There are four lessons you should learn before you get involved in dividend investing.

1. There are no guarantees
Many people decided to ignore this lesson in the years before the recession hit. While collecting interest on other investments, such as CDs and bonds, is something you can count on, the same is not true of dividends. The board of directors get to decide whether or not shareholders will be entitled to cash dividends. Most companies recognize that it is in their best interest to maintain or ideally increase payouts. Continuing to pay dividends is a good sign of a company’s financial health. A financially strong company can also attract more investors, enabling them to grow.

2. Do not go after high yields
In the last few years there were many investors that got too greedy and started taking higher and higher risks to find yields that were acceptable. This was possible because interest rates and market yields were very low. However, this turned out to be a bad decision in the long run. To minimize risk, investors should avoid any yield higher than 2.5 times market average. For example, the current market average is two percent, therefore you should stay away from anything five percent or more.

3. Cash flow is king
Do not just look at a company’s earnings this year, but also look carefully at the cash going out and coming in for the last five years, at least. If you focus just on earnings, you will not have a good picture of a dividend’s sustainability. Also try to account for capital expenditures as well. The remaining amount is called the free cash flow and is what the company has available to either pay dividends or buy back shares. Also check how much the company pays out in dividends every year. The free cash flow needs to be greater than the dividends paid so the company can maintain dividend payouts.

4. Don’t put your eggs in one basket – diversify
No matter what the current financial situation may be, diversifying your portfolio will help you weather even the toughest situations. Diversification is the basic rule in your building your portfolio and this is a lesson that should learnt in your stock market basics class. The financial industry was hurt worse than others over the last few years, and even those who diversified were hurt. However, they were also less affected than people who put all their money into high yield financial stocks. Diversifying is still important even if the yields are lower.

These four tips will ensure that you have a much easier time building your portfolio. You will be able to find companies that have a sustainable dividend payout with a higher than average yield.

While there are many available tools to help an individual investor judge the quality of bond or equity funds or to provide stock screening assistance, it is rare to find reviews of the execution software a self trading individual might need. This article looks at three types of stock investing software – eSignal, NinjaTrader, and Interactive Brokers.

However, before delving into the different services offered by each of these, it will help us to first consider what any trader requires before trading. First, generally (and very broadly) speaking, there are technical traders, and fundamental traders. Fundamental traders typically will do their research on a stock, based on its industry, financial performance and some type of value analysis. When they have concluded that a stock is worthy of a buy (or indeed, a short sell), fundamental traders can simply use a pure execution service such as a stock broker, or indeed E*TRADE, Charles Schwab etc, to carry out their trades.

On the other hand, technical traders look for cues to carry out their trades primarily on price action, and chart indicators, such as looking at average prices over a period of time, and looking at the balance between sell and buy orders over a period of time. Because there is a lot of graphical input and output, as well as what can be repetitive calculations (for example, when calculating moving averages over a long period of time), it should be no surprise that most stock trading software tends to lend itself to the technical trading business. With that in mind, we can look at the three software providers mentioned above – eSignal, NinjaTrader, and Interactive Brokers.

Of the three, Interactive Brokers is the only one that also allows execution directly through the same platform. With eSignal, or NinjaTrader, the user will typically open a separate trading account, which they can trade with either over the phone, or in cases link to their eSignal and NinjaTrader software. The eSignal software is free for a trial, but in order to make full use of its capabilities, it is required that you pay a monthly fee for access to live, or historical data series, which they do supply in abundance. With eSignal, it is extremely easy if you are a beginner to use charts, identify trends, and to manipulate data.

For more advance users, programming options are available, whereby a trader can write their own trading macros that are linked to live markets – in essence, if you can write something that replicates a trading rule, you’ll just need to activate it, sit back, and just watch it trade. NinjaTrader is a similar type of software, but which is entirely free. In fact, the user can download data series from any source they wish, and upload it for testing with NinjaTrader, to produce technical trading signals. As with eSignal, programming is available to advanced users, but unfortunately, the programming language used between the two is not easily transferable. Simply because of the ease of data supply, most technical traders who do not wish to spend time digging for data, will find the reasonable eSignal fee a good incentive to start their trading using this company.

Finally with Interactive Brokers, the cost of use can be different depending on the user – for example, if you are a particularly heavy trader, it is possible that IB will charge you no fees at all, except for the trading commissions that you generate with them! However, of the three, apart from its execution ability, IB also stands slightly apart because it offers options trading. For the short term stock traders, options provide another dimension to their tool set, whether it is in the form of option and stock arbitrage, or if it is to use options to hedge existing positions in stocks.

