[illumintai]

Dear all,

I am an economics student and about to start competing in a portfolio competition. I am given 50 trades for 3 months (in european stock markets), so i guess I will have to buy at the beginning and keep it as it is til the end.

One trouble is, though I have a rough understanding of the markets, i need a practical stock selection book, something i can cram for a week and analyse the charts/use some free online tools to screen the best stocks to keep for 3 months (please recommend a free screening tool !)

I have done an accounting module as well as corporate finance one, from which i got a first class (UK system), but surely its far from practical.

So, please advise what I should do.

Thanks

[Northern boy]

try taking 10 diversified stocks with good price volatility, exit any position that goes against you immediatly, and hold the ones that stay positive. some chart reading and earnings anticipation may help your odds but this is all i can think of doing in 3 months. good luck man.

[bootstrap]

http://www.winninginvesting.com/

[LiggerPig]

To win a competition you need specialisation in the sectors which are going to do well in the 3 month period. I wouldn't worry about specific stock selection unless it's for fine-tuning between a few leaders in their sector.
Your task will be to identify the industry sectors most likely to benefit from the economic conditions in future months. Not easy I know, but get the right sectors and concentrate on the leaders in those industries. Don't over diversify, 8-10 stocks in 3 sectors is my thought.
If it were now I'd take a chance on the beaten down banking sector for starters, regardless of how you see interest rates moving, they're due a bounce.
Once your stocks are performing (or not) you should look to reduce the number of stocks by selling the weaker performers on dips and increasing your holdings of the winners. Don't put too many eggs in one basket though, 5 stocks should see you through to the competition end.
Don't be tempted to take profits too quickly, you need to run your winners to come out on top. That means increasing your holding on pullbacks.
Finally, don't overtrade. When the whole market is underperforming, your stocks will too. You will require patience at times.
Good luck in the competition.

[BlowFish]

If you want to win rather than just "do OK" you need to go all in on the highest risk bets you can find. You need to keep aggressively pyramid using all the margin available to you.

Sadly the tactics for winning competitions are quite different to those for successfully investing or trading.

Or maybe I am just a sceptic

EDIT: If you can get two 'accounts' it is much easier.

[waveslider]

The guy asked for a stock selection book. Any ideas? Illuminati (if that is your REAL name) , unfortunately the majority of authors in this industry cannot trade, so they sell books. those who can't, teach. I'm sure you run up against that in school plenty of times.

If there was one book that you could cram in a week, then win an investment competition in three months, I'm sure we would all like to know which one it is.

Bottom line here - you need to get lucky. I don't know how you are graded on this, but if it is only on performance...

I would find some cheap stocks that are in motion, buy ten or fifteen, after a month sell the losers and dump all of the money into your winners. Ride the next 2 months.

This kind of fits in with Blowfish's sound advice.

(Or put it all in google.)

Originally Posted by waveslider »

Illuminati (if that is your REAL name)

And waveslider is yours ???

[waveslider]

I wish it were! So far its just what I do best. I was trying to get him to talk on the conspiracy theory.. guess it's not that easy.