Page 1001 - How to Make Money in Stocks Trilogy

xii Introduction

be to make money when the market is up and protect those profits when the
market heads south. So I just sat there and watched a frustratingly large por-
tion of my gains disappear.

A Better Way

It was after that episode that I joined Investor’s Business Daily (IBD) and
discovered I did not have to be at the mercy of the market:
• I could see the right—and wrong—time to invest.
• I could have a game plan for locking in profits.
• I could use simple sell rules to avoid any serious losses.

That was a game-changing epiphany for me—one that has proved invalu-
able in the decade since. Now, whether I’m making Daily Stock Analysis
®
and 2-Minute Tip videos, editing the IBD extra Newsletter, or co-hosting
IBD’s weekly radio show with Amy Smith, that crucial revelation is never far
from my mind.
So when I got the opportunity to write this book, I started with a simple
question: What kind of book do I wish I had when I was starting out?
It quickly boiled down to 3 things:

1. Keep it simple: Focus on the basics so even new investors can see how
to get started while staying profitable and protected.
2. Make it interactive and actionable: Include hands-on action steps
and videos that make the key points sink in, helping you quickly put what
you learn into action.
3. Use easy-to-follow routines and checklists: Lay out a specific step-
by-step game plan anyone can use to make—and keep—solid gains.

Having the checklists and Action Steps you’ll find in this book would have
helped me tremendously when I was starting out. And if you stick to these
time-tested rules as you get started, you’ll be following a proven roadmap
for growing—and protecting—your money.

History, Not Hunches

As you’ll see, everything IBD does is based on a simple concept: To find
tomorrow’s winning stocks, you need to understand what past winners looked