Despite the markets taking a well-earned sabbatical, I love this time of year on the investment calendar. It draws a line under the year gone and allows us to take stock of where our investment strategy is at and where it’s heading. In bad times the break can be the catalyst the market needs to regain a little impetus. In good times the break can serve to simply reinforce market direction. B...

Anyone who’s visited Investor Trader in the past knows we err on the side of risk when it comes to investing our hard earned. A quick look at our portfolio as it stands today would appear to back that up – it’s a rag-tag band of Alternative Investment Market (AIM) shares from India, China and Australia with a leaning toward green energy. Oh, and then there’s the bank that n...

If you’ve fancied a flutter on the stock market but have never had the bottle or the financial freedom, why not test your skills with a practice portfolio? They’re free, simple to set up and you can be up and running in a matter of minutes. To get a feel for market machinations and to test your stock picking skills there’s probably no better way than jumping on in. You’ll b...

I’ve got to admit, kicking off this little Investor Trader adventure has been a bit of a re-education process for me. I’ve suffered different levels of interest in investing in the UK equities market over the years but to devote my attention to the task of managing a portfolio on an almost daily basis over a prolonged period, is definitely a change in tack. So I figured it was time for...

For those of you out there with a basic understanding of Japanese Candlestick charting who’d like to take the next leap in your development, may I suggest you check out FreeTradingVideos.com. FreeTradingVideos.com was launched a couple of years back by a bunch of renowned traders who really know their stuff. Having been in this industry for several years, we feel that there is an alarming la...

Just came across a great FOREX Trading blog and wanted to share. At No Brainer Trades, Steve runs a very refreshing financial blog that offers straight-to-the-point FOREX Trading advice and posts trade information, not signals, he loathes the word signals. Here’s the blurb of what constitutes a No Brainer Trade: Based on the premise of areas of heavy bank order flows, or simply stated, large...

When I began trading – and to a degree even now if I’m honest – one of the biggest problems I faced, was deciding when to get out of a position. Getting in was easy. I began investing back in the dot com boom days of the late 90′s, when I worked for an investor-focused, IT startup in London. I got in as soon as I had the cash. Usually pay day. Sometimes I doubled or tripled...

I’ve just this week signed up for Small Company Sharewatch. After years of uhmmming and ahhhing, I bit the bullet and boy am I glad that I did. Now, I am in no way involved with or affiliated with Small Company Sharewatch, so my views are totally my own and not tainted by the almighty penny. As the name suggests, Small Company Sharewatch aren’t on the lookout for bargains to be had wit...

I’ve never been a huge advocate of Investment Trusts, preferring to seed my money in individual equities where I see a massive potential upside. Note the use of the word, potential. By their very nature, Investment Trusts are risk averse when compared to single equities. Spreading the risk – albeit, often across numerous equities in the same sector – potentially limits the return...