Computerized Investing is a column in the AAII Journal that covers articles about how individual investors can use digital technology to become more effective managers of their assets.
Snapshot of a Stock: The Balance Sheet
Successful investing has no secret formula. Since financial statements are basic tools of fundamental analysis, it is important to be able to read and analyze them.
There are many factors that individuals must consider when making investments in fixed-income securities. Current bond yields, current bond prices, and current as well as future interest rates all may have a big impact on the return of a fixed-income investment.
One other factor investors need to evaluate is the credit quality of the issuer and the particular bond. Individuals investing in fixed-income securities typically have two major concerns:
Treasury securities, backed by the credit of the U.S. government, are regarded by most investors as “safe” in terms of these two questions, with no credit risk. But what about the credit risk of other issues and issuers?
Credit ratings offer one tool investors can use to help answer these questions.
Credit ratings and the agencies that issue them have come under heavy criticism for not properly assessing the creditworthiness of many recent securitized issues, as well as the...
The FreeStockCharts site (formerly BestFreeCharts) is a relative newcomer to the online charting arena, but has already made quite an impression on us. From Worden Brothers, the maker of the popular TC2007 charting software, the site offers charting, scanning, and portfolio tracking on a free and fee-based basis. The site is unique in that it offers free streaming “real-time” charts of stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), indexes, and forex (foreign exchange) without exchange fees. It does this by providing real-time data from the BATS (better alternative trading system) exchange.
For charting purposes, FreeStockCharts.com offers line, bar, and candlestick charts. You can plot charts on an intraday basis as well as on a daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual basis. The site also boasts one of the larger indicator libraries among online services with over 60, all of which you can modify to your needs. You can also draw your own trendlines. Registered users can create chart layouts or templates and save them for future use. Once you save a layout, you can access your preconfigured charts from any computer.
There are also built-in watchlists covering U.S. and Canadian common stocks and indexes, Morningstar industries, and ETFs. For example, you can click on the Russell 1000 watchlist to see all of the stocks that make up that index. Users can also create and save their own watchlists.
Free users can create scans that will search the S&P MidCap 400 and SmallCap 600 constituent stocks based on over 80 technical and fundamental factors.
For $30 a month, you can opt for the Gold Service, which provides ad-free chart viewing along with expanded scanning capabilities.
StockCharts.com is one of the most well-rounded sites of its type, offering robust charting and scanning...
