Australian Stock Report is proud to launch the Learn to Trade @ Home education multimedia program.

The Education Multimedia program has been designed with both the beginner and experienced trader and investor in mind.

Learn to Trade @ Home allows you to access education material, review workshop notes and watch live video examples. When the time is right we’ll even help you open your trading account and help you place your first trade, just to make sure that you are comfortable with what you have learnt.

View the content as many times as you like in your home, office or on the road. Interact with all the online education support tools and access our support forum and “Ask the Presenters” to ensure that any of your questions are answered.

View the video below and register your interest.

Learn to Trade @ Home covers 8 Modules, incorporating the following topics:

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Australian Stock Report is proud to launch its Investors & Traders Expo in 2011. The Investors and Traders Expo is a daylong, multi-speaker event hosted by Australian Stock Report covering topics including Technical & Fundamental Analysis, FX trading, CFDs, Options, Charting software and much more.

Taking place in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide and Auckland the Investors & Traders Expo will be the best value and most informative event for investors and traders looking to maximise their returns from the financial markets in 2011.

Tickets to the Expo cost only $49 including lunch, morning tea and an Expo-pack containing over $500 of included value. Places are limited so it is essential that you reserve your seat now.

The Program

08:30 – Registration

09:00 – Welcome and Introduction

09:10 - The Science of the Markets (Part 1): Technical Analysis and FX Trading (more details below)

10:20 – Morning Tea (included)

10:45 – How to Profit Safely from the CFD Revolution (more details below)

12:00 – Practical Fundamental Analysis Techniques (more details below)

13:00 – Lunch (included)

14:00 – Key Note Speaker’s Presentation – Kel Butcher (more details below)

15:10 – Options as Part of a Comprehensive Investing Approach (more details below)

16:00 – The Science of the Markets (Part 2): Unleash the Power of MetaStock (more details below)

17:00 – Finish

The Science of the Markets (Part 1): Technical Analysis and FX Trading
presented by Carl Capolingua, Head of Education Australian Stock Report

Technical analysis is the study of how security prices change over time on a chart. It is the preferred method of analysis for many professional traders allowing them to quickly, accurately and confidently analyse many securities in a very short space of time.

In this presentation Mr Capolingua describes what he calls “The Science of the Markets” and presents his unique view on what key technical analysis concepts must be mastered by investors before using this potentially very profitable approach on share and FX markets.

Register your seat here.

How to Profit Safely from the CFD Revolution
Presented by Jason Andor, Associate Director IG Markets Australia

CFDs are the fastest growing financial services product in Australia. Thousands of investors and traders have flocked to this revolutionary tool for trading shares, indices, foreign exchange (forex, or FX) and commodities from the same platform and account.

Mr Andor will provide a broad overview of CFDs, their uses and benefits, and also their risks. He will also discuss new industry guidelines and their impact on investors in choosing the correct CFD provider.

In addition to the above, Mr Andor will provide a detailed ‘how to’ guide for the IG Markets award winning trading platform PureDeal. When used correctly PureDeal is a powerful tool for identifying potentially profitable trading opportunities and quickly and easily turning them into trades.

Register your seat here.

Practical Fundamental Analysis Techniques
Presented by Geoff Saffer, Head of Research Australian Stock Report

Mr Saffer will guide delegates through the most practical and effective tools which they can use to gain an edge in the markets. You will learn how each fundamental technique can be applied in the Australian market and how to source the necessary information accurately and inexpensively.

In addition to the above, delegates will learn how to better utilise all of the information, resources, and tools within each of Australian Stock Report’s research offerings.

Register your seat here

Key Note Speaker’s Presentation – Kel Butcher
presented by Kel Butcher, Professional Trader, Author, Trading Coach

As with any profession or business, trading requires learning and skill development, a plan, and lots of hard work to achieve success.

This presentation delves into the most common trading mistakes novice traders make and how to avoid them. Based upon Mr Butcher’s bestselling book, it will discuss the combined wisdom of Dr Van Tharp, David Hunt, Justine Pollard, Louise Bedford, Brett Steenbarger, Russell Sands, Davin Clarke, Ryan Jones, Wayne McDonell, Gary Stone, Christopher Tate, Jake Bernstein, Larry Williams, Glen Larson, Tom Scollon, Dr Harry Stanton, John Robertson and Jason Cunningham.

Register your seat here

Options as Part of a Comprehensive Investing Approach
presented by Luke Cummings, Managing Director HC Securities

Options are the most used derivative instruments around the world by share traders looking to better minimise risk and increase returns over basic share trading. Unlike other derivative instruments such as CFDs, options allow investors to take advantage of not only rising and falling markets, but also range bound markets. It is this important distinction which allows options traders to have the ability to profit under all market conditions:

In this presentation Mr Cummings will dispel the myths of options trading versus CFD trading, outline the key benefits of options trading and why ALL investors should consider using options in their investing approach. Delegates will learn about a number of key strategies professional investors are using to improve their returns with options.