Hopefully, this article will have provided you with an introductory insight into the world of trading software available to you – ultimately, any consumer should be quite clear that all reputable software providers will offer free trials of their services, and that whether one or the other is preferable will ultimately be up to the trading experience that each individual comes across. Good luck and good charting.

Never take the word of someone else as an investment tip. If someone is giving you the “inside scoop” on a particular stock, you need to make sure for yourself. There are laws against inside trading, so for an average trader or investor to have any good information, it’s highly unlikely.

Never buy all of your shares at once, you should buy into any position incrementally. Stocks rise and fall all the time so to lower your cost basis. Most likely you’ll never be able to buy at the bottom so you need to be prepared to buy more when the price falls. Typically I wait for an 8% pull back from the stock’s recent high or 5%-8% drop from my cost basis before buying any more shares.

If you’re still looking for good solid reliable information, but not sure where to go. I use Yahoo Finance as well as The Street.com. Jim Cramer has been a never-ending resource of good stock leads for me. Not only is he entertaining, but very well aware of the stock market. I listen to his “suggestions” on what stocks or sectors are looking good, but I still don’t buy into the company because he thinks it’s good. I do my own research into the company to see what he sees or doesn’t see.

Diversifying your portfolio is very important if you want to protect your you profits or minimize your losses. If you go ahead and invest of your money into one company or sector, you could lose a big portion of you portfolio in the process. As I said before, all stocks rise and fall and that also goes for complete sector at times. That is why you need to invest across the board (equities, bonds, precious metal and other commodities). Divide your investments into several different vehicles, typically no more than 20% into any one sector or stock.

Look for companies that offer dividends, larger companies are the ones to look towards. Dividends are a return of the company’s profits that are distributed among the share holders. Let’s say the company’s stock is $20 per share and they have a 10% annual dividend. Each year you would receive $2 per share (paid quarterly) for just own the stock no matter what the stock price is. So even if the company loses 5% value on the stock price, you’ve still made 5% on your investment.

In later posts, I will offer other stock tips that will also help increase you gains.

Where to go to get good information? Well that could be anywhere. I’ve learned to take information from all sources to assist me and my trades. The one thing to keep in mind is to make sure you follow up on the information to assure that it’s correct and valid. There are more mistakes made in the stock market than there are not. Traders and Investors make mistakes everyday and that’s just the way it is. To help limit your mistakes, you need to do your own research and due diligence before you invest.

Getting stock tips are not the only information you should be looking at when it comes to buying and selling stocks or investing your hard earned money. What about the condition of the economy? Is it stable? See what’s going on in Washington. If the U.S. Treasury is printing out money like it’s going out of style, then realize that the dollar isn’t worth what it was before the increase of currency. Unemployment plays a major role in the condition of the markets and when you see the unemployment rate climbing, then it’s going to push the overall markets down.

What about the new tax laws (or the end of old tax breaks) that will effect your gains? In 2011, the Bush tax credits will come to an end and traders as well as investors are going to pay more in capitol gains taxes. The will be increases across the board when it comes to investment taxes. There will also be increases on dividends.

Have you given any thought about investing in precious metals? Gold, silver and platinum are a good way to hedge against the falling dollar. No matter what happens to our currency (or any other), gold will always be the investment of choice when the economy is getting worse. Gold has been a great investment during those times of trouble.

Just remember that looking for stock market information, you need to look further than just a bunch of stock tips.

A great and popular stock investment software on the market right now is the StockPicker RT. Recommended by most financial analysts, it scans the current market status on a daily basis and points out companies that seem to be worth investing in. It bases its data on the type of trading that appeals to you the most. The product has been praised for its ability to help you both earn and save money, and keep you away from potentially bad investments. It was awarded the Best-Selling Stock Picking Software award by Investing Network Inc. in 2006.

Another great piece of software is the Stock Signal Pro, which is available from most retails for an affordable price. It is specifically designed to stop you from buying too early or buying too late, maximizing your overall investment in the long run. It gives you alerts for when it believes you should buy and sell, and tracks all your favorite stocks on a daily basis. It lets you know which stocks are on the way up and which seem to be faltering, and also gives you calculations of how much money you can make or lose depending on the stocks you choose.

