In the not too distant past, if you wanted to trade stocks you had to pay huge fees to use a full service broker. It was so expensive the average investor could barely afford it and many couldn’t at all. However, today there are many great discount online brokers to choose from and most offer free accounts that take just minutes to sign up for. And trading fees are low, way low. As low as $3-$5 a trade.

Choosing the “best” online stock broker is important since the broker will be carrying out your investment trades and maintaining your accounts. However, finding a good online stock broker can be unnerving due to sheer amount of investment firms and banks vying for your business. Everyone claims to offer the “best trades” and the “lowest prices.” So how do you decide which online stock broker best meets your needs?

EVALUATING ONLINE BROKERS

While choosing an online stock broker, the first thing to take into consideration is whether you need a full service or a discount broker. While full service brokers offer a comprehensive range of services, discount brokers generally only execute trades on behalf of the clients. As a result, discount brokers generally charge lower commissions. Some other parameters to compare online stock brokers on are:

Trading platform: Online trading can become quite confusing and cumbersome, if the software provided by the online broker lacks ease-of-use. If the broker’s website takes too long to load or is too confusing, your trade result can be grossly affected.

Products offered: When choosing an online broker, people generally only think of stocks. However, some online brokers deal in other investment vehicles as well, such as futures, options and gold contracts. If you seek diversity in your investment portfolio, find online brokers who manage multiple investments. 

Minimum deposit: Most online brokers charge a minimum deposit to execute, which may be as high as $10,000. Evaluate your financial capacity and choose a broker accordingly. Note that some online stock brokers do not charge any minimum deposit, although this might mean compromising on some additional services.

Customer service: Since online trading may become boggling at times, it is important that the online broker maintains appropriate real-time over-the-phone and online customer service. Lack of proper customer service may leave you confused and frustrated. Also, ensure that the online broker’s customer service provides regularly account statements, for you to track your progress.

Finally, note that the right online stock broker can make or break your progress on the stock market. Good brokers undertake research activities to keep their clients abreast of the best strategies to optimize returns from stock trading.

I’ve used Fidelity, Sharebuilder, Scottrade and a number of other online brokers.  But I found a broker with a mix of all the right qualities: great customer service, an easy to use website, no minimum deposit, great security, fast trade execution and, most importantly, LOW, LOW trading fees. Tradeking takes the prize in my book. They offer . Sign up today. You’ll be glad you did.  It’s free to sign up and it literally only takes minutes.

ALSO KNOWN AS PAPER TRADING

 A stock market simulation game is a great way to practice your investment skills before actually investing any “real” money in the stock market.

Simulation games are usually played on the internet, where people can experience the thrill of investing in the stock market without any risks, costs or any fear of losing money when and if they make a poor investment decision.   This is commonly referred to as “paper trading.”

Many teachers and professors of banking and finance are now using stock market simulation games to teach their students about the rudiments of investing in stocks. Most stock market simulation games come with a fee to get started, but there are some that are free of any charge.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

First, players must register. After registration, players are given an initial sum of “virtual” money to invest in companies of their choice. Players build a portfolio of stocks by buying and selling shares in companies. Most stock market simulation games use real-time market data.

The objective of most stock market simulation games is simple:

To increase the value of your portfolio of stocks so that it is greater than that of the other game players.

TIPS ON PLAYING

Below are some tips on choosing a stock market simulation game:

• Choose a stock market simulation game that is used and recommended by reputable colleges, high schools, middle school, investment clubs, brokers in training, corporate education courses and any other group of individuals studying markets in the U.S. and worldwide.
• Choose a stock market simulation game that is comprehensive and easy to implement in any Finance, Economics, or Investments class. A good stock market simulation game should feature trading of stocks, options, futures, mutual funds, bonds from the U.S. and many of the world’s major markets.
• Choose a stock market simulation game that provides a valuable, reliable, and realistic trading simulation at a reasonable price to members and other individuals who are interested in learning more about investing and trading. The simulation game should also have some capability for testing a variety for investment strategies.
• Choose a stock market simulation game that has a toll-free customer service phone number and excellent e-mail support for members. The support function should be able to quickly answer any questions that members/players may have.
• Choose a stock market simulation game that is easy to use and easy to teach even to those who have never had any real hands-on investment experience.

There are many good sites and discount brokers that offer stock simulators such as Wall Street Survivor
, one of our advertisers.  Click the ad at the right to sign up for a free account.  You can trade just as if you were in the market and there are lots of great prizes! And you can paper trade stocks, options, and commodities.  It’s a harmless way to “get your feet wet” while you are learning how to trade stocks.  www.investopedia.com is one site that offers a nice investment simulation for free.

COMPANYINVEST.COM TRADING UPDATE 

Both of our recent picks, QID and ERY are doing wonderfully.  We added shares of QID to our position during today’s trading.  Tune in tomorrow for another great stock pick!