Register your seat here

The Science of the Markets (Part 2): Unleash the Power of MetaStock
presented by Carl Capolingua, Head of Education Australian Stock Report

MetaStock is the world’s leading investing and trading analysis software and is used by over 300,000 investors in 90 different countries to streamline and broaden their analysis.

In this presentation delegates will learn how to use MetaStock to identify the best trading opportunities from all over the world. In this informative and practical overview of the software you will learn how to use the Expert Adviser, The Explorer, The Enhanced System Tester, and the Fundamental Analyser. Live scans, explorations and simulations will be run on the current markets to demonstrate the power of MetaStock.

Australian Stock Report looks forward to seeing you at the expo of your choice. Click here to register now and reserve your seat to trading success.

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Fundamental stock analysis can seem scary to most newcomers to the market – and with some reason. Looking at some of the 30-page reports from broking houses, about just one company, can seem stupefying to the best of us.

However, one of the reasons it appears terrifying is that analysts can make it as complex as they like: there’s virtually no end to the level of calculations you can perform.

Importantly, when it comes to numbers, there’s a simple four-step process to fundamental stock analysis of companies. First, is the company likely to still be around in a year? Second, is there cash coming in? Third, is the company making money from this cash? And, last, are you likely to get any of that cash?

1. Balance Sheet

A balance sheet is a snapshot of a business’ financial condition at a specific moment in time. From this, analysts try to identify whether the company is financially healthy, especially in relation to debt.

A balance sheet comprises assets, liabilities, and owners’ or stockholders’ equity. Assets and liabilities are divided into short and long-term obligations including cash accounts such as checking, money market, or government securities.

At any given time, assets must equal liabilities plus owners’ equity. An asset is anything the business owns that has monetary value. Liabilities are the claims of creditors against the assets of the business.

2. Cash Flow Statement:

This is a financial document detailing the exchange of cash between a business and the outside world. The flow is categorised as:

-       flow “in” from Operations (cash the company made by selling goods and services)

-       flow “in” from Financing (cash the company raised by selling stocks and bonds)

-       flow “out” to Investing (cash the company spent investing in its future growth)

Each of these flows can actually flow both ways. It is a measure of a company’s financial activity. Investors like to see that the company can cover its spending with cash from operations, without having to turn to financing.

The cash flow statement also has to reconcile the net effect of these flows with the difference in its cash holdings at the beginning and end dates of the reporting period.

3. Earnings per Share (EPS)

Total earnings divided by the number of outstanding common shares. Great companies have earnings that are growing quarter by quarter, year on year.

However if the number of shares have increased markedly or there has been a merger, the earnings per share can be diluted. Therefore, earnings per share are more important to the investor than total earnings.

4. Dividends

Dividends are distributions of money, stock, or other property a corporation pays you because you own stock in that corporation. Most are paid in cash, but you can also be paid in shares.

Basically dividends constitute the element of profit the company does not reinvest back into itself.  Shareholders will pay income tax with respect to their dividend income.

These four measures aren’t the full story, however. A company might look great, but it might be very expensive. The next step in stock analysis is to understand how much you are paying for the company.

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One common way to classify stocks is to make an assessment as to whether they are “cyclical” or “defensive”.

These two terms represent, as you can probably guess, two types of industry or stock that are at stark odds with the other.

Let’s take a deeper look at what these terms mean, and how they interplay with the stock market.

The terms cyclical and defensive are used to show how closely correlated a company’s share price, or a sector’s performance, is to fluctuations in the economy.

Cyclical stocks are those whose fortunes are tied to the strength of the economy. They perform well when the economy is strong, and will decline when the economy is performing badly.

In other words, cyclical stocks perform according to the big picture, where as defensive stocks generally perform solely on their own merits.

In general, defensive stocks tend to offer more steady products and services. Business doesn’t necessarily boom when the economy is strong, but also doesn’t suffer too badly when the economy is struggling.

Defensive stocks are non-cyclical because they experience solid profits regardless of the motions of the broader economy.

Defensive stocks, as we noted above, are not considered to be tied to the market. However, their fortunes are still party tied to how the broader economy is going.

Defensive stocks are seen as safer, and should perform better in a bear market. Even if they don’t manage to go up during a bear market, they shouldn’t fall by as much as cyclical stocks in bad times.

Because defensive stocks and cyclical stocks are polar opposites, when cyclical stocks are doing poorly, defensive stocks tend to do well.

An example of defensive stocks to choose in a bear market would include those that are in the healthcare industry, namely CSL Limited which is a biopharmaceutical company.

Additionally, other sectors that are generally considered most defensive in a bear market are officially known as the consumer staples and the utilities.

Generally, some experts believe defensive sectors include industries such as drugs, healthcare, information technology and food on a wider spectrum.

