Does anything actually work?

[elvinagre]

I am a novice investor and am trying to find a guru, software or anything that works for making money in the one day to one year time frame. I dont care how it is done (stocks, commodities, etc). I have read a lot of messsages here and other places about investools, vectorvest, hulbert, motley fool, etc, but rarely about actually making money. It may be a fantasy to make money in the short term, but I want to make sure before I decide to adopt a buy and hold strategy. So far, the net has been way too much noise, not enough substance.

I would like to hear from anyone about their ROI and how they did it. Thanks

[ValueMan312]

First of all, you are posting in a community forum on value investing or "Rule #1 investing," which is what Phil Town calls it. This style of investing is about buying shares of undervalued companies and holding onto them for a very long time. Warren Buffett says that, ideally, you should never have to sell your shares in these wonderful companies.

It sounds like you want to "make money." You should look into income investing and options trading. I don't think value investing is for you.

Income investing:
Stock-Picking Strategies: Income Investing

Check out these blogs on income investing:
Dividend Growth Investor
Dividends4Life
Living Off Dividends & Passive Income
The Dividend Guy Blog » One Guy’s Journey to Passive Income Through Dividend Investing » Blog Home Page

I also recommend the book, "Generate Thousands in Cash on Your Stocks without Selling Them." (Amazon.com: Generate Thousands in Cash on Your Stocks without Selling Them: Samir Elias: Books) It's a how-to book, full of examples. It may be what you're looking for.

As for options trading, you may not be ready for it because you are a "novice investor." Trading options is considered advanced. I recommend searching the Web for anything and everything about options trading. Check out some books from the library (or buy them). Practice trading options with virtual money at Investopedia's Simulator - Stock Market Game.

[Gunnski]

Simple! Roulette Table in Vegas. My advice...There is no Rosetta Stone! Hard work and discipline are common ideas.

I do not know what your hurry is, none of my business. You may want to slow down & enjoy the ride.

Try this. Check for top sectors & industries. You can do this on Yahoo Finance, MSN Finance. I use Stcottrade Research.

My search revealed:

Current Hot Sectors: ENERGY +13% YTD & TRANSPORTATION +11.4% YTD.

Current Hot Industries: COAL +47.2 YTD & NON- METALLIC MINING +46.7 YTD.

That took a couple of seconds to complete. Now do a Google search for ENERGY ETF's. I came up with VDE, IXC, IYE, IGE, XLE, ENY & DKA. Check their charts out. Do the same GOOGLE type search for ETF's in Transportation (IYT, EWW) & then for your industry groups.

It is pretty obvious from my sector/industry search COAL is numeral uno so far this year. That is where I need to be if I can get in at a fair price. My Google search for COAL ETF's came up with KOL, CNX, BTU, ACI, JOYG, BUCY & TA. They are all up nicely this year, except TA, which is a cheapy, but offers the best entry point right now. The others look extended & are retracing. An entry point may be right around the corner for some of these, for the next move up, for the investor.

Get in and out of the HOT Sector/Industry ETF that you choose. Use their chart for entry-exit points. Trade the hot sector/industry via ETF's. Make a watch list with your favorites. Just continue to maintain your investments in the HOT sector/industry. Very simple & profitable, with little time, effort, work.

[elvinagre]

Thanks for your help. I really appreciate you taking time to help the new guy. I'm a little frustrated with the complexity of it all. I even saw an article in Barrons by a guy shorting Berkshire Hathaway, so I'm really confused. I'll try your ideas.

[JayC]

I started by reading the R1 book. Liked what I read but wanted more on the technicals. Investing was soething I had no idea about and in the words of PT Barnum "A fool and his money are soon parted". Since you are here, is it safe to assume you too start with Rule #1? If not, then you truly are a fool asking a bunch of complete strangers with unknown acumen how to make money.

I signed up for InvestTools and took the basic stocks courses and some options courses. I loved the technical analysis so I bought a book "Technical Analysis of the Financial Markets". Before I traded for real, I played in some paper games. My broker of choice is Thinkorswim ... you can't beat the tools, the commissions, or the support.

I'd suggest:
Rule #1
Richest man in Babylon
If you need to dig out of debt then look for a Ramsey book

Oh, and does anything work ... yeah, get a job and you'll make money. I found I make money quicker doing outside consulting that researching stocks, watching charts, and trying to guess what the market thinks.

FWIW,
Jay