Starting out thread, hints, tips... anything really

[whitey]

Another option is to ignore all of the above and take up charting

Charting? what is this

[toast2success]

Oh, can I throw another question in the mix? I'm not trying to jack your thread Whitey, lots of great info in here so I thought I'd ask my question in here as well. More than happy to start a new thread if needed.

So ...I was keen to get a rough idea of the process one might follow in selecting their share of choice. Example to follow

Lets say I think 'wow I think the Services sector is going to be a boomer over the coming years, in particular the health sector, Im going to check out the health sector'.

So once this has been decided, what path do people take? As a noob I envision myself compiling a list of all the health companies within the Services sector and then getting ahold of their Annual Reports and financial info. From here it would become an analysis exercise that may take some time. Then choosing which point I will enter the market for the particular share.

Is this a realistic rough sketch of the path one may follow?

[steve fleming]

Yes, good idea. Those of us using fundamental methods need more chartists to push share prices to silly extremes.

Like any good golfer, you need a good long (term) game and good short (term) game.

You can get by with one or the other, but you aren't going to maximise the opportunities available to you without mastering both!

[shasta]

Oh, can I throw another question in the mix? I'm not trying to jack your thread Whitey, lots of great info in here so I thought I'd ask my question in here as well. More than happy to start a new thread if needed.

So ...I was keen to get a rough idea of the process one might follow in selecting their share of choice. Example to follow

Lets say I think 'wow I think the Services sector is going to be a boomer over the coming years, in particular the health sector, Im going to check out the health sector'.

So once this has been decided, what path do people take? As a noob I envision myself compiling a list of all the health companies within the Services sector and then getting ahold of their Annual Reports and financial info. From here it would become an analysis exercise that may take some time. Then choosing which point I will enter the market for the particular share.

Is this a realistic rough sketch of the path one may follow?

Re the Health sector, have a look on the ASX website - that has a sector by sector breakdown of the stocks, incl healthcare.

Otherwise Steve Fleming may well be worth following re healthcare stocks, like PGC, MLA off the ASX

Use the search function to find threads although started, no point reinventing the wheel, when there is so much good oil on this site.

[shasta]

Charting? what is this

It's a game for those who love to pay brokerage

[Halebop]

Charting? what is this

Technical Analysis

Sharetrader has a proud history of Technical Analysis (TA) vs Fundamental Analysis (FA) debates that often degerenate into name calling.

There are permutations of technical analysis that vary widely (in the same way that there are various ways to apply and use fundamental analysis). So two people who say they use "TA" may have wildly different techniques in their repertoire. Just like we see some appallingly misjudged fundamental analysis, TA can be horrible too. In short it is just a tool. Just like the builder with his hammer, it is the workman who is responsible for its correct application.

The math of FA and TA actually share much in common. Critics of either don't tend to be well versed in the application of statistical methods. I'm pretty much bemused by the Fundamental vs Technical debate as I use both and simply treat them as tools in my toolbox.

Efficient Market theory is the true arch enemy of TA, FA and most people here in sharetrader. (My interpretation, apologies to purists); This theory suggests that due to information efficiency all remaining outputs are random, rendering time spent on FA and TA useless because the market should already know anything you discover.

[shasta]

Hi all,
a newbie just arrived. A stopped markets holiday season, stink weather, and too much time wasting, online browsing got me here.
Figured this thread might be a good place to start. Read first two pages and then jumped to (this) last page to say hi.
Thought I'd throw some investing idea's into the mix.
Plenty of advise about doing some reading which is a good place to start. Include a book on goal setting early on.
Read something lite on "modern portfolio theory", and think about having an investment portfolio as a goal. Realise it won't
happen instantly, and needs to be worked on. Will have ups and downs.
Now, having set some goals, you may like to document them, set a strategy for getting them, and recording/measuring progress.

