day trading. Furthermore, subscriptions for these portals are much more expensive.
Therefore, at present, I am quite happy with the above-mentioned portal. Their app ShareInv is available for download through the ITunes store.
Link here:
Shares Investment - Pioneers & Leaders (Publishers)
Disclaimer: The ideas expressed in this blog should not be construed as an enticement to buy or sell the securities, commodities or assets mentioned. The accuracy or completeness of the information provided cannot be guaranteed. Readers should carry out independent verification of information provided. No warranty whatsoever is given and no liability whatsoever is accepted for any loss howsoever arising whether directly or indirectly as a result of actions taken based on ideas and information found in this blog.
