The Visual Investor: How to Spot Market Trends, Second Edition

APPENDIX A

Getting Started

FIND A GOOD WEB SITE

Now that you’re ready to begin your work as a visual analyst, how exactly do you get started? You’re going to need at least three things. The first is a computer and web browser such as Firefox, Safari, Opera, or Microsoft Internet Explorer. The second is access to the Internet. The third is a good Internet web site that provides all the necessary market data and the visual tools to organize that information and chart it. Prior to the Internet, the visual investor needed a charting software package as well as access to a data source. The data source provided the necessary market data while the software allowed you to chart it. While some investors still use that approach, the Internet has eliminated the need to collect market data from a separate source. A good web site should include the market data that you want to view and chart. This allows you to chart a market by just typing in its symbol. A good site should also provide you with a list of those symbols or a service to convert company names to their appropriate symbol. Just as the introduction of exchange-traded funds revolutionized the way we can move in and out of the various markets, the Internet has revolutionized the way we go about organizing and charting those markets.

USE THE READERS CHOICE AWARDS

Technical Analysis of Stocks & Commodities is the premier magazine in the field of visual analysis (www.traders.com). It’s a great source of articles on that subject, ...