Page 1047 - How to Make Money in Stocks Trilogy

34 HOW TO MAKE MONEY IN STOCKS—GETTING STARTED

See the Checklist and Stock Checkup in Action
Watch a short video on how to quickly run your stock ideas through the Buying
Checklist at www.investors.com/GettingStartedBook.

It Pays to Be Picky

As we go through each item, keep in mind the concept behind this
checklist.
We just saw how the CAN SLIM Investment System outlines what traits
the best-performing stocks typically have just before they launch a major
price move. The Buying Checklist helps you see which stocks have those
same traits right now.
Stocks that pass this test are the ones most likely to go up 50%, 100%,
200% or even more. You’ll see countless examples of stocks that did just that
as we check off each item.
Using the Buying Checklist will become second nature very
quickly. Once you’ve done it a few times, you’ll be surprised at how fast you
can evaluate multiple stocks. And since you’ll know exactly what characteris-
tics to look for, it won’t be difficult to separate the leaders from the laggards.

Practice Now with Stock Checkup
If you’re near a computer, I suggest you pull up Stock Checkup as we go
through each item on the checklist. It’ll help you get used to the process even
quicker. See how at www.investors.com/GettingStartedBook.

Forget All the Hype, Hunches and Hearsay

All too many investors choose stocks based on little more than tips, opinions
and rumors. You might hear a pundit say a stock that just fell 30% is now
“undervalued.” Or an investing newsletter might promote a company with
no sales and profits but a “promising” product in the pipeline. Going on
nothing more than a hunch or interesting story, many folks will just jump
right in.
But that kind of wishful-thinking, impulsive speculation rarely ends well.
Fortunately, it’s also totally unnecessary.

You’ll find that having rules and checklists—and sticking to them—will
be the real “secret” to increasing the amount of money you make.