investment advice

Almost three months ago, on May 18, Facebook issued one of the most highly-publicized Initial Public Offerings (IPO) in the history of Wall Street. A week before, Pat McKeough had already issued his own investment advice on the stock. He advised investors to take a pass. Just as Pat predicted, Facebook shot up briefly, only to reverse course and head into a decline that hasn’t ended yet. This week it disappointed investors again with bad earnings (as did another Internet issue that has taken a beating, games specialist Zynga Inc.). There’s a cautionary message for investors in this and it relates directly to one of Pat’s core principles: Avoid stocks that bask in the broker/media limelight. Stocks like these can cause investor expectations to rise so high that downturns can be brutal—which is exactly what happened in this instance. Here is Pat’s original warning about Facebook from May 11....

Today’s market volatility and economic uncertainty around the globe is making some investors wonder how much cash they should hold. My investment advice is to look at the longer term and not just at current conditions, or at today’s headlines. Remember, much of what we read today remains speculation....

Every Wednesday, we publish our “Investor Toolkit” series on TSI Network. Whether you’re a new or experienced investor, these weekly updates are designed to give you specific investment advice. Each Investor Toolkit update gives you a fundamental piece of investing strategy, and shows you how you can put it into practice right away. Today’s tip: “Starting out your investing career the wrong way could force you into years of catching up.”...

Every Wednesday, we publish our “Investor Toolkit” series on TSI Network. Whether you’re a new or experienced investor, these weekly updates are designed to give you specific advice on the fundamentals of successful investing. Each Investor Toolkit update gives you a fundamental tip and shows you how you can put it into practice right away. Today’s tip: “Those who wish to trade stocks online should be very wary of the promises offered by automated stock trading systems.”...

This is the latest in a series of video interviews in which Pat McKeough gives his advice on a variety of topics. Some will deal with his overall investment philosophy, others on specific investment strategies and still others offer investment advice related to events that are affecting the markets and the economy. In last week’s video, Pat advised against selling during the market downturn. This week, the market turned up and Pat thinks people should look closer to home than Europe for one of the reasons why. He also looks at what may be ahead for the stock market.
Q: Pat, last week you said people shouldn’t be dumping their stocks. This week the market turned up. Was that because of something that happened in Europe, and do you think the crisis is over?...

Tip of the week: There are a few good reasons to pay a little extra money for the right class of shares in the stocks you buy.

A bargain is generally regarded as a good thing. What could be a better bargain for investors than buying shares of a stock at lower prices? “Averaging down” is the well-known market tactic by which investors buy more shares of a stock that has come down in price....

This is the latest in a series of video interviews in which Pat McKeough will give his investment advice on a variety of topics. Some will deal with his overall investment philosophy, others on specific investment strategies and still others will be comments on events that are affecting the markets and the economy. This week, the topic is the ongoing crisis in Europe, and the apparently unsolvable problems of Greece. Is it time to take some money out of the market? On the contrary, says Pat, investors who remain calm are looking at modest risk and a lot of upward potential.
Q: Pat, a socialist president was elected in France and Greece took another turn for the worse. Is it time to be taking some money out of the stock market?...

When the market is as turbulent as it has been lately, investors can easily panic and make mistakes. Our investment advice is to avoid three common mistakes we have seen over the years:

1. Overanalyzing: During this week’s market turmoil, the media has been focusing on the uncertainty in Europe. The election of a socialist president in France and electoral confusion in Greece is fuelling further fears about the ongoing European debt crisis....

The right number of stocks for you to own depends in part on where you are in your investing career. It makes sense that you should have fewer stocks