Page 484 - How to Make Money in Stocks Trilogy

354 INVESTING LIKE A PROFESSIONAL

lysts are saying. When these tidbits of unusual activity catch my attention,
I’ll check them out on my computer and view a chart to see how the stock
really looks.
You never know how many ideas you’re going to pick up from reading
IBD. But in each issue, there will be several you’ll want to check out. It
takes no time at all to go to your PC, punch in the symbol that appears in the
paper right alongside the first mention of the company’s name, and check
into the history of the stock, its earnings, and a few other key basics. Some
of the best portfolio managers in the country quickly check out stocks this
way to decide which companies they want to focus on or get more informa-
tion about. It’s a good way to add to your watch list.

Mutual Funds & ETFs
On the first page of the “Mutual Funds & ETFs” section, there are two
information boxes I usually check. They zero in on growth funds with excel-
lent records. The boxes show these funds’ largest holdings in the latest quar-
ter, along with their top new buys and sells. New buys may be of interest.
We also show how the funds have performed relative to the market in each
of the last five years. After you’ve taken the paper for a while, you’ll know
which are the better funds. One way you can judge is by noting their top
positions. If the fund has three or four of the better leaders, I know the
managers really know what they’re doing.
I don’t normally look at our mutual fund tables, but I will frequently
check one or two fund families that I know are outstanding to get a feel of
how they’re doing. We cover far more funds and include more data in our
tables than most daily publications. Many papers have sharply cut the num-