The most common question I've been getting lately is, "how do you find trading ideas?"
My answer is disappointing. There isn't some whiz-bang site or service I use. The fact is that I have a pretty steady set of about 500 stocks that I review on a regular basis. They are obviously heavily-traded, relatively volatile issues. This list changes based on the following circumstances:
- Ideas From Fellow Slopers – my best source for new ideas is right here. If a person mentions a symbol that I don't know, I'll punch up the chart. In many instances, it will be an interesting chart, and I'll add it to the list.
- ProphetScan – I use ProphetScan on the Prophet.net website to smoke out new opportunities; what is most helpful about this scan engine is that I can exclude symbols already in my watch lists, which saves me a lot of time.
- Trimming the Cruft – I trim stocks from time to time if they have basically lapsed into unconsciousness. This doesn't happen very often, but let's face it, some stocks simply become uninteresting to trade (think of the YHOOs and TASRs of years ago; one day they're red-hot, the next they're ice-cold).
The key to my trading isn't finding symbols, it's managing them. I make judicious use of watch lists (to group them) and labels (to earmark them). With well-ordered lists, all things are possible.