Despite Ben Bernanke and the Federal Reserve’s $600 billion effort to prop the stock market and economy, it looks as if a correction is in order now.  Now would be a good time to pause, take profits and sell a portion of your long positions, or, if you are aggressive, why not make money when the market goes down?   You can do that by shorting stocks, buying put options, or, our preferred method, buying inverse ETFs.

We know that the market goes down much faster than it goes up because fear is a powerful thing, especially when coupled with money.  Right now the early signals indicate a 5 to 10 percent correction looming in the S&P 500.  And when the S&P 500 goes down, 3/4 of all stocks go down with it so take heed.  If you want to stay in your long positions, that’s fine.  Use a 5 to 8% trailing stop (whatever you are comfortable with).  A trailing stop is a wonderful tool offered by most online brokers.  It is a variable selling point and is great when you’ve already made money and want to lock in your profits.  If you put a 5% trail in, your selling point is always 5% lower than the current bid for the stock or ETF you are in.  That way, if the price keeps going up, so does your stop, however, once it corrects 5%, your shares are automatically sold, and your profits are locked in.

Today’s pick is QID.  QID is a reverse ETF which moves in the opposite direction of the QQQ’s (technology ETF).  That is when the technology sector is going down, QID is going up.

Looking at the chart there are several encouraging signals:

“A” is the slow stochastic momentum indicator.  It has been oscillating in oversold territory since early September!  We think this time the stochastic line has a great shot of going all the way up to 80 (overbought).  If that happens, QID will rally bigtime!  There is a powerful divergence between the stochastic and the price channel.  Look at the severely downsloped price trendline (red), compared to the stochastic lows (green line).  The stochastic line is flat to slightly sloping upward, indicating a change in trend.

“B“is the price chart for QID.  We had a powerful white candle on Friday (typically a selling day) and QID had a positive week overall.  More importantly, are the 3 and 10 day Exponential Moving Averages (EMAs).  The green and red arrows in the chart indicate buy/sell signals generated when the 3 day EMA (blue line) crosses up or down through the 10 day EMA (red line).  As you can see this technique gives wonderful stock trading signals.  The last signal (SELL) occured at the beginning of September.  Since then QID has gotten a 36% haircut! As of Friday’s close the 3 day EMA is EXACTLY the same as the 10 day and is just about to cross to the upside.  Monday could be an EXCELLENT entry point.

“C” is the MACD histogram.  Look at the massive bullish divergence between the histogram and the price channel.  This is a powerful buy signal.

“D” is the ADX indicator.  You get a buy signal when the green line crosses up through the red line (heading that direction but hasn’t happend yet).  However, the ADX line (black line) gives early signals.  The ADX line measures trend, and the trend has been up since early September, however that line is now rolling over and sloping down.

Bottom Line: Look for an entry point Monday and buy 50-100 shares of QID with a stop $1 below your entry point.

UPDATE: We had two wonderful stocks here in X (US Steel) and DGP (Double Gold ETF).  Hopefully you took profits and sold all of your shares now.

ERY:  We recommended it last week, but our stop of $29.20 was triggered.  However, ERY rallied hard on Friday and we really like it again as a trade.  Look to re-enter on Monday.

WHAT IS THE VIX?

 We strive to introduce new trading strategies at companyinvest.com.  Today we talk about a contrarian indicator, the VIX index.

 The VIX is the symbol for the Chicago Board Options Exchange’s volatility index. It measures implied volatility (not historical or statistical volatility) of a wide range of S&P 500 options. It is often called the “investor fear gauge” because it reflects investor’s best prediction of near-term market volatility, or risk. In general, VIX starts to rise during times of financial stress and lessens as investors become complacent. It is the market’s best prediction of near-term market volatility.  The good news is we can use the VIX to forecast the future direction of the market.

 HOW CAN YOU VIEW THE VIX?

 You can access the VIX index using your stock software or any major online trading platform software such as www.stockcharts.com or Yahoo Finance.  Enter the symbol “$VIX”. 

 USING THE VIX TO TRADE

 There is an old clichéd saying about the VIX index that goes:

 ”When the VIX is high, you buy… When it’s low, you GO!”

Looking at today’s chart of the VIX, “A” is the 3-day relative strength index (RSI).  Look at the past 3 times the levels were this oversold (green circles).  They all led to rallies in the VIX, while at the same time corrections in the S&P 500.  Here’s how they played out:

• June 21-Jun 30 VIX rally =     10.67% Correction in S&P 500
• July 12-July 18 VIX rally =     3.93% Correction in S&P 500
• October 19-20 VIX rally =       2.6% Correction in S& P 500
• November 5 to ? =                  3 to 10% S&P Correction on the HORIZON!

 ”B” is the price chart.  Right now the VIX is approaching a several month low, so if the saying rings true, you should sell some of your long positions or consider going short for the impending correction.  Also, today’s candlestick is a doji, indicating a probable change in trend.

 ”C” is the MACD histogram, a wonderful forecaster of trend change.  It looks like a bullish divergence is forming, meaning the VIX price made a LOWER low, while at the same time the MACD is forming a HIGHER low.

