For Thursday, May 6, 1999 Drummer Column, Gibbs, 715 words

SimReality

I overheard two of my journalism students talking the other day. One said, "Did you read Mr. Gibbs's column last Thursday?"

And the other girl, a regular reader by her own confession, said, "Naw. I saw it was about the stock market and I threw it down."

Well. Gee. I guess the stock market is for old people. Why would young people want to invest time and money in the stock market? They don't have any money; time isn't even money. If they did scrape together a hundred bucks to invest, what impact could that possibly have on the stock market? What good is a measly $100?

A $100 of AT&T back in the late 80s would be worth approximately $22,000 today;

$100 in Bethlehem Steel back in 1970 would today be worth a whopping $80. Hmm. Maybe the kid has a point.

As I've said a few times over the years, I'm temporarily insane. So let's all go down the path less traveled and listen to the rantings of a man obsessed. Let me share with you how I've been indulging my time and what I've discovered.

First, let me make it clear that I'm not obsessed with growing rich. I am fascinated with the complexity of the market. It's like a mystery novel without an ending. Empires rise and fall. I meet visionaries and villains, billionaires and bumbling fools. I learn about extraordinary new technologies still in development.

The stock market does not require a crystal ball. It is a crystal ball. By studying it, one can see further into the future. For me it's like a great big fully realized synthesis of all my favorite games -- Monopoly, SimCity, Mousetrap, Sorry. It's like eternal Keno, but with better odds -- the game never ends, and you get to check your numbers every day.

Here's how I research. I sit at my computer and turn on five sessions of Internet Explorer. I link them to the following sites: www.schwab.com www.fool.com www.stockmaster.com www.hoovers.com www.ragingbull.com . At fool and bull I'm on bulletin boards for stocks I own. I listen to the other investors critique their investments. I ask questions. They bring in and share exclusive research gleaned from expensive fee-based newspapers and magazines. I follow leads. I lurk in other boards.

When I hear of a promising stock, I go to stockmaster to track its performance and read the recent news. I also use the trackers at Yahoo and MSN. Yahoo shows hourly activity, and Micorsoft's chart is so sophisticated that it requires one to download a plug-in.

Hoovers.com is my next stop. Hoovers offers up a summary of what each company does, a link to its web site, and a list of competing companies. From here I can research all the leading companies in any specific industry.

Next stop is a visit to the company web sites. I check out products, mission statements, quarterly reports, and ask for Investor's Packets.

A critical next stop is schwab.com. As a member, I get log-in privileges to a magnificent site known as the Analyst Center. Here I can request a complete Report Card on any company. The report gives all the critical numbers and ratings. I print these out and organize them in binders by industry.

Then I go back to fool.com where I have set up a dozen different portfolios, each one listing the leading stocks of a given industry. I add my latest curiosities to the growing lists. Then I buy pretend shares on-line, sit back, and watch the daily ebb and flow. When I am finally sold on a stock, I go to schwab.com and place a buy order for a $29.95 fee. I know cheaper fees exist, but I like Schwab's privileged web site. The information there could save me plenty down the road.

I have also collected about 40 other good web sites for doing research on stocks, mutual funds, and such. I will tonight post them on the Internet and link them to my portal at home.inreach.com/gibbo/port.html in case you are curious.

And now I must go. This is the longest I've been at my computer and not been researching stocks in a week. I have to read my boards. This week I'm studying a booming buy industry -- lasers. Wow.