Want to get rich quick. Then you need to be wise and plan accordingly. Trading in stock is an option to make money fast. Mutual funds and financial institutions use stock option trading to reap benefits. The stock trading system is very supportive to them rather than the small investor. The individual investor can gain as well but prudence is the watch word. Advice to help you If you are a new entrant; professional help can provide you the least risk and good reward stocks. Their analysis depends on a number of factors. A few factors that you could use are

• Understand one stock completely. To which industry the company belongs? What is the company’s investment? How it makes its money? Read its press releases, news and result broadcasts. Know the competitors of the company and the trends in the particular industry.

• Spend time on research and focus on what is important. Whenever you make decisions on buying, selling or holding write it down as to why you are making such a decision. A review of successful decisions and not so successful decisions can help you in future stratagem

• Evaluate and re-evaluate every stock on the market or the stock you have chosen the same way. Comparing and contrasting can give you some valuable insights into the stock market.

• Discuss with friends and explain the rationale of why you bought your stock and how you expect to perform. They may be rational when you are not.

• High valuations entail high risk (future performance determines the value of stocks and in case these predictions do not materialize prices will decline). Penny stocks too are the high risk category.

• Rise above emotions and loyalty. There will be many volatile swings in the market. Your stock may rise or even fall. You need to review decisions on any new data and change reasons for holding the stock.

• Reevaluating your existing stock is also essential. Review the reasons why you chose a particular stock. If those reasons are still valid then stick with it.

• Spend time on your investment weekly and observe the market trends. Keep track of your earnings and factors that may affect your investment.

• If your reasons to buy a stock are still valid you need not sell the stock.

• Beware of media or media quoted rates. It is not necessary that you buy or sell at the rates in the financial press.

Major signs of a good company

• Sales and earnings grow

• Company debt remains stable or declines

Tools that can help you in stock investment

There are a number of tools for an investor to make an informed and calculated decision on investment in the stock market.

• Internet research tools give you the latest data on company stocks and trends.

• Websites offer the same data given by internet research tools and also give stock trading tips by experts.

• Softwares that do the internet research and provide a detailed analysis. These softwares manage the stock quote file with 18,000 ticker symbols and more. Graphical display and export or import of data into other financial or editing softwares is an addition.

• Java Applets that perform a real time stock ticker updates that can be integrated with the financial software that you possess.

Many stock trading softwares use advance mathematical analysis on the stock market to make predictions about the future of a particular stock. These softwares are accurate in many instances. Yet real life can churn up possibilities that can never be accounted into software. Political and other situations affect stock and hence mathematics can be futile at times.