Lessons From the Trader Wizard

Part 1 What is the Market? What is Trading? 1. Getting your head around capital markets and your place in it What is the market? Stop listening & talking; start reading & thinking, then doing 2. Deciding to self-trade securities, get help, or do a little in between Do you really want to be a professional trader? 3. Choosing your advisor carefully Choosing advice & administration from the sell-side Licensed buy-side portfolio manager Choosing a fee-based financial planner Adopting a published portfolio: A case of the blind leading the blind Market advisory letters: A few things to know 4. The purchase of investment products called mutual funds The case for mutual funds The case against mutual funds Open-end load funds Open-end no-load funds 5. So, Mr. Trader, you decided to take control of your own affairs Building a trading plan Three basic aspects of markets you will have to learn Five mistakes even professional traders make A strategy for the conservativehow to deal with inflation A strategy for the enterprising trader; zero in on corporate management A strategy for the speculative trader; seeking hidden opportunity Part 2 Cara s Approach to Trading Bonds, Bond Funds & Cash 1. What is a bond? How interest is calculated & paid How bonds are rated Differences in bonds How to read bond quotations & figure yields About prices & yields of bonds What you should consider before trading bonds The relative safety of fixed income securities Guidelines for trading the bond market The yield curve 2. Choosing between bonds & bond funds Open-end bond funds Closed-end bond funds Retractable bond funds High-yield bond funds Bond ETFs 3. Money market funds: Cash is an asset class too Putting money to work to preserve capital & beat inflation Part 3 Trading Stocks (Also Called Equities) 1. Macro-economics: where public and private sectors meet Trying to understand economics, the Fed & the market Economic analysis protocols I ve used for over 20 years & still recommend 2. Fundamental (Corporate) Data How to read & analyze corporate financial data How to read a corporate balance sheet How to read the statement of income Quick review of corporate results A proposed set of financial statements 3. Combining Corporate and Market Data for Quantitative Analysis The quant gurus The automated decision system gurus 4. Technical (Market Data Analysis) Technical analysis studies When dealing in price series data, the subject is timing Understanding my approach to technical analysis 5. How equity markets are sliced & diced 6. Countries Trading considerations of foreign stocks Trading considerations for Dow 30 stock watchers Canadian stocks Latin American stocks British and European stocks Asia-Pacific stocks 7. Knowing the playing field A rising tide floats all boats (and vice versa) A study of market interrelationships Fastest moving industries and groups Buying big-cap stocks and ETFs Buying small-cap and mid-cap stocks and ETFs 8. Selecting equity mutual funds The importance of what to buy 9. About growth Search for growth-oriented common stocks Differentiating the valuation of growth from price How stupid can one get? How to relate future earnings and current market prices A growth stock price evaluator Finding growth stocks objectively Seeking growth from well-established companies Finding growth potential in unseasoned companies 10. About Value 11. Growth + Approximate Fair Value = Quality [the Cara 100 concept] 12. The Importance of What to Buy 13. About Timing: The Cara Market Phases Model and Oscillator 14. Preferred, Rights & Warrants 15. Special Situations 16. The How To guidelines on the Mechanics of Buying & Selling Part Four