3.)Stock Market

In this course you will get to learn the very basics. What is a stock? How is it traded? Why Own a Stock? Some may skip this introductory lesson, but we like to break it down right from the very beginning! It is imperative to learn about investing because every year inflation is destroying your buying power and weakening your savings that you worked hard for.

Who calls the shots? Who Elects who? There has to be order when running a company. You must learn about the board of directors and executive management that are running the company you are looking to potentially own. It is imperative to understand that as an investor, the CEO, and board of directors work with you! It is imperative that you learn about the people running your business.You will learn about the importance of leadership in a publicly traded company.

Learn how to get started by picking a brokerage account. It is always good to practice with paper trading when first starting out.

You may think this would be obvious, but you would be shocked to see the rationale of some “investors”, or as we like to say “speculators.” You have to put in the work. No more listening to random stock tips. Some people will research more than an hour on review boards for an aftermarket $10 iphone charger, but not even ten minutes to buy 100 shares of Apple. Due Diligence includes following news trends, studying the financials, and understanding management of the company.

In this approach, we start by understanding what is going on in the world on a macro scale such as GDP, employment, taxation, interest rates, etc. From there, we slowly deduct our way down to a micro scale in figuring out what type of company we want to select from our portfolio. It is like a deduction process. Start big and slowly reduce down. Macroeconomic factors to national level, and further down to the market/industry or even individual companies. Unlike many years ago in the past, we now live in an interconnected world economy.

Understand how the Federal Reserve plays a major role in the economy. One such way is increasing or decreasing interest rates. Typically, in times of market expansion the Federal Reserve will raise the rates. In times of market recessions, they will lower in the interest rate to incentivize people to take loans at cheap rates and stimulate the economy.

Here we see how economic indicators play its role in the markets. It is a good idea to get acquainted with these indicators. It is all interconnected. Becoming a great investor it is important to be well versed in many subjects. Economics is one of them. For now, it is important to understand some of the basic indicators. You also can see the schedule on your brokerage platform calendar of specific economic announcements and reports. You will get a taste on the importance of interest rates, the national deficit, unemployment and a history lesson based on these factors.

Sometimes we get lost and have no idea where to start on how to pick a stock. Investing isn’t about throwing darts on a dartboard and seeing what sticks. Its about creating a strategy that fits your profile. Here, you will learn about how to create parameters that will help stimulate ideas for you. This makes it easier for you to slowly nail down a stock idea. This lesson discusses how to get after it, and pick your stock via screeners, filters, charts, and catalysts.

It is your goal to figure out what matters most to an industry. Every industry has different situations, and subtle nuances that you need to know about to make you a better investor. It may be typical where gross income may be known to be significantly higher in one industry compared to another. This is where having expertise in a specific industry can come in handy. It is easier to understand when a company may have a competitive advantage when you know its industry and competitor landscape!

It is key to focus on more than one reason when selecting a stock. You want to really understand the ins and outs of the company to the point where you can describe it to a child. Find many well rounded reasons such as the fundamentals, technicals, forms, and news/industry trends. Your research will eventually tell you a proper story. Learn some of the ways in going about this.

Another streamlined lesson that gives you the hands on experience of screening for stocks like a professional. Enter Finviz.com. Such a great tool to help you generate ideas. You can use many of its different tabs to get down to the specifics. You can go into the groups, and see it break it down by industry and sector. It lays out performances on different time frames You will know what sectors/industries that are performing over a short, mid, or long term period of time and navigating your way to your stock. It is neat to see performances on a 1 day basis, 1 week basis, one month basis, etc.

Warren Buffet is the biggest advocate for “looking for a moat.” Look for companies that are strong and have an edge. It is critical to invest in companies that are established and have a high barrier to entry for its competitors. Companies that fit this parameter are ones that have predictable, and steady income. We all know a moat helps protect a castle, but in this lesson we learn about how a company can protect itself from competition.

Learn what type of news is pertinent in effecting a stock’s price. Deciphering what news matters, and what news doesn’t will be integral to your success in capturing a company’s catalyst.There are some catalysts that will affect the entire market. There are some catalysts that will only affect a specific company. One catalyst can be good for one company, but bad for another. It is important when studying a company to look at its previous catalysts, and understand why it had a big jump on a specific time frame. Can it be replicated in the future? If so, at what magnitude?

Get an understanding for a specific investment strategy style of investing: Growth.

Learn how to find stocks that fit your growth strategy.

It is important to stay up to date with companies that have filed forms recently with the Securities and Exchange commission. You will find filings on annual reports, quarterly reports, 8q’s, IPO’s, and many other forms here. This is where you get to dive into the details. This is what separates the true investor from the mere novice investor. You will get to see the SEC site, and dive into forms that you will see when conducting your future due diligence. The forms may seem intimidating at first and filled with a bunch of legal jargon. Not to worry. You will notice there are only certain aspects that you have to concentrate your efforts on.

This video is similar to the SEC filings video, but we can't stress enough about diving into these documents. This video looks at the quarterly and annual report. This lesson gives you first hand experience on tackling these types of documents. The best way to take on these reports is to analyze in chunks and tackle a little at a time. This is what separates those who do their due diligence when it comes to investment selection, and the guy who only takes stock tips from someone else. So, put on your Warren Buffet hat, and get ready to read the report.

Take a look at a streamlined version of a company’s balance sheet. You will learn about the various line items that are typically found on this document, and the importance of each line item. This session goes over the beginning phases of your due diligence which begins with, you guessed it, The Balance Sheet. This lesson shows you how you can do it right from your own computer instead of going page by page in a college textbook which makes things confusing. This lesson give a great breakdown for you to view the balance sheet.

Learn the valuation process for growth companies.

It is imperative to understand the makeup of the people who run the business. We dive into politics, compensation, and motives of management and what you have to pay attention to. You want to understand how the CEO makes money. The CEO's motives could ultimately define the direction of the company. Some CEO’s have made short term moves to benefit a quick jump in price to bolster their compensation, but harms the long term growth of the company. You want to make sure the CEO is reputable and has great ethics. This course goes into further detail on what to pay attention to.