Financial articles, stock market books, website tutorials, etc. There’s a wealth of information out there and much of it inexpensive to tap. It’s important not to focus too narrowly on one single aspect of the trading game. Instead, study everything market-wise, including ideas and concepts you don’t feel are particularly relevant at this time. Trading launches a journey that often winds up at a destination not anticipated at the starting line. Your broad and detailed market background will come in handy over and over again, even if you think you know exactly where you’re going right now.
Here are five must-read books for every new trader:
- Stock Market Wizards by Jack D. Schwager
- Trading for a Livingby Dr. Alexander Elder
- Technical Analysis of the Financial Markets by John Murphy
- Winning on Wall Street by Martin Zweig
- The Nature of Risk by Justin Mamus
Start to follow the market every day in your spare time. Get up early and read about overnight price action on foreign markets. (U.S. traders didn’t have to monitor global markets a couple of decades ago, but that’s all changed due to the rapid growth of electronic trading and derivative instruments that link equity, forex and bond markets around the world.)
News sites such as Yahoo Finance, Google Finance, and CBS MoneyWatch serve as a great resource for new investors. For more sophisticated coverage, you need to look no further than The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg.