Basics

Are stocks, options, and/or ETFs right for your investment goals? Do you use long or short positions? What is your investment style?

Once you feel comfortable with your investment style, start small. Do not bet all your savings your first time out. Even if you have saved a large amount to invest, buy and sell a little at a time and increase your investment amount gradually.

An ideal investment portfolio should be diversified in stocks, options, and ETFs. Over time you should build a solid portfolio diversified not only by industry and sector, but also by the critical points in the market cycle at which you buy and sell.

A certain initial amount of money is necessary for your investment career. A good starting amount should be about USD 5,000 to 10,000 depending on your financial status.

The reason for an initial amount is that you should diversify your holdings to reduce the risk that a single investment underperforms. If you only have a small amount to invest, you should consider a fixed interest rate investment until you have saved enough to invest in the stock market.

Online brokers offer low commissions and good trading services. Examples of online brokers are: etrade, fidelity, tdameritrade, interactivebrokers, scottrade, optionsxpress, firstrade, and sharebuilder. Some of these brokers offer international accounts for worldwide users. Compare their services and choose one or two that fits best with your investment style.

Always do your own research on the investment ratios and compare them with those of the sector and industry. Examples of financial information providers are: bloomberg, reuters, forbes, finance-google, and finance-yahoo.

Once you have made your selection of the investment instruments (such as: stocks, options, ETFs, etc.) for your portfolio in either up or down market trends, use Nobleindex’s critical points as reference of optimal entry and exit investment points.