The Good & The Bad of Online Stock Trading

By: Chelsea Aubin
Submitted: 2007-01-17 16:16:37
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In order to get consistently positive results from the online stock trading system, you have to have a system of your own. You wont consistently pull positive returns from online stocks if you follow a rag tag system. To help with your investing, here are a couple methods that will give you some direction as to where to start with your online stock trading system.

One system you can use is to buy equal dollar amounts of the 10 DJ stocks that have dividend yields. Hold these companies for one year, and then adjust your portfolio to hold the current “Dogs on the Dow”. What you are doing is buying companies who have decreased in favor and their stocks have lowered. The goal is to buy companies that have a high hope of rebounding, and therefore you will gain money out of it. There is an element of risk though because sometimes the companies don't have substantial financial strength to pull them out of hard times and you could ultimately end up losing money.

Another method involves investing a fixed dollar amount monthly, or annually. If the prices increase, you will receive fewer shares for your money, while if they decrease you will receive more shares for your money. The price is up to you, and you will have to commit to not going over that price. Depending on the fluctuation of funds, you could lower the funds slightly. This strategy involves meeting a prescribed target by adjusting the amount invested, up or down. Dollar-cost averaging takes advantage of the 1/x curve non-linearity. Value averaging when the value is down goes in a little deeper and when value is up in a little less. But be careful because when you are dealing with a declining market neither approach will bail you out.

A last strategy is a system called “Hedging”. The most simple method of hedging, but also the most expensive, is where you buy stocks that you own a put in. To cover general market declines, buy a put option on the market, and sell financial futures to hedge.

The best, and least expensive, method of hedging is to buy stocks from one company, and then sell those stocks to the company's competitor. Futures are the cheapest way to hedge an entire portfolio. Remember that the efficiency of the hedge depends on the estimated correlation between the broad market, and your high-beta portfolio.

These methods are just some of the ways that you can increase your profit, or lower risks in online trading. To become a professional online trader, find a system that works for you and stick with it 100% of the time. If you change your systems up and try new things, you could screw up your trading system more easily.

Online Stock Trading Secrets, Information and Resources at http://stocktrading.selfhelppage.com/

Article source: Expert Articles

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