What is your stock market investing strategy?

[Roland of Gilead]

What about the other part of my problem with buying stocks:

"There are professionals who spent years on their Masters or even Doctorates, who spend their entire career studying stocks.  (Some of them are called Mutual Fund Managers).  And computer geeks have created automated buy/sell algorithms that leave any technical system in the dust."

I don't know about that, all I know is I have managed an average return over 25% per year for the past 13 years.

[hodedofome]

My strategy is pretty simple. It wouldn't take an advanced degree to figure it out. However, it is very emotionally difficult as I can go years without taking a trade, and then find myself fully invested in just a few or even 1 stock. Most people don't have that much patience or that much conviction.

If you don't know your edge, you probably don't have one. My edge against the algorithms and PhD's is that most don't have the emotional makeup to do what I do.

[rusty]

I don't know about that, all I know is I have managed an average return over 25% per year for the past 13 years.

Roland,
Do you look for those stocks who are beat up by the media?  I have thought about this in the past.  Baush & Lamb and AIG come to mind.  I assume you are buying these, then waiting for the market to forget about the media event?
R

[Roland of Gilead]

Roland,
Do you look for those stocks who are beat up by the media?  I have thought about this in the past.  Baush & Lamb and AIG come to mind.  I assume you are buying these, then waiting for the market to forget about the media event?
R

Sometimes.  I tend to look for deals though, not just a beat up stock.   For instance I would not touch Radio Shack with a 10 foot pole even though it is trading for $1.20.

Last year I saw a few good opportunities and took them.   There was a small, thinly traded company called Gencore which had more cash than the market cap and had positive earnings.  It was trading around $7 a share with $9 in cash.  Fast forward one year and it is trading at $11 a share.  Quite a nice return without taking on a large amount of risk.

Apple was also a great buy last year at $400.  My 70 yr old mom had just purchased an I-phone and raved about how easy and fun it was to use.  Apple had $140 per share in cash.  It was an easy purchase.

[noblewolf]

Don't know if it was mentioned here already but Eddy Elfenbein from www.crossingwallstreet.com is not doing bad.  His free buylist has beaten the market the last seven years.  Suggest checking him out.  I've mirrored his investing strategy the last 3 years and it has paid off!