Stocking picking / Investment subscription websites

Marine_life

Does anyone have a subscription to any of the investment websites (investors Chronicle, Motley Fool etc)? Any good?

If not - what alternatives do you use / find useful?

TrustyOven

Why would we?
What useful thing do they provide?

droopsnoot

I think that was the OPs question - has anyone found other subscription-based sites worthwhile?

jimjames

Alternatives? How about www.monevator.com


Stock picking subscription websites are great for making money. Normally for the person running the site.

nb0825

If you don't know what you're doing, invest in a fund that is an index tracker for stable returns. The majority of funds don't beat the market anyway. Not sure why people are so willing to put money in the stock market without a shred of knowledge...

Marine_life

nb0825 wrote: »

If you don't know what you're doing, invest in a fund that is an index tracker for stable returns. The majority of funds don't beat the market anyway. Not sure why people are so willing to put money in the stock market without a shred of knowledge...

Thanks - I should have been clearer.

I definitely know what I'm doing ;-) and have the bulk of our funds invested in a mix of trackers and specific funds but I am increasingly investing in individual shares because I like the challenge.

dunstonh

but I am increasingly investing in individual shares because I like the challenge.

Suggest you go to the pensions section and read the thread from the share trader who has just admitted he got it wrong by trading by trying to make investing fun.

What skills do you have to trade in inidivdual shares? Can you read the accounts of companies, understand their business model in depth , the issues they have and the markets they appeal to and how that is going to influence their share price?

Malthusian

dunstonh wrote: »

Can you read the accounts of companies, understand their business model in depth , the issues they have and the markets they appeal to and how that is going to influence their share price?

...because if you can you have all the skills required to lose lots of money on the stockmarket (through false confidence in your ability to predict the future).

People who can't read accounts or figure out which of AstraZeneca or GSK have a better happy pills pipeline or generally "do their research" by contrast will most likely acknowledge their ignorance of the future and invest in cheap diversified tracker funds.

lozzy1965

You have found that the vast majority on MSE (preparing for some flak here ) are pro funds and not keen on individual shares. I share (no pun intended) your interest in individual shares and have absolutely none of the 'skills' mentioned here to 'predict how a company will perform'. But I have done alright over a number of years. I do all my research for free by reading articles and tips, then following my own 'research' using tools such as Top Yields, London South East, Digital Look, Motley Fool. The golden rule is diversify and don't use money you may need in the near future. And you will make mistakes, but you will also (hopefully) learn from them. Good luck.

Thrugelmir

Subscribe to Investors Chronicle. A good read.

Marine_life

dunstonh wrote: »

What skills do you have to trade in individual shares? Can you read the accounts of companies, understand their business model in depth , the issues they have and the markets they appeal to and how that is going to influence their share price?

I am qualified (ICAEW) accountant and work in M&A so I know a bit about those things.

I am however, not a sector expert so while I can interpret financials, valuations, PE ratios etc. I would not claim to be an expert of individual industries. I also recognize that a lot of the market moves are not driven by logic. I am not looking to make money as a day trader, essentially I am buying into companies that offer good yields with a view to holding over an extended period and with a reasonable amount of security underpinning the yield (either financial e.g. dividend cover etc. or non-financial e.g. the company has a stated policy linked to paying a high or increasing dividend and has the cash cover to back up that claim). I expect that individual shares will make up no more than 10% of my portfolio and I am looking for diversity across sectors and geographies to spread the risk.

So essentially I'm looking for sites which offer a good read (about a stock or sector) that I can use to supplement my own judgement.