Chapter 20
Putting It All Together
We’ve covered a lot of ground in this book. And it’s been fun. Every time I pick up a new book, I think to myself: If I can learn one new thing or have something I already knew reaffirmed in some different way, then I’m happy. I hope this book has done that — and many times over.
Whether you’re a beginning stock screener or a seasoned stock screening pro, I hope the information in this book has encouraged and motivated you to use screening even more in your trading. Learning new and better ways to pick more profitable stocks is one of the quickest ways to becoming a better trader, no matter what level of trading success you’ve already achieved.
It really all comes down to three things:
1. Identify: The first step is to identify what kind of trader you are or what kind of trader you want to be. And what kind of style suits you best. Whether it be Momentum or Aggressive Growth, Value or Growth and Income, Technical Analysis or even just “stuff that works,” decide who you are as a trader first and foremost. And what goals you’re hoping to accomplish with your trading. This is all part of the identification process.
2. Analyze: The second step is to analyze. You don’t have to turn yourself into an analyst. But you do have to screen for stocks and analyze which trading strategies work and work best for you. This is actually the easiest of the three steps. Because once you’ve identified what kind of trader you are, it’s easy to find stocks with those ...