I use a very simple PEST system. Just a few note like scribbles covering a couple of A4 pages each Xmas-New year.
P = Purpose High level outline of goal, like get rich, or retire with some dosh, travel to Nepal...............
E = Ends Where I'd like to be by next review. Say, $20k on deposit in one year, and two new $10k shareholdings.
S = Strategy How are you going to do it? Budget for $3k per month in savings. New higher paid job? Plan to read a book on
charting this year to grow the skills base.
T = Targets Do some crystal ball gazing. Plan to have $10k on account by October, and buy some Mighty River Power
shares in govt sell-off, for example. One small step on the plan.

Keep some basic records of what you do, why you did whatever at the time of making the decision, and how it turned out; positive
or negative. You now have a basis for working out what works for you, and what doesn't. Refine the plan, the strategy, reset the the
goals as you knock them off or set new and different priorities. Don't forget KISS. "Keep it simple......" It's easier than getting bogged
down in un-neccessary detail, easier keeping to plan, and quick to review.

cheers, greater fool (my first post)

Just remember the market for all intensive purposes is a living breathing entity, & things change which you will have little/no control over.

I would always encourage anyone starting out to keep things simple, not because they won't understand, but because there really is no need for ANYONE to over complicate things!

Always good to have goals, but don't forget to ensure they are SMART

S - specific, significant, stretching
M - measurable, meaningful, motivational
A - agreed upon, attainable, achievable, acceptable, action-oriented
R - realistic, relevant, reasonable, rewarding, results-oriented
T - time-based, timely, tangible, trackable

Making mistakes is part of the overall learning process, repeating them shows a lack of discipline (in my opinion)

Oh, & welcome to Sharetrader

[toast2success]

Re the Health sector, have a look on the ASX website - that has a sector by sector breakdown of the stocks, incl healthcare.

Otherwise Steve Fleming may well be worth following re healthcare stocks, like PGC, MLA off the ASX

Use the search function to find threads although started, no point reinventing the wheel, when there is so much good oil on this site.

Hi, thanks for the answer. I should've clarified, the Health sector was just used purely for example's sake. It could be any sector.

I was more interested in what approach people took once they'd decided to invest in a particular sector.

[shasta]

Hi, thanks for the answer. I should've clarified, the Health sector was just used purely for example's sake. It could be any sector.

I was more interested in what approach people took once they'd decided to invest in a particular sector.

The NZX threads tend to be about dividend paying companies & the ASX about oil & gas/mining companies, but if u look hard enough there is the entire spectrum of the market covered in there somewhere, you will pick up which posters cover what, fairly quickly on here.

Heres a link to add to your favourites gives you plenty of search options...

http://www.afr.com/

Bugger site, used to have different excel downloads, maybe someone can update the link for you, if ive got it wrong!

[Snoopy]

So ...I was keen to get a rough idea of the process one might follow in selecting their share of choice. Example to follow

Lets say I think 'wow I think the Services sector is going to be a boomer over the coming years, in particular the health sector, Im going to check out the health sector'.

So once this has been decided, what path do people take? As a noob I envision myself compiling a list of all the health companies within the Services sector and then getting ahold of their Annual Reports and financial info. From here it would become an analysis exercise that may take some time. Then choosing which point I will enter the market for the particular share.

Is this a realistic rough sketch of the path one may follow?

toast2success, what you have outlined is what I would loosely term a growth strategy. While there is nothing wrong with that per se, you have to remember that there are a lot of people in the market who have been around longer than you and 'know' that the health sector (for example) is a growth area. That means these sector investments may already be more expensive than the market in general. That in turn means that even if your reading of the macro situation is correct and at an operational level your health sector investments (for example) do well, you as an investor may still only get a mediocre return because you paid too much for your investments in the first place.

An alternative approach is a 'value strategy'. In this you invest in shares that have been battered down to a rock bottom price by the market yet you believe still have a realistic expectation that at some stage in the future these investments will both improve fundamentally and in a market popularity sense (a PE ratio rerating). This way you can gain twice when a recovery occurs. Of course the 'realistic expectation' is the important bit. There is no point in buying a share just because it is cheap if it is in a death spiral. There is a long history in markets of value investors outperforming growth investors except at the times of the biggest booms.

Nevertheless there is a middle ground called GARP (a growth at a reasonable price strategy) which can also work well.

SNOOPY