What gives you an edge when assessing various investment options?

Some investors study charts, others read books, whatever you do, it is always interesting to learn about what others are doing.

John Venn, WA State Chair of the AIA suggested we put together our collective thoughts and kick-started this excellent resource by reaching out to the West Australian members.

Here are their suggestions.

•  I use ASX company announcements that are market sensitive for information. I also refer to the Financial Review, the financial pages of The Australian and The West Australian, and the business and finance pages of the Wall Street Journal for information. Then I use Excel spreadsheets to value a company – Ken
•  I use a subscription to Market Matters. They have skin in the game as the employees have chipped in to fund real trades in the same hope as clients of making money. They are conservative, but are doing OK. They have limited funds so they can’t buy everything. If they identify a new purchase they have to sell something in order to buy it.! They provide both buy and sell recommendations – John Randall
• Without doubt my favourite and most used investing tool is my Compound Interest Calculator. It is a Texas Instruments Model BA-35 SOLAR and it sits right on top of my desk. Many investments offer all sorts of returns but compound interest is the most important to me. Very few investors I meet really understand the power of compounding. Compound returns are one of the great wonders of the world. Without my calculator it is impossible to determine real compound returns.  This fellow completely agrees with my views on compound interest. I am not quite as successful as he but enjoyed the article anyway. Bill Ackman on how super can fix capitalism’s inequities. Bill Ackman has made billions from COVID-19, focusing on the strongest companies that are delivering the American Dream. But small companies are struggling and the promise of capitalism is failing most people. Read more:https://www.firstlinks.com.au/bill-ackman-on-super-fix-capitalism – Peter Keys
• I am a voracious reader and am an active trader of a big portfolio, as I enjoy it and keeps me mentally alert.

  I attend almost all locally based conferences and have met CEO’s and /or senior personnel and go direct for queries

  I use Bell Potter a full-service broker, as they provide IPO access, give advice and I happily pay the extra $50-70 per transaction for what I get, to me like asking a chemist versus a GP for medical advice

  First thing in the morning I check current status of my pre-loaded total portfolio on the ASX website. I also:

1. Subscribe to Eureka Report, Mining News and several blogs.      
2. Subscribe to Fin Review, The Australian and West Australia, I prefer skim reading the 3 papers versus my permitted online access
3. Read all announcements made by companies –  Norbert

• These are not so much tools but resources. I don’t use the website’s as much as I could, I tend to tune in via the youtube channels. Note these are in no order – all are outstanding. I consider these to be outstanding resources.

1.  https://www.cruxinvestor.com/ here is an example…. https://www.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v=xdCvxS3kl5I&feature=emb_rel_pause
2.   https://www.miningstockeducation.com/ here is an example…. https://www.miningstockeducation.com/2020/07/barry-dawes-im-looking-for-3500-oz-gold-over-next-three-to-four-years/
3.  https://nuggetsnews.com.au/ here is some intel…https://nuggetsnews.com.au/resources/trading-investing/  – Anonymous

• I mainly use Stock Doctor for Investment purposes I follow their recommendation on Growth and Income stocks and listen to their weekly and monthly reviews – Bruce Connor
• At the moment I mostly use Morningstar – Diana Hardy
•  My favorite places for helping with investment ideas are:

1. Stock Doctor as I’m after financially strong companies along with many other metrics which they also provide
2. AFR, The Australian
3. recently-FN Arena – Sandra

• My investment tools comprise those as supplied by MorganStanley advisory (full service) and I use Comsec facilities, primarily graphs and comparisons however they lack the ability to track my portfolio against an index which I find a big negative – Heinrich
• As a long-term subscriber to Stock Doctor, I would have say that they are my main source of information for stock market investment.  I find that the quality of their analysis is excellent, as is the easy-to-use presentation format.  The downside is that only their star stocks are covered in detail and many ASX-traded investments are not covered at all, such as LICs and ETFs.  Also, as a self-funded retiree with a SMSF, I obviously need to look beyond the stock market for diversity.  I read widely, mainly newsletters such as FirstLinks, Morningstar, Eureka Report but even so, making decisions about fixed interest, term deposits, global investments, etc., is not so easy!  – Anonymous
• IC-Investor software is the only tool I use to scan for momentum stocks – Geoff
• I do little trading now and especially in this type of market. My key overview in recent years was monitoring the state of the markets (Colin Nicholson). This remains a key factor, but I am aware markets can decline very quickly. Buying good strong shares that can stand up and or recover fast in these sorts of markets is important. This is complemented by ‘The Chartist’ Nick Radge and I get just the daily ASX chart analysis, which helps monitor my Australian shares. Chart analysis with , systems/trend trading and Elliot wave analysis. – Ron
• I used to track Australian equities and some funds with both CommSec’s portfolio and MorningStar’s portfolio tracker. I’ve had a MorningStar subscription for a few years now. MorningStar recently bundled a ShareSight subscription in with their own service at no extra cost. I uploaded my portfolios into it and now use this. It purports to do a lot of the legwork for the accountant at tax time and I’m about to put this claim to the test – Hugh Cunningham
• I am an enthusiastic student of the “Share market”. I have been a member of AIA for around 7 yrs. John Venn (AIA, W.A. Co-ordinator) introduced me to a  AIA-DVD, “The Share market Investment Course” presented by Bill Dodd, problem being there was so much Information to absorb.  Soon after I did a technical course at Canning College in Perth, run by two people who traded in the market for a number of years, sadly the course is no longer running. Another huge help to me was John Venn arranging guest speakers at the monthly meetings. I now use IC-Investor software  – David Morris

AIA Western Australia chapter meets the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of each month, except Jan & Aug.

Meetings start at 7.30pm, Wembley Downs Tennis Club, Morden and Ednah St, Wembley Downs, 6019.

1^st Tuesday meeting, we have a guest speaker and usually 15 to 50 attend, depending on the topic.

3rd Tuesday meeting is a discussion group with 6 to 15 attendees. The group uses software for share reviews etc.

Attendees arrive from 7pm, pay their $5 member fee or $10 visitor, sign in attendance sheet, them help themselves to tea, coffee, nibbles, bonding.

The meeting concludes around 9pm to 9.30pm, DIY members clearing the hall.

Contact Chair John Venn at [email protected] or call (08) 9341 3916 for more information.

Let’s keep the conversation going – do you have a tool that you regularly use? Please take a minute to include a comment below.