Stock market newsletters - Is there any benefit in signing up for a newsletter?

If you are already reading the best financial newspaper then the chances are you will not have a lot to gain from subscribing to a newsletter as well. You want to be using your time wisely. Reading to be fully informed is a vital part of your daily routine but, by subscribing to several newsletters you could easily find yourself overloaded with conflicting opinions and confusing information. This in turn can lead to inaction.

If you do sign up to newsletters then ensure they are in line with your trading strategy. For example, if you are trading growth stocks then don't sign up for a penny stock or futures newsletter as this diversification of information may be a cause of distraction rather than helping you focus on relevant information for your trading decisions.

How do I know if I can trust the information in a newsletter?

If you do decide to subscribe to stock market newsletters ensure they are not based upon personal opinions but rather look for fact derived data. For example, if the articles tend to start..."I advise you take a look at stock XYZ which is set to make a move very soon that you wont want to miss...." this appears more opinion based.

Look instead for explanatory and informative articles along the lines of..." Look at stock XYZ and notice the recent volume support for it's chart action on the 16th March. This may be indicative of accumulation but looking at it's recent profits we can see...." Notice how information is presented rather than opinions stated. That's what you're looking for and can utilize and learn from.

How about the stock recommendations in them - are they trustworthy?

Always take personal responsibility for your investment decisions. If you read of a stock recommendation then by all means take a look but never buy, or sell a stock unless you are personally convinced that it demonstrates good reason for doing so.

Recommendations can occasional give you a candidate for your watch list but often you'll find such stocks are either in the public eye already and likely past a safe buying opportunity or they are simply not up to the high standards which characterize great leaders.