LOST yet motivated

Hey guys, market’s been tough and with recruiting winding down I’ve got more free time and want to learn active trading in individual US stocks around earnings volatility. I’ve been a long-term investor in ETFs, mutual funds and indexes, but now I’m looking at short-term plays.

w, don’t know anything beyond basic buy/sell orders, and honestly I’m scared to pull the trigger. I’ve nowhere else to turn, so any help would mean a lot.

I’ll use a zero-commission non-bank broker with $2–5 K to start (happy to scale up over time). Any tips on:

Entry plays around earnings?Good resources or screeners? I don't know much beyond the basics tbhRisk management: position sizing & stop-losses for a small account?Broker features beyond free trades to look for?

Thanks in advance—really appreciate any guidance.

7 Comments
 

In all seriousness, if there was a set way to know if a comp will have a high potential upside, then everyone would know and just buy the stock.

When it comes to just getting into stock picking, you need to just pick a company, research them, and make an opinion.

Also take into consideration what fundamentally makes a “good business” (recurring revenue, high margin, low capex, strong asset base, leader in fragmented market, etc.). Will be huge in quickly deciding what is and what is not a “good business.”

Keep in mind that true alpha is made when people don’t recognize something in a business but someone else does (and they invest and their thesis becomes reality).

Bottom line. Investing is complex, but everyone has their style, so try to find yours through reading and learning from people smarter than you

 

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