Company Investment: Stock Picker and Blue Chip Stocks

With company stock investments, direct stock plans operate differently than buying stock through a broker. There is no commission charged for these stock plans, but there can be a small fee. The other difference is that the company buys and sells the stock at a given time. The investor cannot sell or trade stocks at will. The investor may turn the stocks over to a broker to sell, but the broker cannot charge a commission. You may be charged a fee by the company. It depends on your agreement.

The advantage to contacting the individual company yourself is that it allows you to use your preferences and then do a small amount of leg work. The company representative will give you the necessary forms and provide you with individual advice on how to set up pay roll deduction. In turn you can contact your banking institution, employer human resources or bill payer and set up the account.

You have to have an investor’s personality in order to have a lifetime of success in the stock market. If you have it, it works. If you don’t, try another type of investment.

Using your cupboard as a stock picker

You as the consumer may have a grocery store that over the years you may find carried all the products mentioned above. The convenience of a grocery store that carries all of your favorite items save you time and money in traveling around. The success of Wal-Mart, Target and other big box stores is the convenience of one stop shopping. The prices for brand names in the big box stores are good. Other personal favorites in shopping venues may include Safeway, Albertson’s and Kroger. All of these companies are listed on the stock exchange.

A cautionary note is that even the best company may have a down year. The reasons could be management changes, and other economic pressures. The product is still good, but the internal structure of the company needs a quick fix. In these circumstances make a decision whether you want to weather the storm or wait until the company gets its act together. Sometimes the stormy days of a company can be a buying opportunity.

The blue chip stocks

In times of uncertainty and for long term investors the Blue Chip stocks are a part of every portfolio either in direct stock purchases or through mutual funds. The Blue Chip stock is a large cap company and has decades and even a century of presence on the stock market. Some Blue Stock stocks are relatively new players like Home Depot or the result of a merger & acquisition. If you look around your house and around your town the brand products you use or have come to rely on are Blue Chip stocks.

The investor can pick and choose a Blue Chip stock and buy it through a stock broker or on-line with a trading company like Scotttrade or E*Trade. This gives you access to the companies performance on the short term and charts going back at least 10 years. The investor can access the company’s financial reports and quarterly earnings on-line. The investor can ask the company to send you a company prospectus.

The variety of ways to invest in Blue Chip stocks is endless, spiders, index funds, and hybrids in between. There are option contracts and some tricky investments that only a really savvy trader can advise you about.