Popular brokerages like TD Ameritrade and Schwab have cut their trading commissions to zero and more brokers are following suit. A reader asked about the impact of zero commissions on trading so I thought I would share my thoughts below. Mixed Feelings My first impressions of this news are mixed. It’s great to have zero […]
Investing
Are Treasury Bonds Really Better Than Stocks?
There’s a study that has been doing the rounds for some time called “Do Global Stocks Outperform Treasury Bills?” In the study, the authors come to the conclusion that most stocks fail to beat the return on cash (1-month Treasury bills). In fact, across a sample of 62,000 global stocks between 1990-2018, 56% of US […]
What Did I Buy In September?
If you read last month’s update you will know that I recently started a new investing portfolio called ‘Zero To One Million’. This is a project where I am attempting to hit $1 million in equity through the process of investing a small amount (typically $1000 – $1500) into one or two different stocks each […]
Only Optimists Make Money In Stocks
I came across the following quote on Twitter: Unless you’re a perennial short seller, pessimism about the future is of no help. Only optimists make money in the markets. D Mutukrishnan Mutukrishnan has a great way of words and I think this quote is very true. If you’re too pessimistic about the market you’re going […]
August Stock Picks And Updates: Amazon And Alibaba
First off, a few updates. You may have noticed that this website now has a shiny new name, Decoding Markets! The old one, jbmarwood.com, was too ambiguous and made me sound like an author of fantasy novels. Decoding Markets reflects the new direction that I want this blog to go in. It’s not about me, […]
How I Messed Up With Bitcoin
I thought I would write an article about bitcoin because it might be valuable to go over what happened. I bought some bitcoin in 2017 and made some money with it. In fact, percentage wise it is the best trade I have made in the past few years. However, I still think I messed up […]
Investigating Skewness And The Lottery Effect In Stocks
The lottery effect explains our willingness to accept poor odds for a chance to win a huge sum. It’s why millions of us play Lotto or the PowerBall despite huge odds of one in 292,201,338*. We don’t mind spending a few bucks for the chance to win a gigantic sum, even though the odds are […]
What Is The Long Term Performance Of Microcap Stocks?
Microcap stocks are great for day traders and swing traders because of their volatility. But I wanted to know how well they perform on longer timeframes. In this article we analyse a decade of performance data to see what you can expect from investing in microcap stocks. Data Preparation To do this analysis we will […]
These 3 Charts Pose Difficult Questions For Index Investors
As the long term charts on this page show, stock markets can go for lengthy periods with poor returns. Investors should utilise a diversified approach and remember to reinvest dividends.
New Figures Show 76% Of Traders Lose – How Not To Be One Of Them
You’re probably aware of how difficult financial trading can be and how much luck plays a role in results. Latest figures from Finance Magnates show that in the year up to August 2017, 76% of CFD traders lost money. As shown by the graphic below, some brokers were better than others: But it gets worse. […]
How To Invest In The Strongest Stocks Every Month
If you want to retire wealthy but you don’t have a lot of money there is a simple strategy you can use called Dollar Cost Averaging. The idea is to save some of your income and put it into the stock market at regular intervals (usually monthly). Dollar cost averaging typically involves regular investing in […]
Dollar Cost Averaging – How To Double Your Money Every 10 Years
The idea behind dollar cost averaging is simple. Every month invest a set amount of money into the stock market. When the market is high, you’ll be able to afford fewer shares and when it’s low you’ll be able to buy more shares at a lower price. Over time, the stock market moves up, your […]
The 100 Best Trading And Investing Books Of All Time
It’s about time I updated my list of best trading books so here is my selection of the 100 greatest trading and investing books of all time. I’ve read (or at least partly read) a lot of these and I’ve tried to put them in some sort of order as well. Not an easy task […]
Should You Buy The Dip When Volatility Picks Up? (Answer – Not Necessarily)
This week we have seen a mini crash in the stock market indexes and an implosion of several short volatility ETNs. Mood in the stock market has quickly turned from exuberance to fear while some investors are ready to ‘buy the dip’. Conventional wisdom suggests that the best time to buy stocks is when there is […]
20 Traps All Traders And Investors Must Avoid
Because financial matters are rarely covered during high school, many people don’t understand the stock market or how to invest their money properly. This means that they are more vulnerable to investment scams. With the growth of the internet, and the current frothy state of global markets, these investment scams are unfortunately all too common. […]
