MUTUAL OF OMAHA SWIMMING GRANTS

Finally, I will repeat my earlier advice - never invest anything that you can't afford to lose. Penny Stocks are a gamble, and if you don't have the constitution for risking the purchase price, don't start with online trading of any kind. Sit back and have a good think about what you are planning to do and what you hope to achieve through your investments. If you are thinking of day trading you will need to be in a position to monitor your stocks throughout the trading day - if you are not going to be able to do this, you will not be able to sell when the need arises - i.e if the price should spike briefly.

If you want to start trading penny stocks online, read up on the subject carefully and learn as much as you can. There are plenty of helpful websites such as AllPennyStocks.com where you can begin to learn and I have also included some useful resources below for those wanting to learn more. Never let anyone tell you that it's as easy as falling off a log though - if it was, we's all be millionaires by now!

Since writing about trading penny stocks online over at my blog, I received several emails about the subject and it seems to have generated a good deal of interest.

People have been trading stocks online since the very early days of the internet, and nowadays it is a simple matter for anyone who decides they want to get involved to start online trading.

However, there are several things you should be aware of before deciding to start trading stocks, not least of which is that it is a gamble, and this applies regardless of your knowledge or experience. You need to have some money to invest and it should be money that you can affors to lose. Bear in mind the worst case scenario - i.e. that you could get it horribly wrong and your investment could disappear overnight. Fair warning if you don't want to read any more.

• Much has been written about trading stock online, in particular penny stocks, and by far more qualified people than me.
• If the idea of an exciting risky investment strategy appeals to you, trading penny stocks could be the adrenalin fix you are seeking. It's pretty simple to get started, but success or failure are equally possible results.
• Firstly, penny stocks are usually defined as stocks trading at below $5 a share. Some people consider this arbitrary amount differently and would say that $2 would be a better yardstick, but, whatever the definition, these are shares usually traded outside of the major exchanges. They are often volatile and unpredictable and their performance is very difficult to monitor or foresee.

It is fair to say that stock trading at a few cents a share is the most risky investment anyone could make - many experts would say foolhardy in the extreme. The temptation to buy thousands of shares for a few cents is one that often results in many people getting their fingers burned. What you have to remember is that there is a reason the stock is so cheap - it really isn't worth much and the likelihood of making a killing on such shares is far from the foregone conclusion that some people will try to convince you it is. Establishing the likely performance of these stocks is usually virtually impossible as often there is very little information available on the companies to do any kind of meaningful analysis.

• Don't be lured into buying stocks just because a newsletter or email tells you it is a sure thing. There are plenty of sharks out there who will engange in the practice known as "pump and dump", whereby they will attempt to generate unsubstatiated hype about a particular stock in the hope that there will be a rush to buy, enabling them to sell on their worthless holdings to unsuspecting hopefuls. You really must excercise caution and do your own "due diligence" - if you don't, you will soon end up regretting impulsive penny stock purchases.
• Trading stock online is not difficult, and once you have a basic understanding of how it works and decide to give it a try, you will need an account with an online stockbroker.