Defensive stocks are defensive in nature because the demand for them tends to be strong no matter how the general economy is performing. This is because defensive stocks produce items considered necessities, and product demand should continue regardless of the big picture.

For instance, people will always need electricity in their homes, so utilities companies tend to perform steadily over time; it’s not like you will buy twice as much electricity when times are good!

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There are two ways to make money out of shares. The most obvious is when you sell a stock for more than you buy it for. That’s called capital gains, and that garners most people’s attention. This usually occurs when the Australian stock market is in a bull market.

The other way of making money is less glamorous, but just as important. When you own shares in a company, you literally own a small slice of the company. Typically, when a company makes a profit, it distributes the money to its owners. You, as a shareholder, are one of the owners (admittedly usually a small one) and this money is called a ‘dividend’. This is an important point to consider when buying shares.

Now almost all of you will know what a dividend is, but not everyone knows about the dividend yield. The dividend yield is simply the total dividends for the year expressed as a percentage of the share price.

Dividend yield = annual dividends (in cents) / share price (in cents)

For example if you put $1000 into the bank, and you receive $60 in interest for the year, then the return or ‘yield’ is 6% ($60/$1000). The same goes for dividends. If you invest $10,000 in a share, and you receive $300 of dividends, that’s equal to a yield of 3%.

One of the high dividend stock picks were Macquarie Infrastructure (MIG) and Tabcorp (TAH) with a dividend yield of 16.81% and 9.23% respectively. Usually, Blue Chip Stocks provide a fairly high dividend yield.

A company can pay virtually whatever dividend it wants, from nothing up to a maximum of around 10%. Most companies pay between 2% and 5% and the average across the entire market is currently around 3.7%.

For example in the Australian Stock Market, Amcor (AMC) is a fairly high yield stock which had a dividend yield of 5.8%. It went ex-dividend on 2 March 2010 which does not entitle a new investor to the dividend declared if they purchased the share on the ex-dividend date.

Broadly, companies fall into two categories – growth and income. Growth stocks are companies that are expanding and don’t pay out much of their profits in dividends, because they need the money to grow. Mining stocks often pay out little in dividends.

Income stocks are more stable companies that pay out regular and predictable dividends. Banking stocks and property trusts generally pay a high dividend yield of around 5% or higher.

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When asking yourself the question, “What shares should I buy now?” it’s important to do some research on companies that have caught your eye.

When you’re looking at what shares to buy, you’re examining the company, its sector and its place in the overall market, if you’re doing your job correctly.

A major part of fundamental analysis is researching a company you want to buy shares in. As the name suggests, this form of analysis is the way to get to the “fundamental” heart of a company and analyse its worth. If you’re looking at what shares to buy, what better way to go about it than to analyse your preferred companies? This is what fundamental analysis really is – analysing the financial data that is “fundamental” to a company – its earnings, its profits, its dividends.

Fundamental analysis can help you identify some bargain stocks out there that have been caught up in the market maelstrom – and sold off well past their value simply because of the negative market sentiment. Of course, when you’re researching what shares to buy, technical analysis is equally important – looking over the company’s chart, and identifying trends.

The best way to “suss out” what shares to buy is to combine fundamental and technical analysis to give yourself some perspective on a company. This is also the best way to build an individual strategy to trading and investing, using whatever approach is personally suitable.

Also remember when you’re asking yourself what shares to buy now, look at the company’s role in its industry and the greater perspective. You might want to buy shares in a company that looks strong with a good balance sheet and decent fundamentals – but the industry may be facing toughness, and this could weigh on the company.

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Buying and selling shares in the stock market isn’t the same thing as buying or selling at a physical market, say like a food shop or market stall.

The Aussie sharemarket doesn’t have a physical trading location, such as a trading floor, like you see in films about Wall Street. You instead buy and sell shares using a computerised trading system which links stockbroking firms around the country.

Of course, before we start to invest, we need to know how to buy shares.

First, you need a stockbroker to do so for you, and there are more than 90 stockbroking firms across Australia – some offer financial advice, and are called full service brokers. To set up an account with a broker, you’ll need a minimum amount of money to put into your account, pay a brokerage fee, be over 18 years of age and of course fill out all the paperwork. When you buy or sell shares, your orders are entered into the computerised system at your stockbroking firm. The system finds a seller in the market that is willing to trade shares for the price you want to buy them. This is how we buy and sell shares – by finding other buyers and sellers waiting to ‘match’ your order.

Now that you know how to buy and sell shares, you then need to know how to pay for them! Payment is made within three days of the broker executing your order, and if you have sold shares you need to provide access to the shares so they can be given to the new owner. The money will come out of an account with your broker or through a linked bank account.

When you buy shares in a company, you are both financially and personally invested in that company for as long as you stay in the trade.

After you sell your shares, you’ll still be affected by your former stake – by being either poorer or (ideally) richer.

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