Playing the stock market is a risky business, but it can ultimately be incredibly rewarding in the long run. Buying stock in a company shows your support and dedication towards them and your confidence in their stable financial future. You could make serious money by playing your cards correctly and making the right decisions when choosing your stocks. These stock market trading software programs can help put you on the right track. The two products listed here are just a select few of the many different programs that are available to you at affordable low prices. Do some research and decide which program is the best one to suit your interests. Good luck!

One strategy that should be followed is never investing all of you capitol into one or two companies. The typical amount of money invested in a company should not surpass 20% of your total portfolio. Keeping your portfolio diversified will help prevent major losses during any particular time. Invest your money within several different sectors (ie: commodities, equities, precious metals and bonds).

The buy and hold method is a strategy that doesn’t require too much work. Yes of course you’ll still have to do your research into the fundamentals of the company. What I don’t like about this type of investing is the fact that you are not paying attention to what is really go on with your investment. If you what to make the most out your investments, you need to be active and watch what the company as well as the overall market is doing

Shorting stocks is one of the more popular ways to play the market. The idea is that a trader believes that a certain company’s stock price is going to go down in price. A treader will go ahead and borrow share from an investor. Within a certain period of time, the trader will have to replace the shares he borrowed. The trader in turn sell the shares at the current price. When the price per share has dropped, the trader will buy shares to return to the investor. This type of trading is not for those who are just starting out in the stock market. You’ll need to get a good understanding of the stock market before you start shorting stocks.

After you’ve been trading stocks for some time you might want to look at day trading. Be careful though, many average investors have lost more money than they’ve made doing day trading. You need to be quick and alert to what is going on in the markets on a daily basis. Many day trader will trade penny stocks because of the higher percentages that can be made in a day, but you can lose just as much just as quick.

Whichever stock market trading strategy you decide to use, make sure you do your due diligence and follow the news on the companies you’re invested in.

First thing you have to ask yourself is, how old are you? Depending on your age will determine what kind of risk you should take. Starting young in your financial future is the best thing you can do to secure your later years. If you’re in your twenties then you can take a little more risk than a person in their forties. If you experience a setback in your portfolio, you’re have time to make it up.

What about if you’re going to retire in just a few short years? You need to start moving your retirement account into “safer” investment. When you reach the time where you are soon to be retired, you should have built a decent looking portfolio, so you’ll want to secure what you have than risk a good chunk of it if something goes wrong.

Where can you go to find reliable stock tips? In my opinion, you should only trust yourself and the research you do on each of the stocks you are going to invest in. I find many of my leads by just following the daily blogs and media sites. I’ve found some great leads on twitter and Facebook as well, but just because someone gives me a “good stock tip” doesn’t mean I just jump into the stock. I follow up on each of these leads myself by looking into the company’s financial reports and balance sheets as well as listening to their conference calls and earnings report. More times than not, you’ll receive some bad tip and lose a bunch of money in the process.

Learn how to read the technical charts as well. Many traders and investors learn to do technical analysis. Technical analysis is looking at a stocks performance by studying the charts. history repeats itself and that holds true in the stock market as well. It’s too much for me to get into here in this post, but I will in a later one.

Never buy all your shares at once. when you decide to build a position in a company, you need to do it incrementally. This way when the stock price drops, you can buy more on the temporary weakness of it. This will help reduce your cost basis and increase profits.

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When I started trading stocks I knew who I was investing in, typically a once private company that grew to trade publicly on one of the exchanges. I would do my research on each company I wanted to invest in. After reading their financial reports and their balance sheets, I would decide if the company can and would make a profit as it grew even bigger. At that time I would build a position in the company stock in hopes of making a profit for myself.

Get a free look at Jim Cramer’s Action Alerts PLUS portfolio. Click here

So with the way things are today, we can all use some help. My advice to you is not to just stick with a narrow range of places to get the information. There are so many legitimate websites that you have to your advantage that investor of twenty years ago didn’t have. One of the sites that I use is Yahoo finance. Since they are no small presence on the internet, I can find up-to-the-minute information and news releases on companies that I’m invested in or ones that I’m still researching.

FREE JIM CRAMER – 14-day trial to Action Alerts PLUS, & his latest bestseller FREE. Click here

Many seasoned investors and traders know about TheStreet.com, a website site that Jim Cramer help start a few years ago. Jim Cramer has been active in the stock market for many decades and knows what he’s talking about. He also predicted the bottom of the stock market (6500-6700) just weeks before the stock market started plunging. Click the above links, or the banner below to start your free trial of Action Alert and start taking charge of your investments.

