Stock Investment Advice
Stock investment advice is easy to find. Do you get cold called by brokers with the latest investment tip? I have, as have countless others around the globe. And many of us have lost a lot of money to these people. So, how can you avoid some of these pitfalls?
In general, if you get cold called by anyone, the best stock investment advice that I can give you is to leave them alone, no matter how appealing, or how plausible the sell is. Many of the people and firms who operate in high pressure sales environments, operate outside the law. And these people usually start with a cold call.
If You Are Cold Called, Steer Clear - Rule 1.
Remember that the tactics used can be very cunning.
It is not unusual for disreputable firms to start gently. They will warm you up with a 2 minute call, which invariably will get you excited at the prospect of making some money, on the basis of a deal "which hasn't come off yet", but they will call you if it does.
And it will.
And so will they!
They often quote shares which are listed, usually on the nasdaq, and it is within my experience for this to occur whilst the price of stocks rises as predicted. Believe me when I say that I was caught, and the the stock prices were being manipulated (this was the subject ultimately of an SEC investigation).
Double Check All Information You Are Given - Rule 2
Another favourite ploy of the crooks is if they know you have previously bought shares which are worthless, they will come up with some cock and bull story about a takeover or a similar machination, and offer ridiculous amounts of money for worthless shares. All YOU have to do is pay a fee to release the funds.
And guess what.
You will lose more money!
If It Sounds Too Good To Be True - It Probably Is! - Rule 3
If you are contacted by anyone you don't know, contact your local regulatory authority, and check them out. If the broker is not known to them, stay clear.
Ask Your Regulatory Authority - Rule 4
Ask at the outset if the stocks being peddles are restricted. Most of the cases I have come across where victims have been defrauded, have involved the infamous regulation S stocks. If the stocks in question are regulation s, and you might have to push the point, then don't get involved.
Ask If The Stock Is Regulation S - If They Are - Run - Rule 5
For many of us, this advice will come too late, and we have already been caught. If so how do we know we have been caught, and can we complain?
There are certainly some questions that one can ask oneself which, can help make your mind up if you might have been caught. Ask your self the following, and see if the scenario applied to you:-
1. I didn't understand, and it was never explained to me, that the shares I was buying could not be sold for at least one year and possibly longer.
2. I didn't understand, and it was never explained to me, that the shares I was buying were not traded on a proper stock exchange and might never be traded so might never be sold.
3. I didn't know, and wasn't told, the extreme risks associated with Regulation S stocks, up to and including a swift loss of up to 100 per cent of my capital.
4. My personal finances and my investment needs make me unsuitable as a buyer of Regulation S stocks (e.g., because I have a modest income and cannot afford to take risks, I am elderly and cannot afford to wait in the hope shares will be quoted in the future, I am retired and cannot replace lost capital).
5. I would never have agreed, had I known, to an investment where the company whose shares I was buying was actually making a very large payment to the broker. This would have destroyed any feeling that the broker was making a recommendation for my benefit and not in return for payment.
6. Sales calls from the broker were very enthusiastic and almost promised big, fast profits; this was misleading.
7. The broker never recommended 'normal' shares to me, but only Regulation S stocks, as if these were the only shares suitable for my needs.
8. Every Regulation S stock I was sold (or almost every one) collapsed and became worthless or near worthless. The law of averages suggests this is not just bad luck but bad skill on the part of the broker who recommended every one of them so enthusiastically, and made a profit on each sale.
Some of you reading this might think that this is flight of fancy stuff. Well, I can assure you that it's not. This is the real world, and real people get hurt.
Robin Banks has been a victim of investment stock fraud, so is well placed to give advice to others on how to avoid it.
More Resources
Unable to open RSS Feed $XMLfilename with error HTTP ERROR: 404, exitingMore Stocks & Mutual Funds Information:
Related Articles
The Three Little Pigs Went to the Stock Market
Three little pigs went to the market to stock
up for the future.The first little pig liked chips so he went to
the DOW market.
Trend Trading - Trading Stocks Using Technical Analysis and Swing Trading Strategies
Peter is a professional trader, Paul is not. Peter has a tested, proven, written trading plan that he follows each time he enters a trade, Paul does not.
