Sunday, December 6, 2009

Stock Market Investment Clubs

By Brian Berry

The notion of joining an investment stock club is one I'm sure has crossed the minds of many independent investors. If you're like me perhaps you dismissed the notion as quickly as it came to mind. I sat on the idea of joining an investing stock club for many years. I waited way too long. I had plenty of reasons not to find and join an investment stock club. None of them however was based on sound investigation. I had doubts about the value of investment stock clubs simply based on my assumptions that the cost would take away from my stock trading profits more than it could benefit. This was an assumption I made out of ignorance. I also remember being afraid that being an investment stock club member would somehow expose what I didn't know to the trading community. In retrospect this would have only served to accelerate my understanding of trading and improved my ability to make strong consistent profits in the market. I could go on but my reasons for not looking at it more closely all proved to be unfounded. I don't plan to try to chip away at these sorts of notions you may have because if they're like my old assumptions, they're just plainly holding you back. Instead I'd ask you to consider the undeniable benefits.

As an independent investor I absolutely revel in the notion that I can move stealthily in & out of the markets. I can search for & evaluate any number of stock trading opportunities. I can take advantage of a wealth of research from any source or I can do my own research. I don't must spend time proving my case to my boss & deal with the frustration that entails. No four notices when I succeed at it or fail & I have nothing to prove to someone but myself. There is no better way to make a living as far as I'm concerned. Being independent means everything to me. This independence does have a down-side & if I'm not aware of the challenges that come with being independent & I don't do anything about it I can & have experienced monumental failures.

Despite all it's benefits, independence can easily lend itself to isolation. This is a real hazard that new investors should work quickly to mitigate. Being isolated in the context of investing for a living means having nothing to keep you honest. It's imperative for your success to bounce your ideas and research off your peers as a sort of litmus check. Any independent investor would be wise to find a lovely stock investment club and join up for this reason alone, but stock investment clubs often provide more in the way of helping independent investors than this.

Aside from all the bells and whistles or other novel tools that stock investment clubs often hype to entice investors to join, the largest benefit is the collaborative environment they afford investors who would otherwise be working in a vacuum. The benefits of joining a stock investing club and collaborating with a group of peers with similar goals has been undeniably evident in my own ability to generate larger and more consistent returns. I get to launch my ideas into the community and receive timely and worthwhile feedback. Members are all to happy to let me know when I'm way and more importantly why. I can choose to agree or not and I often pick up on some great tips as well as new ideas and strategies to consider. Most importantly I get to keep in touch with a world of traders that offer a wealth of insight and knowledge I would not gain anywhere else.

Just as no two stock investment clubs are created equal, no two are alike and each has its strengths and weaknesses. One aspect of a stock investment club which you should never compromise on is the existence of a robust social element. To evaluate that yourself, you could look for a few of the following.

Does the stock investment club have:

A way for you to chat or post messages?

A way to track the performance of your stock portfolio & look at other members performance?

A strong enough member base so as the ideas and opinions are always flowing and dynamic.

A diversity of groups within the stock investment club; and specifically two or two who's members share your investment style or philosophy?

A frequent sustained presence from an accomplished and respected leader in the world of investing and trading?

Some investing stock clubs even give each & every member a chance to have themselves brought in to prominence as an authority by allowing them to post articles or research right by & giant blog as a special guest. This can do wonders in terms of broadening your investing horizons. A way is that other members recognize great ideas & reward the author by suggesting your next topic & some valid points to think about, free content for your next editorial.

The bottom line point is that it's integral that independent investors participate in holding their own knowledge and ideas to the fire of a thoughtful community. It challenges you to be better than you were before and it makes you responsible for developing a disciplined approach to your career in the markets.

My Favorite Investment Stock Clubs

I've included a number of my favorite investment stock clubs for you to think about. These (& I'm sure there is others) meet my criteria for providing an active community of thoughtful & outspoken investors who willingly share what they know & think about new ideas by providing seasoned advice & insights to help you stay on your game.

INO Market Club

Provides a real community feel, lots of options for you to find where you fit in across the whole spectrum of trading styles, a blog where members are encouraged to publish guest articles, a very strong leadership with Adam Hewison. Adam is a seasoned veteran trader from the CME Group. INO frequently coordinates online meetings where participants can learn from renowned traders. They have a vast trading tutorial library for both new and advanced traders to help them keep their trading sharp.

Some of my favorite INO features include the market alerts, portfolio tracking with their one-of-a-kind trade triangle technology which highlights stocks which are moving in to a new trend and INO TV which features exclusive content from well-known market analysts. I'm sure any trader would be delighted to have access to everything INO thoughtfully pulls together to form a vibrant trader community with some great tools and invaluable ways to learn and share with other accomplished independent investors. It's worth the annual cost of membership and INO has a no questions asked guarantee, so if you can't use it refunds are not an issue for them. Learn more about INO Market Club.

Zecco Community

Zecco has a robust online trading community & you'd be surprised to learn that you don't must have a trading account to experience all their community has to offer. You can still communicate & share ideas with other members & you have access to a wide array of lovely tools for market research. If you have a blog or web page, you can share that with fellow Zecco members . The Zecco community is active & any trader can find their niche among like-minded investors.

Zecco Trading: Get $4.50 Stock Trades

Invest the smart way with Zecco Trading. Stock trades cost just $4.50. Get 10 free trades per month with a $25,000 balance or 25 trades/month. No account minimums or inactivity fees. Member FINRA/SIPC.

Finally, I'm always looking for suggestions from my readers so if you'd like to tell the world about your favorite Investment Stock Club, please leave a comment.

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