Chapter 6

Investigating and Purchasing Individual Stocks

In This Chapter

arrow Looking at the best research resources

arrow Figuring out what those annual reports really mean

arrow Deciphering 10-Ks, 10-Qs, and proxies

arrow Placing stock trades

This chapter provides a crash course in researching individual companies and their stocks. Be sure you consider your reasons for taking this approach before you head down the path of picking and choosing your own stocks. If you haven’t already done so, take a look at Chapter 5 to better understand the process of purchasing stocks on your own.

If you decide to tackle the task of researching your own stocks, you don’t have to worry about finding enough information: The problem to worry about is information overload. You can literally spend hundreds of hours researching and reading information on one company alone. Therefore, you need to focus on where you can get the best bang for your buck and time.

Building on Others’ Research

If you were going to build a house, you probably wouldn’t try to do it on your own. Instead, you’d likely find some sort of kit or a set ...

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