Another story that caught my eye whilst away.............pros selling to retail. I think SMH covered this with CPH. It also brings up the subject of 'insiders' promoting stocks on social media. Look, it's very difficult to know if it is an 'insider' or just an enthusiatic holder posting on social media. But, over time, you can learn to pick them as they all have one thing in common.....that is, to offload stock at the best price. So, to pick them, think of them as salesmen and what salesmen would do to convince you to buy.
These are some common traits of company supporters that may indicate that they may not be as independent as may seem. I found these to be helpful in allowing me to stay alert:-
1) thinking of a salesperson the first thing that comes to mind is presentation. Sales folk are normally dressed in good quality clothes to create an impression of trust. So, it is no different to social posters. Like our well dressed salesman they tend to write with good grammer, few or no spelling mistakes and good prose. Like our salesmen that like to maintain an image so they seldom resort to Aussie slang or colloquiasims. They present well.
2) They generally avoid arguements with other posters. They have a higher motive and arguing with others serves no purpose.
3) They tend to answer questions put to them in a courteous manner...........a highly unusual trait for most posters. It's a give-away.
4) They tend to only post on a few companies and avoid other threads. They have purpose, so talking politics or general chat is nothing but a diversion to their goals.
5) They generally are very knowledgable on their topic and for an observant person they raise the 'feeling' of "Why is this stranger giving me so much infomation for free?"
6) they tend to just post on a particular company during the price appreciation and distrubution stages of the price cycle................leaving the conversation as the price collapses.
7) They are always supportive of a positive post and try to add to it, along with a general goodwill feeling to their posts.
These are just a few of the traits that help me to stay alert in reading social media. It's not conclusive and only acts as a warning, but I think if you come across a poster displayin g at least 3 or 4 of these traits it may pay to be extra vigilant.
(20min delay)