Trading Baskets Part I

Q. What is a basket?

A basket is a group of up to 50 stocks that you can trade, manage and track as one entity.

In another article, I wrote about a rather conservative method of being in the stock market. See: "A Triple Dipper: How to Make 3 Profits on 1 Stock" at http://www.traderaide.com/Selected_Articles/Tripple_Dipper.html.

This time let's talk a little about trading "baskets". The definition above maybe needs to be expanded just a bit. You can trade baskets using longer term buy and hold strategies, a shorter-term swing trading approach or as a day trader. A basket of stocks is nothing more then any group of stocks that someone has grouped together for any of a number of reasons. They may be of the same sector, or they may be made up of a number of stocks in different sectors.

An example of a few baskets could look like what is sited below. To save time and space I'll use the stock symbols only. You can look them up later if you are interested. Let's say you see stem cell research as the thing of the future and wanted to be invested in it. If you don't know which stock is going to fair the best, you may want buy a basket of stocks that is made up of ASTM GERN and STEM. This would be a basket of stem cell stocks. Now let's say you think the Internet stocks look good and, again, you are not sure which ones will do the best. In your Internet basket you may want to pick up some shares of EBAY, YHOO and AMZN. Obviously your basket can contain any number of stocks you want. Many online brokers will actually allow you to set up baskets in your account, and you can put in a sell order all at once on the entire basket or pick and chose which ones you want to sell. I'm not recommending these stocks in any way, shape or form, but merely using them as examples.

Okay, that's pretty basic, but I'm sure you get the picture. The examples above would more or less be the type of baskets you would probably be thinking of holding for some time and not day trading.

Most day traders have an entirely different kind of basket of stocks. A day trader may have any number of stocks in his trading basket that he or she has been become very familiar with. They have studied them and even charted them for intraday movement (I hope) for some time and have learned the trading habits of the individual stocks. They have a fairly good idea of how the stock moves on a daily basis with or without news. They have knowledge of how it reacts to earnings, analyst upgrades, analyst downgrades and other events that may be reoccurring. They have also probably learned how they trade when hit by surprise events as well. They know which market makers to watch the closest. They also know who the main market maker in the stock is, often referred to as the axe.

A day trader's basket may be any number of stocks. A good average could be somewhere between 25-50 stocks. But it may also be larger or smaller. I have known traders that traded one stock all day long and nothing else. I have known others that were able to watch 300 stocks. Personally, I think that is way too many.

When I was trading I had a basket of about 75 stocks. Some I knew were only going to be in play on news or when reporting earnings. Others were fairly reliable moves on a daily basis. And still others were extremely sensitive to any sort of news or event.

Today, if I was going to put together a basket of stocks, I would be looking at the following symbols: GOOG, TASR, TZOO, AIRT, QLGC, SYMC, PLMO, KMRT, EBAY, SINA, RIMM, RMBS, PCLN, and DCLK as well as other NASDAQ stocks. I would not over look New York Stock Exchange stocks, although many do. I would be looking at: MO, PFE, CAT, GE, GM, TYC, MRK, MOT, and others as well. Keep in mind, I am not recommending any of these stocks specifically for you to buy or trade. I am merely trying to give you an example of what a basket may look like. You have to decide yourself what stocks you would add to you your basket based on your own knowledge gained through experience and research on each stock.

I think every trader should have a basket of stocks he or she follows and trades. Day trading without your own basket raises the risk level and puts you in a position where you are always looking for something to trade. On slow days where the market is just not offering up much in the way of trading opportunities, you may have a tendency to jump on stocks, that under different circumstances, you would have passed on. Having your own basket of stocks will lower your exposure to risk. They may not move any better under slow market conditions, but at least you will have some knowledge of how they move. In Part II I will tell you about a special trading basket technique I used during the early boom days of day trading. It may still be a valid concept today.

No permission is needed to reproduce an unedited copy of this article as long the About The Author tag is left in tact and hot links included. We do request that we be informed of where it is posted so reciprocal links can be considered. Email floyd@sbmag.org.

Floyd Snyder has been trading and investing in the stock market for three decades. He was on the forefront of the day trading craze that swept the nation back in the late1990's both as a trader and as the moderator of one of the Internet's largest real time trading rooms. He is the owner of http://www.TraderAide.com , Strictly Business Magazine at http://www.sbmag.org http://www.FrameHouseGallery.com and http://www.EducationResourcesNetwork.com

---

Critical Investors Business Daily Responsibilities - If not Followed Could Cost You Millions!

