#etrade

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Investing 101-Research

 Photo Credit: Motley Fool

  Investing in stock may appear to be overwhelming to a newbie but in actuality, the most challenging part is doing your research.  There is no sure way to know if the stock you decide to invest in will rise, crash or simply stay stagnant, but in any case, you want it to rise.  I took BUS 110 at CPCC and as one of our projects, we had to select 3 companies that we would like to invest in with our fake money and follow this stock through the semester.  The goal at the end of the semester was to make a profit on our investment.   I passed the course with an A but failed miserably in the stock market.  My first mistake was selecting businesses that were already established and investing way too much money in the initial stock.  I should have done a better job researching the businesses I selected and watching the trends.  Needless to say, I learned from this project and I would like to provide you with some easy steps to help you invest in a business that will hopefully bring wealth.

       The first thing you want to do is to join an investment company. I selected E*TRADE and downloaded the app to my phone.  You will have to register and link your bank account.  They will make 2 deposits into your account and you will have to verify them on the site before you get started (desktop version).  It will take 3 business days to transfer money from your bank account to your E*TRADE account (you can do this on the app once you have verified your bank account.

     You can google these titles: stocks to invest in, new stocks to invest in, new businesses and their symbols, etc.  Choose 3 of the stocks you find and put them on your watch list in your E*TRADE account.  Watch how they do for a few days before investing.  Meanwhile, keep looking for the hottest latest thing or business in the market.

     Link news updates to your phone. This way you have firsthand information when there are any changes. Here is a list of a few websites you want to bookmark.

www.Forbes.com

www.Marketwatch.com

www.fool.com

www.finance.yahoo.com

       The stocks I decided to invest in where OTCQB: ACBFF and OTCQX: LHSIF. ACBFF is Aurora Cannabis Inc.  This stock has been going up maybe a dollar a day since I placed it on my watch list.  But today it has dropped a dollar.  When this happens research to see what may have changed to cause the drop, or if you add news to your phone you will be notified immediately.  When the stock drops this means something has freaked out investors (like you will become) and they are selling their stock before they lose money. Before investing in this stock I read up on it via Motley Fool and it has a 1-star investment rating, but I am taking the risk and investing anyway, I am going with my gut feeling.

To find out news on a stock. Type in the symbol for the stock and click the news button on google to get the scoop on what has happened.  I typed in ACBFF.

  My first alert was “Citron Slams Aurora Cannabis, Calls Out ‘Enron-Type Accounting’.  Could this be the reason the stock dropped today?  Let’s read more.

By Short-seller Andrew Left’s assessment, the firm has no path to profitability even without the burden of taxes and distribution and its financing structure betrays weakness in the underlying business model…

Aurora’s response was “This guy has no clue what he is talking about. We’ve been operating commercially for less than 2 years, so I am sorry if he’s angry that we’re not profitable”, he said asserting cash in excess of $320 million and marketable securities work $180 million per (Balboa, 2018)

Investing works this way. You purchase one stock at $6.  And next week the stock is $10.  You have profited $4.  If the stock drops to $8 you may want to sell before it goes below the $6.  If the stock goes to $3 you have now lost $2 on your initial investment and all of the money (in this case $4) you would have profited.  But think if you purchased more than one stock for example you invested $60 (10 stocks), or $600 (100 stocks).  * Per Investopedia.com, Purchasers cannot buy more than the volume being offered, this information will be available when you buy your stock.  You can invest long term or short term, it is totally up to you, just be smart about and stay updated on the business you choose.

With that being said, I am sold on Aurora. It is a risk.  Yes, it’s more work than filling out a few lottery tickets and hoping it’s your turn. But it’s not pure luck, its education, and research.  Learning when to hold them and when to fold them based on your research and your instinct.  Not saying you can’t get lucky but remember I “invested” in JCP stock last year and their stores are closing left and right today.

   References

Balboa, E. (2018). Citron Slams Aurora Cannabis; Company Says It Won’t ‘Lose Any Sleep on Amateurish Attack’. Benzinga. Retrieved from https://m.benzinga.com/article/10980509?utm_referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F

  Moneyshow.com (2018). Is there a maximum amount of stock an individual investor or corporation can purchase? Investopedia. Retrieved from https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answer/07/how_much_stock.asp