One of the key thing you need to know before you start trading stocks is that you need to do research on each of the companies that you want to invest in. You can’t just say I like a particular stock and buy shares of the company. You have to know if the company is doing the right thing and making a profit. Is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) a successful businessman? Does he have what it takes to make the right call for the benefit of the company and it’s shareholders? Is the industry that the company in on an upswing or head in a downward motion? A company can be doing the right thing, but if the industry and it’s competitors have a bumpy road ahead of them because of the economy, it’s most likely that they may suffer along with the rest of them. Of course that is not the case all the time, but it can play into the price of the company’s stock.

When you go to build a position in the company, you must do it incrementally. You have to figure out how much you are going to invest in the company (usually no more than 20% of your portfolio). Buy 20% first just in case the stock pulls back a little. After a healthy pull back (typically 5-8%) you invest another 30-50% of your total investment in the company. if it continues to pull back, well then you buy the remaining shares to help lower your cost basis ( average price per share).

Another Stock market basic you need to realize is that there is no sure thing as a good stock tip. If anyone has inside information on a certain stock, they wouldn’t be telling you. It’s against the Security Exchange Commission law to divulge any information that could give anyone a leg up on the other investors. Martha Stewart went to jail for insider trading within her own company.

In future posts I will list a few other stock investing basics to help you get better and to make more money in the stock market.

Welcome to this edition of The Investing Carnival! We have  so many informative links to share so let’s get started!

During uncertain or volatile stock markets, it’s not always clear where to invest now.  Investors want to be diversified, but also limit risk by choosing profitable investment vehicles depending on current trends.   It’s a good idea to explore investments that may be new to you, such as currencies, futures, ETFs, and other investments.

If you were told that you could get free money in the form of real estate grants that you would never have to pay back, what would you say? Nothing is free these days but if you are looking for a down payment on your mortgage, help towards the closing costs for your home purchase, or money to refurbish your home and then you could qualify for a real estate grant.

Roth IRAs are one of the most missed opportunities in the personal investment world today. So many people miss the great benefits of Roth IRAs because they are not informed about how they work. A Roth IRA differs greatly in the way you pay taxes on the increases, and over time, that makes a huge difference.

Investment property is gaining a lot of support, especially as investors fear their money is no longer safe in the stock market. It’s also good to farm homes or condos in a certain area, focusing your efforts on one location. Orlando investment property is a wise choice due to the location. With tons of recreations and amusement parks in Central Florida, there will always be jobs and a service industry supporting the local businesses. Having locations to rent out to the support staff there means you’ll never be short of potential tenants.

Have you ever been interested in investing in finance companies, but aren’t sure where to start? Perhaps you should consider a financial exchange-traded fund. An exchange traded fund is a type of mutual fund that can be traded on a stock exchange. A financial ETF can make investing simpler for beginning investors who want to dive into the finance marketplace. At the same time, financial ETFs can still be a great investment for more advanced investors who want to balance their portfolio.

Forex investments can be risky, but also very lucrative. Critical skills are needed to profit in this highly competitive investment landscape, but these skills can be acquired through education, training and practice trading utilizing virtual (demo) accounts from the right broker. There is money on the table for those who can follow a system, control their emotions and practice good money management methods.

In the aftermath of the financial crisis a growing number of North Americans are reconsidering their investment and lifestyle choices. Many are looking beyond US borders at countries in Central America, where real estate is cheaper and the cost of living more affordable. Real estate in Nicaragua stands out as having the lowest prices in the region according to data from Reveal Real Estate.

So You Want to Be a Real Estate Investor? Have you been thinking about buying investment property for a long time? Have you read all the books and watched all the infomercials, but just didn’t know where to start? Here are some quick steps to get you started toward your investment property dreams.

Do you find yourself in deep financial trouble, but can’t quite figure out how to get back on the right track? If, so perhaps you should consider declaring yourself bankrupt. Speaking to a financial professional is a great way to evaluate your options while learning a great deal about bankruptcy and other financial repair options.

Forex investing has gotten a bad rap over the years, but the truth is that investing in the forex markets is a legitimate way to strengthen your portfolio. Knowing that there are inherent risks involved with any type of investment is the key to realizing that due diligence should be executed when researching any potential opportunity.