Watchlist Question.

A personal watchlist is something you should be putting together yourself rather than something you searched for from other people.

It is basically of basket of stocks that you are familiar with (or plan to be familiar with) that you can buy, add or remove from your portfolio as needed.

For example, you know AAPL right? Well, the iphone 5 will be coming this year, so put it on the list.

Pfizer you know, XOM, CAT, how about some banks like BAC and JPM.

The SPY for the S&P, QQQ for the Nasdaq, XLF for financials, IYT for transports, IWM for small caps, XLE for energy, GLD for gold, you should have your finger on the pulse on all of these and more. This will give you a feel for what is happening in the markets on any given day.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shareholder 

I've done a search and didn't really come up with anything other than peoples personal watchlists that are outdated. My question is when creating a watchlist is there a number I should stay within. I know that having the entire S&P 500 on my watchlist would be a bit excessive and I know theres no magical number but whats a good amount to start with? I'm pretty new so take that into account as well. Also, is it good to stay only in one industry such as the financial, retail, banking ect.? Or is it better to have a spread across a couple of them? I'm sure I'll have more questions later, but thank you for your replies in advance.

Twenty seems reasonable to start out with.  I'm talking about a true watch list that isn't in name only.  What I mean by that is you can have multiple watchlists that may serve different purposes, but if you only look at them on occasion, then even though it's technically listed under the heading of a watch list, it isn't something you'll likely review on a frequent basis.  I have a watchlist with stocks that I review on a daily basis, and there so happens to be twenty-two in it; I add to it and subtract from it somewhat regularly, but coincidentally, that's what's in it right now.  That's not to say I review only those, nor does it mean that I don't have multiple watchlists that I review infrequently, but it's those (in that primary list) that a day doesn't go by that I don't keep a close eye on.  I think it might be a good idea not to have so many that you can't or won't take the time to review, so yes, having the entire S&P on your watchlist might just be more than a tad bit much.  Also, you may have much more time on your hands; thus, you could afford to make the commitment to review even more, and the underlying point of saying that is so you should feel free to tailor your primary watchlist to hold an ideal amount that is commensurate not only with your time constraints but your willingness to watch them.  More than likely as you begin to become more and more familiar with the diffferent securities that interest you, you'll create multiple lists, and that's fine, but unless you're watching the market throughout the day, I'd say keep your primary watchlist small enough to comfortably handle--to start out with. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by StockJock-e 

A personal watchlist is something you should be putting together yourself rather than something you searched for from other people.

 

It is basically of basket of stocks that you are familiar with (or plan to be familiar with) that you can buy, add or remove from your portfolio as needed.

 

For example, you know AAPL right? Well, the iphone 5 will be coming this year, so put it on the list.

 

Pfizer you know, XOM, CAT, how about some banks like BAC and JPM.

 

The SPY for the S&P, QQQ for the Nasdaq, XLF for financials, IYT for transports, IWM for small caps, XLE for energy, GLD for gold, you should have your finger on the pulse on all of these and more. This will give you a feel for what is happening in the markets on any given day.

I agree. He's buying and selling so he better know his product and I wouldn't have a clue as to what his comfort level is so it would be impossible to tell him how many to list. It's different for everyone.

There are also several different factors to consider such as what type of trading (futures, options, stocks), frequency, cost, and the list goes on.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shareholder 

I'm not looking for someone to throw a list at me to follow, just pointers on how I can to set up a good watchlist for myself. Thanks again!

This may come across as a bit vague, but I hope it’s specific enough to at least give you an idea of how some people may create watch lists.  You could scan for stocks that meet your setup.  Then, put those stocks in your watch list.  Not every setup triggers, so some setups will trigger, and some will not, but if they’re in your watch list, and if you’re watching them, then you’ll know which one’s are and which one’s aren’t.  If you find one that triggers and thus meets your technical requirements for a trade, then you can determine if it’s financially feasible to take the trade, and if it is, you might decide to take the risk and buy.

During your scan, you might find that you’re getting too many results.  If so, you could adjust your settings.  If you’re not getting enough, and if (by chance) you’re not inclined to adjust your settings, then you’ll simply not have many stocks that you’ll be watching very closely, since you might find no need in watching a stock that's not going to trigger; after all, a stock that doesn't meet your setup won't trigger.

I don’t know if this adds to the confusion or not, but for what it’s worth, here it is.

You will need to check with optionhouse if are having trouble getting a ticker symbol. They may vary from platform to platform, for example INDU is the Dow Jones on my one system, but its DJIA on the other.

Hi Shareholder,

I wanted to get back to you and offer a little clarity on your situation. Currently, we do not offer an outright Dow Jones Utilities or Transportation Index quote on the platform because these indices do not have any tradeable securities products. We do have other products such as the DJX that tracks the Dow at 1/100 of the Index’s price and has options that trade on the underlying Index.

With regards to TRAN we happen to receive a quote for this index, however similar to above, it does not have any securities products that trade.

Our charts provided come from a third party. We will contact them to find out if they can provide TRAN in their charting for reference purposes.

If you have any other questions, let us know and we will get back to you. Or call customer service at 1-877-653-2500.