- There is no shortage of stock investment advice, free and paid for: stock analyst recommendations and ratings, stock investing newsletters, stock picking subscription services, and, of course, "free" advice from other investors on stock message boards and in stock picking groups. The quality of that advice runs the gamut from excellent to worthless to outright dangerous.
- Even the best advice is only as good as your ability to understand and use it. Not everyone has the time or inclination to pick stocks, but the more you know about a particular stock investing method, the easier it will be for you to follow the adviser's recommendations and the more profitable the advice can be to you. Knowledge can also protect you against bad or inappropriate recommendations.
- Unfortunately, the Internet has not made it easier to find a good adviser. The best way is still to rely on personal recommendations. You can also join a free online stock picking group and ask knowledgeable traders there.
- The Internet has made it possible for anyone to claim spectacular returns and market them online. A verifiable track record is hard to come by. Your best course of action is to: (a) find an adviser whom you can understand and trust, and (b) try them for a while with a little bit of money to see if there is a fit.
- We don't like to pay for things we can get for free. But nothing is free in stock trading, and sooner or later you will pay the price. If you decide to buy a stock based on someone's advice on TV, the problem is: How do you know when to hold and when to sell? They may not be there to tell you. Free advice from anonymous online posters is even more dangerous because you never know what the "adviser's" agenda is: They may be bashing a stock because they have shorted it (trying to benefit from the stock's decline) or they may be trying to shake you out of your shares so that they can buy the stock cheaper.
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