Shares

I often ask myself the question - which shares are being traded the most in the ASX sharemarket? Sometimes I use the local teletext services that you can access on your TV box for this information - if you point it to page 200 you'll get the financial index. The shares with the most traded shares with the highest trade volumes (not necessarily highest net worth) that day reveal the level of liquidity of the stock as well as the most actively traded stocks. The significance of this is simply that as a trader you should be aware of what the neighbours are doing but this doesn't mean you should join in with the crowd - Just to be aware of what the market is and perhaps recognise the activity as a result of some news or market information.

The Australian Stock Exchange is considering plans to sponsor stockbroker research of small companies in an attempt to boost liquidity and compete more effectively with foreign exchanges.

The ASX has discussed a proposal with stockmarket participants under which the exchange would facilitate payments to analysts in order to produce "independent" research of smaller stocks that are not widely covered.

The Australian stockmarket is one of the most highly concentrated in the world; the biggest five stocks are responsible for more than 80 per cent of turnover.

General Investors - with 'set and forget' rules should consider the next seven investing rules for their own trading plan.

#1 The trend is your friend.
Always follow the trend. Going against it is gambling.

#2 A mate with a hot tip is not your friend.
Hot tips are risky - better if you follow it up with your own research.

#3 Don't buy or sell in one hit, use cost averaging.
This technique can lower the effective cost of the underlying share you are purchasing.

#4 It's time in, not timing, that counts.
Statistics show that time in market pays very well.