From the Editor: Today I Step Aside
Sunday, August 5, 2007 | Ben Schott
No, I’m not retiring.All in the Family
I’m stepping aside today and using this space to share an article that was posted on our website this weekend by a longtime reader named Joseph Conlin.
You can access his article on the website (I include the link so you can leave him your feedback directly), or simply continue reading below ...
My father was my first finance professor. A farmer in the summer and a CPA in the winter, he knew a lot about managing personal finances and running a business. As my interest in finances increased, however, I found that the stock markets were an area that my father did not know much about. I set off on my own to learn more about the markets.
Over the course of many years, I learned about fundamental analysis, technical analysis, dividends, DRIPs, trends, trend lines, money management, and many other topics. From time to time I would share a little of what I had learned with one of my siblings, but there never seemed to be an interest in any of them of discussing things at anything more than a superficial level.
I had heard about investment clubs, but had never pursued the idea. I didn’t know what I was missing until I received a family update from my sister earlier this year. She has become an advocate of micro credit to help out those who can greatly increase their standard of living by having a small amount of capital to set up a business. She had decided that she wanted to start investing money with the idea of donating much of her gains to credible micro credit programs.
My enthusiastic response was that I would be happy to share what I had been learning over the previous years to help shorten her learning curve if she was interested. She already had a plan of how she would proceed, but she was enthusiastic to learn as much as she could from what I knew too.
I now found myself in an interesting position. Just how much did I really know about trading and investing? I found that, after we covered the basics, I really had to make sure that what I told her was qualified by what I knew to be fact and what I thought I knew but wasn’t sure about. You certainly find out how much you know about a subject when you try to teach it to someone else!
We frequently call each other in the evenings to discuss ideas, whether they be about specific actions in the market or more general opinions about how to trade and invest. I learn a lot from what she has to share, because her sources are usually different than mine are (I did clue her in to The Tycoon Report though, and she has become a subscriber to one of their services). We never discuss the proprietary information we receive from our respective paid services, but we often find that a specific tactic is being used in the paid service that was recently discussed in The Tycoon Report. This helps us see overall market conditions that are good for various techniques.
Just as I find myself starting to learn faster than ever before, The Tycoon Report starts a website that allows members to write articles and comments, creating not so much a family as a community where I can continue to benefit from the knowledge of others. I can share what I’ve learned as well, and I realize what I really know and don’t know when I start working on a comment or article.
I would recommend to anyone who reads this article to participate as much as possible in this community. Visit the website and read through the comments that people make under the editor’s articles. Chris Rowe wrote a very good comment in response to a question about VIX options, for example.
Take the time to ask questions. I’ve seen most, if not all, of the Tycoon editors responding to questions posed by readers. These are real people, not some sort of unapproachable trading machines. They have provided valuable information in the comments. They really do read and answer them. Take advantage of the chance to ask something.
Finally, try writing an article.
Look over the articles that other readers have submitted. Some are technical, while others are more general. You can write about pretty much anything that you can relate to investing. Even if you decide not to submit what you’ve written, the exercise of gathering your thoughts and putting them into sequence provides even more learning experiences. Take your time – I’ve worked on this article over the course of three or four sittings.
There is a lot of knowledge to be gained by reading what is available in this community. There is just as much knowledge to be gained by participating in this community. Give it a try, and see what you think!
-- Joseph Conlin
Tycoon Report Reader
(Please let us know what you think about Ben Schott's article.)
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Rate his article here »
Ben Schott
Chief Investment Officer
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