The 5 Most Dangerous Places to Get Investing Advice

By Hans Wagner Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Where do you get your stock investing ideas? Inspiration can come from many places, and while some resources make a lot of sense, others are a sure path to financial ruin. Here is my list of the five most dangerous places to get your investing advice.

1) Internet Message Boards
If you're currently turning to an online message board for investing advice, stop right now. The people posting on these web forums are notorious for making over-the-top predictions with little, if any, rationale supporting their claims.

The majority of posts can be broken down into a few categories: baseless claims, bragging, spam, and name-calling.

But the biggest problem with online investing message boards is the rampant manipulation. Some users post comments to purposefully manipulate the trading activity in their favor. For many companies, especially those lightly traded, it might be possible for the right comments to move the stock price in one direction or the other.

There are even cases where executives of companies use the message boards to influence the price of a stock by making inappropriate comments. Papers filed by the FTC revealed that for several years Whole Foods Market (NASDAQ: WFMI) CEO John Mackey posted highly opinionated comments under the pseudonym "Rahodeb" on a Yahoo! Finance message board.

Investors who make buy and sell decisions based on the message boards are playing a dangerous game.

2) Penny Stock Spammers
Right up there with the internet message boards are those annoying emails claiming that some new discovery (still widely unknown to the media) is about to send this $1.00 stock soaring into the stratosphere, quickly making millionaires out of anyone who buys shares.

That'd be fine, except for there's never very much information to substantiate the claim. But these emails are still going around, so someone must be taking the bait.

3) Hot Stock Tips
These aren't quite as bad as the penny stock spam emails, but that's not really saying a lot. These messages, usually filled with exciting language and testimonials from other investors, claim to have some inside information that, once disclosed, will make the stock double in price. According to the "researchers," only a crazy person would turn down such a sure-fire offer.

But the reality is if they did have inside information then someone has broken the law by disclosing it. Yet just like the penny stock spam, these hot tips don't ever seem to stop finding their ways into people's inboxes and mailboxes. While hot stock tips might be interesting, do yourself a favor and carry out the necessary research before making a commitment.

4) The Inexperienced Advisor Making a Commission on Their Sales
Would you take the advice of someone who was just beginning to understand stocks and the stock market? Can a newly minted broker address all of your questions in a thorough and complete manner? I know each broker must start somewhere, just be careful of the newbie who is selling what the firm is pushing.

Any time you rely on a broker's advice (regardless of their experience), remember to ask yourself if their suggestions are really right for your portfolio. This is especially true if the broker receives a commission each time he or she makes a sale. In Little White Lies from Your Broker, Amy Calistri urges investors to be wary whenever a broker is pushing a stock. "...Sometimes, a firm decides that its traders hold too much of a certain stock. And guess who has been told to help get rid of those shares? The broker." [Even the most well-intentioned brokers don't always deliver the straight scoop. Read Little White Lies from Your Broker to find out if your broker is watching your back.]

If you want to use a broker or advisor, be sure their interests align with yours. Many quality advisors do a commendable job. Most of them structure their compensation around your success, whether it is a straight fee or based on performance.

5) Financial News Networks
Don't get me wrong, I like CNBC and Bloomberg. They provide a quality product that includes views from each side of an investing issue. Many of their guests are very successful investors who deserve attention.

The problem arises whenever they recommend a stock -- many investors enter orders immediately. In some cases, you can see the price jump up on the ticker at the bottom of the TV. With millions of viewers, any comment on a stock can move the market.

Just because a noted investment advisor thinks a particular company has potential to appreciate, does not mean it is right for you. The traders buying the stock do not understand the fundamentals nor do they have a good entry or exit strategy.

Jim Cramer's Mad Money show is a good example. Jim features several stocks during his show. In each case, he exhorts his listeners to do their homework and not to buy immediately. Yet you can see the price leap up as many followers try to get in on each stock he commends.

The Bottom Line
Consider where your investing advice comes from. Is it from a reliable source? One with a proven track record of accomplishment? Does it fit with your personal view of the market? If you can answer "yes" to each question, AND you've already done your own homework, pat yourself on the back -- you've managed to navigate through the muddy waters of dangerous investing advice.

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