Prosper Newsletter: March 2007 > Stock
You understand that the following information is educational in nature and is not intended to be legal, accounting, or tax advice. You are responsible for your own financial decisions and should consult your own legal, accounting, and tax advisors before making your financial decisions.
Goals Are Obtainable
I was/am an old guy (56), self-employed, working out of my house, and making an okay income. For certain reasons (travel, kids, retirement) I decided I wanted to be wealthy and so I had to change my thinking, my mindset. After considering real estate and the stock market, I decided on the stock market. I bumped into Prosper after making this decision and thought they could shorten my education. And my coach has helped me learn in a few short weeks what would certainly have taken a year or more. He has also provided an insight that I may never have picked up on my own. He does not know it, but I have made a few trades with my real money and have turned my $2,500 account into $ 3,067 in a month's time. This includes paying commissions and a couple of losing trades. My new financial goal is to double my money every 4 months, this seems plausible at this time. A second goal is to buy back some property my family used to own, for the benefit of my family and my community. My coach has helped me focus my time and helped me interpret what I am seeing. I now spend hours studying, which means finding stocks worthy of my investing in them, and then deciding how to execute the trade. This time makes me feel productive, makes me feel like my goals are obtainable, and keeps me in a positive mind-set around my family.
- Lex P.
This is an interesting time for the stock market. We are at all time highs and it just seems to keep going up. The market has not seen this type of growth without some type of correction in over 25 years. We will have a small correction some time in the near future, we just don't know when. Be cautious in your investing and take profits when you get them. Keep your eye on the major indexs (INDU, SPX, and QQQQ) for signs of a correction.
A hot sector that we have been watching move upward has been utilities. The cold weather gripping most of the country has caused peoples heaters to work overtime and drive utility stocks upward. XLU and AYE have been nice movers as of late, and will continue to move as the cold weather stays. The gold sector has started to move up once again. Uncertainty in the world economy and wars raging has brought new life for the gold sector.
With the feds holding interest rates and the GDP (gross domestic product) up three percent, the market has still been setting news highs. It is a great time to be in the market. Be sure to lock in your profit by setting trailing stops. Make sure to keep your losses to a minimum and let your winners roll, and take your profits! Don't get too greedy and let your profits diminish.
Happy trading from all of us here at Prosper Stock!
Exotic Investments
Exotic Trading is a short-term way to generate income. The money making potential is great, but so are the risks. Exotic Trading in the financial world is defined as the measurable possibility that your investments will not gain in value and may even lose money. High-risk vehicles such as futures, contracts, penny stocks, collectibles and other exotics may pay off handsomely, but only participate in them if you have enough reserves to lose.
Have a financial plan that provides sufficient protection for your family in the form of wealth, a risk management plan, and a debt free plan where you are eliminating your consumer debt. Make sure that you have also accumulated cash for emergencies, adequate savings, and that you have a plan to accumulate funds for investment before you engage in exotic investments.
Futures are one of the riskiest, most speculative moves out there. Futures contracts are bought and sold in sunken pits. Each commodity has a pit where players, hedgers and speculators get together and move through the trade. Go through a brokerage house who will work the pit for you and will report back when the process is completed. Shop around for a good brokerage house, and go to their current clients to see how they do business and if they are satisfied. Be suspicious of a brokerage house that offers a guarantee, because nobody can guarantee futures.
Be aware that futures are traded constantly, but most expire only in certain months of the year. This is because of the seasonal factors, which vary with particular commodities. Also be aware of exercise limits that are set by each exchange. There are restrictions on how many contracts one trader can take.
There is also special software that exists that can track charts that predict where certain stocks are heading. You could also participate in technical trading, where people learn to read the charts. There are also tutorials available on www.inl.com. Just be aware that trading futures is not for everyone, and it is best to invest a good deal of time in learning how to participate before you begin to trade.
