3 Reasons to Love "EER" Investing - Weekend Wisdom

I wasn't always a good investor. Over the past 30 years I've made just about every mistake imaginable.

• Jumped in at the peak
  
• Jumped out too late
  
• Bought falling knives
  
• Doubled down on losers
  
• You name it, I probably did it.

By the time I joined up with Zacks Investment Research in August 1999, I had eradicated most of those bad habits. But as Len Zacks and his brother Ben pointed out…I had a lot to learn.

What they taught me is that, indeed, earnings estimate revisions (EER) are the most powerful force impacting stock prices. And nothing captures that power more than the Zacks Rank rating system as proven by its +28% per year annual return.

The timing of this profound investment message could not have been better for me. As the stock market bubble popped in 2000, I started to apply this new investing approach. So even though the market tumbled that year, I actually gained +16% in my personal account.

Was I hooked? Heck yes!!!

Each year since my knowledge and passion for this approach has grown. And there is nothing I like more than to share the wisdom of this investing strategy with others. My goal today is to spread some of that wisdom on to you, so you can also enjoy great investment success in the years to come. I'm going to do that by listing…

The 3 Top Reasons to Love Earnings Estimate Revisions

1. The Most Fundamentally Sound Metric: There are so many different websites, magazines, books, TV stations, etc. dedicated to investments. The amount of information overload is so unbearable that most investors walk away horribly confused about what is truly important to achieve success. So let me simplify the matter for you so you can push away all that noise and nonsense in the future.

   At the end of the day, all stock price movements can be traced back to earnings.

   Read that line again so it really sinks in. The reason it's true is from the basic fact that when you buy shares in a company, you are actually buying a percentage ownership stake in that firm. And if you are the owner of a company, big or small, then the single most important metric to gauge success is how much earnings are generated.

   If profits go higher than expected, the share price will rise. Conversely if profits go lower than expected, the share price will come down as well. The stock market has always worked on this premise and it always will. And nothing captures the essence of this notion more than earnings estimate revisions.

2. Applies to Every Type of Investor: Because all stock price movements can be traced back to earnings means that it should be at the heart of every investment decision. But that is not the same as saying that earnings are the ONLY thing to consider when selecting a stock. That is just the starting point. From there each investor can layer on other concepts such as value, growth, charts etc. to find the stocks that fit their unique approach.

   My favorite analogy for this is to say that earnings are to stock investing as flour is to baking. That's because nearly 100% of baked goods include flour in the recipe. What makes each item unique and delicious is what you add into it (sugar, flavorings, nuts, fruit, butter etc). Each way works out well, but each starts with flour to make it all come together. So you can apply other factors on top of earnings and estimates to make it suit your unique investment tastes as well.

3. It WORKS!: When you put the philosophy and analogies aside, earnings estimate revisions simply work. This is clearly proven by the market crushing +28% average annual returns of the Zacks Rank since 1988. Through up and down markets it has provided extraordinary, life changing results for investors. I can certainly testify that is true for me. So I know it can do the same for you too.

What to Do Next?

Over the years millions of investors have come to Zacks.com and discovered the power of earnings estimate revisions. Most have tried to use the information for free on our site or others like Yahoo Finance.

But there's a more effective way to take advantage of the Zacks Rank. We've set up several private trading services that provide a handful of stocks to serve a variety of investment styles. For example, Momentum Trader, Chart Patterns Trader, Value Trader, Small Caps Trader, Options Trader and more.

Which of them fits you best? This week we launched a pilot program to help you find out. It's dubbed "The Great Zacks Stock Revelation" and you can enter it until midnight Saturday, August 7. Then, for 30 days, you'll receive all the picks from all our trading services.

Here's the most exciting part: These are the best stocks from our most restricted strategies. Even through the churns and burns of 2010, the services have already turned up 59 double-digit gainers. There's a bold and highly unusual guarantee, and you're not obligated to join any of the services.

If you don't currently share my belief in earnings estimate revisions, you may be convinced within the next 30 days.

Get details about this pilot program now.

Best,

Steve Reitmeister

Steve is the Executive VP in charge of Zacks.com and all of its subscription services. His personal mission is to help investors achieve life changing investment success by harnessing the power of earnings estimate revisions. Over the years he has developed a full array of services to help investors do just that. Discover all of these services now to find the ones that perfectly fit your investment style. Learn more about this unprecedented opportunity.

 
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