 Bottom Line: Position yourself for a 3 to 10% market correction.

 RECENT COMPANY INVEST PICKS

 We found some hot stocks recently!

 US Steel (X).  We said to buy shares at the $40 level on October 28, and since then the stock has rallied over 21%!  Many investors don’t get that kind of return in a whole year.  What to do:  Take 3/4 to all of your position off and put the profits in your pocket.

 Double Bull Gold (DGP).  We said to buy shares at the $39 level.  The trade is currently up 6.5% and still rising.  What to do:  HOLD or put a 5% trailing stop in.

In today’s environment where Central Banks are intervening, Quantitative Easing is the buzzword, currency manipulation is ongoing, there is much volatility in World currencies.  Should you trade currencies? How can you?  One way is to use ETFs.  The following is a short list of currency ETFs you can buy/sell:

• US Dollar                              UUP
• Australian Dollar               FXA
• British Pound                      FXB
• Euro                                        FXE
• Japanese Yen                      FXY
• Chinese Yuan                      CYB
• Canadian Dollar                 FXC

Forex Trading is another option.  Forex trading online is a fast way to use your investment capital to it’s fullest. The Forex markets offer distinct advantages to the small and large traders alike, making Forex currency trading in many ways preferable to other markets such as stocks, options or traditional futures. Here are seven reasons why you’ll want to look into Forex Trading online.

1 – Forex is the largest market.
Forex trading volume of more than 1.9 billion, more than 3 times larger than the equities market and more than 5 times bigger than futures, give Forex traders nearly unlimited liquidity and flexibility.

2 – Forex never sleeps!
You can execute forex trading online 24/7, from 7AM New Zealand time on Monday morning, to 5PM New York time on Friday evening. No waiting for markets to open: they’re open all night! This makes Forex trading online a very attractive component that fits easily into your day (or night!)

3 – No Bulls or Bears!
Because Forex trading online involves the buying of one currency while simultaneously selling another, you have an equal opportunity for profit no matter which direction the currency is headed. Another advantage is that there are only around 14 pairs of currencies to trade, as opposed to many thousands of stocks, options and futures.

4 – Forex Trading online offers great leverage!
You can make the most of your investment resources with Forex trading online. Some brokers offer 200:1 margin ratios in your trading accounts. Mini-FX accounts, which can typically be opened with only $200-300, offer 0.5% margin, meaning that $50 in trading capital can control a 10,000 unit currency position. This is why people are flocking to Forex trading online as a way to highly leverage their investments.

5 – Forex prices are predictable.
Currency prices, though volatile, tend to create and follow trends, allowing the technically trained Forex trader to spot and take advantage of many entry and exit points.

6 – Forex trading online is commission free!
That’s right! No commissions, no exchange fees or any other hidden fees. This is a very transparent market, and you’ll find it very easy to research the currencies and the countries involved. Forex brokers make a small percentage of the bid/ask spread, and that’s it. No longer any need to compute commissions and fees when executing a trade.

7 – Forex trading online is instant!
The FX market is astoundingly fast! Your orders are executed, filled and confirmed usually within 1-2 seconds. Since this is all done electronically with no humans involved, there is little to slow it down!

Forex trading online can get you where you want to go quicker and more profitably than any other form of trading. Check it out and see what Forex trading online can do for you!

Simulating the stock market can be a lucrative and educational way to learn the fluctuations and risks before actually doing the investment at the first place. With this way, you can get accustomed with the stock market and foresee the upcoming development before it happens.

Simulating stock market can usually be played on the internet and you can invest virtually by not risking your money without any cost if you make bad investment choices. This practice is actually recommended in the schools and financial institutions to learn the real environment of stock before actually “entering” in it. The simulation games comes with subscription fees as a starting cost or you can play it for free in most websites. Most of them doesn’t need to have a prior knowledge of stock market. In these website, after you register to the website, you are given some virtual money to invest any company you want in the stock market. You can build a portfolio with the companies that you think they will be most successful. Time to time, you get real time data on your investment to learn whether you earn or lose money.

To use the simulation games, you need to check the closest university or financial institutions to learn which simulation website they are recommending. And then, register the website and choose your investment on which class will be assessed. The investment classes can be either in finance, economics or investment class. You can get information about how to trade stocks, options, futures, mutual funds from US or other countries’ stock markets. The simulation game also should be easy to use, reliable and flexible to use different strategies if something goes wrong.

Overall, simulating the stock market is a great way to get accustomed to stock market and learn how to earn most money on the stock market.

“Opportunity Investment’ is a new style of investment where the investors look for the investment opportunities around the world. It is very different style of investment compared to traditional investment options such as bonds, shares, stock market etc.  You need to make decisions daily basis to get the best profit margins. The profit margins can be as high as 1000% in just one year.

The key object in “opportunity investment” is to find investment sources with high profit potentials. These investment sources need to be unexplored to keep the profit highest.

As the internet makes the information reachable so fast, the investment opportunities are everywhere and with structured and well planned investment plans, you can make millions in a short time of period.