Shares Research: An Overview
Making any sort of financial investment is a big step, regardless of your experience or the amount of spare capital you have floating around. This is why researching the investments you are considering is so important - it could be the difference between a failed or successful investment, a profit or a loss. While the Wall Street Journal may recommend the dart-board method of choosing investments alongside an approach involving intensive research, the overwhelming success of experts such as Warren Buffett and Michael Bloomberg would tend to suggest that the careful, well-planned tactic is just as effective if not more so.
Media Outlets
Although it may seem an obvious point to make, understanding the very basics of the stock market and share investments is a good place to start. The print media (newspapers and magazines) and the broadcast media (television and the internet) are valuable sources of information that can be used for both research and keeping tabs on current or intended investments.
All of these media outlets use tools such as stock symbols and shares indices to show the movement of particular companies on the stock markets. Stock symbols are the unique abbreviations that are given to companies when they are listed and displayed on the stock market. There is a purely practical reason for the use of such abbreviations - ticker-tape and LED display screens and tables and print-media indices need to be able to display large amounts of information in a compact and uncluttered manner. If you are intending to make an investment or have already got a share portfolio, knowing the abbreviations used for your companies will make it much easier for you to track their progress on the market.
Factors To Consider
As many professional investors believe that share values are determined by technical, environmental, political and social factors it is also important to be aware of wider market trends. This is where indices and industry research is of critical importance. Pay particular attention to your portfolio around the end of the financial year when profit statements and warnings will be released. Be wary of industry-wide changes - perhaps as a result of legislation, environmental factors or a general down-turn in the economy - especially if you are investing in areas such as retail, mining or manufacturing.
Keep an eye on the major stock indices such as the FTSE 100 (Financial Times Stock Exchange 100), which shows the movement of major companies and helps to highlight market-wide trends. By being aware of every possible factor that can influence your shares' values you can make an informed decision at the right time.