Mary's Story

Prior to subscribing to Stockopedia I used multiple sources to find out information about companies. Often my first port of call would be a conversation with my Stockbroker, who I have know for many years. I also subscribed to investing magazines, read business sections of various newspapers and I also used free data websites. I also attended a seminar by the Naked Trader (Robbie Burns) having read his book.

Yes, it has speeded up my research by allowing me to abandon stocks at an early stage if the StockRanks are a sea of red. This allows more time to be spent on researching the more promising propositions. Subscribing to the US and European sections of Stockopedia has given me easier access to information on overseas stocks that I would otherwise be unaware of and the results are displayed in a consistent manner.

This has impacted my investment results in a good way by helping me to avoid much more suspect propositions. Also it has expanded my investment pool to uncover some interesting overseas stocks. In fact one of my best performing stocks last year I only came across because I was looking at European stocks with a high stock rank. I can also see when stocks that had started off with high StockRanks start to deteriorate and thus perhaps presenting a good time to take profits - or at least review the investment thesis. I also print off the StockReport when I first purchase a stock for my records as part of my investment diary. This is often useful when I am considering selling as I can compare the performance at the time of purchase with now.

Using Stockopedia has improved my results and my investment behaviour, allowing me to sell poor performers sooner and running with my winners. There are also lots of words of wisdom from Paul Scott, Jack Brumby and the investment communit. The Small Cap Value Report which I read every day is an invaluable addition to my investment arsenal. Ed’s ‘Profit Warnings Survival Guide’ video is a must watch and has saved me a lot of stress and worry, as I now tend to get out of a stock at the first profit warning. I am financially better off than I perhaps would have been without Stockopedia. I am also able to make better use of my time when it comes to investing.

I've improved my results significantly and reduced the time required to select shares to buy and sell.

Start off with a ‘dummy portfolio’ of stocks that you think you might be interested in and make a note as to why and how the stock has come to your attention - use the notes section on the StockReport. It would be a good idea to pretend that you have bought say £1,000 worth of each stock so you can see how it performs over a period of time and if your selection process is working.

Read the recent trading updates and RNS statements as often as possible, available under the news tab. Look to see if there is any mention of the stocks via the discussion tab, which is likely for small caps thanks to the Small Cap Value Report (SCVR). Visit the company websites - the link is shown in the StockReport.

Read as many SCVRs and comment threads as possible - they will give you great insights.

Look out for profit warnings and consider selling any shares that are performing badly and getting rid of them sooner rather than later. From experience, I wasted much more time and effort watching my disasters going further downhill than I did watching my shares that were doing well, thus missing possible top-up moments and consequent rewards.

Diversify. Do not focus on just one or two shares or even on one or two sectors, but spread your risk.

Drip-feeding into a portfolio is often a better idea than going all in with one large lump sum, as timing the market is always tricky.

Consider buying Investment Trusts or ETFs when starting out, you can often monitor the top ten holdings of these vehicles whilst you decide if you want to become more focused. Trusts and funds can also be a good way to get exposure to Emerging Markets where getting information on individual shares can be difficult.

Don’t be tempted to trade too much, costs and spread can quickly eat into profits.