Pension Plans
If you have a pension plan at work you will want to read this and if you don't you will still want to because it affects your retirement account.There are two kinds of formal retirement plans that are set in place by employers.
Kick The Tires
Before you buy another car you walk around the lot, kick the tires, slam the doors and look at the mileage indicator. That's an odometer.
How Much Money Can I Make With Trading? What Account Size Do I Need To Start?
What account size do I need?How much money can I make with trading?First of all, let's clarify a common misunderstanding: You never risk your full account size. You always have a "catastrophic stop", and it is important to define the "ruin" before you start trading.
No Load Mutual Funds: Investment Hype vs. Investment Help
With the internet such a huge part of our daily lives, many investors have access to a wide range of instant investment information.Whether you're into stocks, bonds, mutual funds, futures or options, there are tons of electronic investment newsletters offering to turn your small stake into a giant fortune.
Leverage - Margin Debt
What is leverage?Here is a definition of leverage from an online dictionary "leverage - The use of credit or borrowed funds to improve one's speculative capacity and increase the rate of return from an investment, as in buying securities on margin."Essentially, the core idea of leverage is that investors can use less money to control bigger amount of investment so that investors can make more money when the price movement is in investors' favor.
How Much Information Do You Need?
You have decided to buy some stock or mutual funds, but wonder which one to buy. You need more information so you call your broker for advice.
The Information Age
It is wonderful to be alive in the information age. We know in a matter of seconds the change in the value of gold in Switzerland, the death of a world leader or the birth of a peasant in Israel.
Dont Buy Stocks based on P/E Ratio alone
I use the P/E ratio as a secondary indicator for buying and selling stocks but I don't use the ratio in the same a manner as many value investors teach. I will explain the difference in my methodology for using the P/E ratio to your advantage.
Structured Settlement; Lawyers in NY and Mutual Funds
Minority Report the movie may not be far off if the Head of the SEC has anything to say about it. At a Senate Banking Committee hearing on CSPAN, William Donaldson said that the beloved SEC can no longer sit back and "mop-up" after scandals break.
Investment Attorneys and Garbage Stocks
How is it possible that trash Companies are posting less than expected results? Trash Companies are thought of by prudish investors as some of the safest stocks to own. Ask Warren in his Buffet of Essays on Corporate America.
Long-Term Investment In Todays Market?
The stock market is very unstable at this time going up and down while interest rates are so low you want to be a borrower and not a lender. Would you like some suggestions on how can you get the most out of low interest rates while being assured your principal will not disappear while you are trying to make some money? Of course, there is always the danger of borrowing the money and then spending it just because it is there.
Whitewater Stock Market
Ever done any whitewater rafting or canoeing? Long periods of tranquil river followed by short periods of terror. Suddenly the water grips your vessel and you are pushed and shoved by massive currents over which you have no control.
VooDoo Training For the Stock Market
If you go to Haiti or other places in the Caribbean you may run into the Voodoo tradition of magic. There are long and mostly noisy rituals with the medicine man spouting words that bring great power and conjure up whatever it is the supplicant desires.
Stock Trading Secrets?
How often have you come across an advertisement or e-mail proclaiming to "teach" you the stock trading secrets that Wall Street Insiders don't want you to know? Usually included in the descriptions of these trading products are claims such as "Make 10K monthly in minutes per day", or "Learn the secrets of Professional Stock Brokers", etc. etc.
How To Be A Winner
Everyone who invests in the stock market wants to be a winner. Each person's definition of a winner will be somewhat different, but there is hardly one who isn't looking for that stock that will double in price within one year.
How to Evaluate Load vs. No Load Mutual Funds
If you have been dealing with mutual funds for any length of time, you undoubtedly have faced the question of which is better: Load Funds or No Load Funds. If you are new to investing, "load" simply refers to the commission paid to the broker selling the fund.
What the SEC Really Thinks About Mutual Funds!
Let's go into the details of why non-indexed mutual funds are such a bad deal. When Arthur Levitt became the head of the Security Exchange Commission in 1993 he had to sell off all of his individual stocks so that people would not claim that he was doing any dirty inside dealing.
High Price/Earnings Ratios and the Stock Market: a Personal Odyssey
After some forty years of banking and investments, I retired in 2001. But since I do not golf, I soon found retirement to be very boring.