When thinking about the investors business daily responsibilities in today’s market environment, the best remedy for this situation is for you to get more involved in your... Read More

The Convertible Craze Brightens The Future Of Equities

Convertibles are stealing the show with their safe investment image in today's "protective" market. They seem to be overshadowing the stocks and bonds, and this holds true... Read More

Investing for Retirement - Not an All or Nothing Play

In 1519, Hernando Cortes, beached on the shores of unexplored Mexico, made a fateful decision: he would burn the ships he and his men arrived in and... Read More

When It Comes To Investing, Asking The Right Questions Can Help You Make The Right Decisions

Are you ready to open your pathway to financial independence?Well you should be. The sooner the better. But, how do you get started?There is so much to... Read More

Why You Need To Buy and Sell Gold Coins (Part 5)

Grading coinsThe condition of a coin is commonly summarized by a grade. Because the value of collectible coins often varies dramatically with grade and overly generous grading... Read More

A Gadfly On A Dinosaurs Butt, Or The Hood-winking Of The American Investor

Have you ever noticed how some words in the English language are so perfectly named for what they describe? And how some words seem to be, I... Read More

Finding the Perfect Company

The perfect company - it's the holy grail of the investment world. The company that will make its initial investment hundreds of times over. It's what everyone... Read More

Invisible Mutual Fund Fees Erode Your Returns!

Many investors think that investing in mutual funds is free. What nonsense! Funds collect more than $50 billion a year in fees from investors. That is truly... Read More

Is a SEP Plan Right For Your Business

A SEP is a special type of IRA. Under a SEP plan the employer creates an IRA account for each eligible employee, hence the name SEP-IRA. A... Read More

Trading Expert Discovers Ways To Beat Stock Market Odds With Money Management

The first point to mastering money management is that you have to understand when you're trading on the stock market is that you are playing the odds... Read More

Investing in World Markets

There are many different ways to invest in world markets: stocks, bonds, mutual funds, options, commodities or currencies. Sometimes people refer to these options as investment vehicles... Read More

It Must Be Joe Cockers Market

Agonizing displays of poor theatrics failed to entertain my mind one recent Saturday evening. I scrolled across several television channels hoping for an engaging program. Finally, one... Read More

Seven Investment Terms Everyone Should Know

For those who have never given their financial future a second thought, the term "Financial Planning" could be a scary one. Investments can be a smart way... Read More

Discover the Foundation of Retiring Wealthy - The IRA!

Let me tell you about some legal ways to avoid getting taxed on profits from the stock market. You can make a lot of money now with... Read More

Getting Started Investing is Often the Hardest Part

There are several reasons people give for not investing their money in things like stocks, bonds, and mutual funds. One reason is that they feel that they... Read More

The Truth About Real Estate Investing - Is It Right For You?

You have probably been hearing, seeing and reading that real estate investing is the best thing since sliced bread. There are many late night cable television infomercials... Read More

Retirement Is A Scary Proposition If Youre Without A Plan, And Running Out Of Time

Of the 75 million baby boomers nearing retirement today, many are:* Debt Ridden* Severely unprepared for retirement* Under Funded* Without a StrategyThis is a very serious problem... Read More

Options Education: Financing the Calendar!

As a trader, one of the key things that I try to consciously do is to cultivate my instincts by talking with other traders and investors as... Read More

The Basics of Tax-Free UK Financial Spread Betting

Financial Spread Betting (or Trading) offers a tax free method of speculating on financial markets.Quite simply, if you think a particular index, share, commodity, currency or sector... Read More

Is Offshore Banking for You?

You've probably heard about people who keep their money offshore. Most likely you assume they're all wealthy businessmen; millionaires, who have so much money they somehow 'qualify'... Read More

The Switzerland of Asia Shines

In many respects, Singapore is the Switzerland of Asia.Begun in 1819 as a British trading colony, the Republic of Singapore was founded in 1965 under the leadership... Read More

Why You Need To Buy and Sell Gold Coins (Part 2)

How to Collect Rare Coins For Fun and ProfitTime has proven that collectors tend to make the most money in rare coins because they search out "undervalued... Read More

Well Managed Investing Risks Bring Rewards!

"Risk comes from not knowing what you're doing!" Warren Buffett (1930 - )We often listen to people who hesitate to invest in the stock market because they... Read More

Quit and Retire Three Years Earlier!

For most people, there is a direct correlation between how worried they are about retirement income, and how much they can actually do about it. This is... Read More

The Conflict of Interest Game

Disgruntled investors are going after Wall Street once again, this time accusing one of investment bank Morgan-Stanley's high-tech mutual funds of making biased stock picks.Recent lawsuits allege... Read More

The Difference Between Investing and Trading

Investing and Trading are not the same thing. The returns you seek, the length of time it takes to achieve those returns, the amount of risk one... Read More