Reliable Stock Recommendations: A Guide to Finding Trusted Sources

Finding legitimately good stock recommendations online can be difficult. There are so many stock experts out there that it is hard to know whom to believe. Here are the basics of how to find high-quality stock recommendations online. 

Well-Known Sources

When looking for high-quality stock picks, the well-known companies that have been around for many years are usually the way to go. You can check the "Wall Street Journal," Bloomberg, and other places that are well-known for their financial advice. This is not to say that newer sources do not know what they are doing, but you can more confidently rely on those that have stood the test of time. 

Expert Blogs

Many of the experts that you see on television or hear on the radio have their own stock blogs. These blogs can be useful sources of information for those that are looking to buy stocks. When choosing which blogs to frequent, you need to look at the track records of the people who write them. As when you look at investment company websites, you usually want to stick with those that are well-known in the field. Anyone could potentially write a blog and call him- or herself an investment guru. Therefore, you will want to make sure that you are dealing only with the most reputable people. You want people who have proven that they know what they are talking about in the stock market. Look for someone who has a strong history of picking stocks and who is not doing it to sell anything. 

Many of the "experts" that pick stocks do so only as a form of endorsement. They may be paid by the company to pick the stock, or they may be doing it for some other reason. Just make sure that they are genuine and have a good history of picking stocks before you start putting your money into their recommendations.

What to Watch For

You will want to make sure that you watch out for some of the paid stock picking services. One of the problems with these services is that some of them are designed to try to move the market by themselves. 

For example, when you pay a subscription fee for a daily stock pick, the service issuing the stock pick usually holds the stock first. That service sends out a mass email to several thousand traders telling them to buy the stock. Then many investors buy the stock within a short time, and the stock price moves up. The service issuing the picks then makes a nice return from the bump up in price. Therefore, you will want to make sure that you are dealing with a reputable company before you listen to its advice about stock picks.