Sabrient.com

It's been said more than once: The key to successful investing is discipline. All we have to do is find a system and stick to it. Then, and only then, will all riches be ours.

Easier said than done! For those of us whose New Year's resolutions go by the wayside on January 3, what makes us so sure this discipline will be the one that takes us on the path to prosperity? After all, we don't have a great track record regarding discipline: No matter how many times we promise ourselves we'll jog every morning, skip dessert, or follow that promising entry/exit system, we invariably fall into the routine of indulging our desires with the promise that it's "the very last time," including trying out a trade using an unproven method that appeals to our instincts and not any sort of reason. Maybe it's loyalty to a stock that makes us hold it past its time or the irrational excitement of a bull market that induces us to buy unwisely. Whatever the rationale, allowing our emotions to pass up our system can only be for the worse.

What does it come down to? We'll be more likely to stick to our system if it fits our needs and personalities better; the reason we fall off that trading system bandwagon may be that it doesn't really fit either. That's where Sabrient.com comes into play.

FIGURE 1: Sabrient.com helps investors build a customized portfolio by finding a system that matches their investing style and providing the tools for a disciplined approach.

SABRIENT SERVICES

Sabrient (www.sabrient.com) helps investors build a customized portfolio by finding a system that matches their investing style and providing the tools for a disciplined approach. Made up of a group of investors experienced in stock market analysis and backtested technical systems, Sabrient offers three distinct levels of service that correlate to an investor's experience:

Sabrient Select -- The most basic membership, Select provides stock selection reports for all four major investing styles, four entry/exit reports, three portfolio management reports, and access to Sabrient's Quick Tools (more on which later).

Sabrient Advantage -- This membership includes everything from Sabrient Select and also contains an insider trading report, an emerging companies report, and a global trends report.

Sabrient Elite -- This is the whole enchilada. The Elite membership encompasses both Select and Advantage features, plus a baskets report, index trader, and options hedger.

THE BIG FOUR INVESTMENT STYLES

Take the site tour. Once there, you can find out which investing style best fits your personality. Sabrient provides four general investment categories: value, growth, momentum, and chartist. The value investment style is ideal for those who are patient and do not require daily market action. Such investors also have a relatively long time horizon, prefer a low-risk style, and are bargain hunters. The growth investor is similar to the value investor, except the risk tolerance level is slightly higher; these investors will pay more for later gains. Both investor types are unwilling to spend large amounts of time on portfolio management.

Momentum investors are the antithesis of the first two. They are not patient, have a short time horizon, and have high risk/volatility tolerance. They also spend more time managing their portfolios. Finally, chartists believe everything that is known about a stock is reflected in the price. They also believe in the validity of technical charting and use methods of technical analysis.

If your traits are a combination of these, Sabrient also blends investing styles. You could, for example, be an undervalued growth investor or a momentum growth investor. The goal is to find a style that complements your character. If you use a style that is fundamentally at odds with your personality, you will constantly be in conflict with your emotions as you invest. This type of second-guessing and regret is perhaps the most dangerous element of volatility.

WHAT THE PACKAGE INCLUDES

After you select your investing style and level of membership, Sabrient will tailor its reports to suit. In all of the membership packages you get one of the four stock selection reports, and you get the one most germane to your investing style. These reports give daily picks of the top five stocks for each investing style. For instance, you will get the five best momentum stocks with detailed analysis of each stock. Sabrient also provides entry/exit reports for each of these stocks. They generate their signals using the SABRE, SABRE-MACD, and ALPHA systems. SABRE, which was developed by MESA developer John Ehlers, is based on the cycle theory of markets. ALPHA is a trend-reversal indicator for placing stop-lossesÜ and other devices to reduce loss.

Membership services include portfolio management reports as well. These reports contain an asset allocation report to analyze market conditions and recommend hedge strategies, cash/fixed income instruments, and allocation of investment funds. There is also a TrendWatcher that keeps track of monthly performance of your stocks and a sector report that gives a weekly summary of the most favorable sectors and industries. If you have a little more time on your hands, there's always the Quick Tools section. Here, you can customize your portfolio, watch the detachable stockticker, use technical analysis on stock graphs, or read company and industry reports.

While Sabrient's basic coverage gives you substantial information, the higher membership levels are advantageous for experienced investors. For instance, the insider trading report will identify stocks with unusual insider trading activity. Although it is not unusual for insiders to sell stocks (for a child's college education or a mortgage payment, for example), the sell volume can still act as a very accurate indicator.

Insider trading can also be a powerful indicator when looking at the volume of insiders buying stock. Sabrient tracks the movements of those with the greatest understanding of the company's financial status the key insiders. The emerging companies report and global trends report help investors expand the market they want to work with. Watching new companies can provide opportunities for large gains. However, speculation is very high-risk. The global trends report can help you hedge your risk by opening the doors to closed-end country funds (a foreign investment company whose shares trade like a stock; the shares are reinvested for the investors, as opposed to issuing new shares), as well as analyzing global trends.

Sabrient Elite gives a basket report, which evaluates exchange traded funds (ETFs) offered by Merrill Lynch, Barclays, FOLIOfn, and other financial institutions. There is also an index trader that shows timing signals for trading the OEX and other index options. To help balance risk, the options hedger provides assistance for the use of options to hedge potential downturns.

Summary

Sabrient's website is extremely thorough, but beware you'll find a lot of information to dig through. For those still undecided about the service, there is a 14-day free trial offer. Overall, Sabrient provides a lot of useful information and tools. Sabrient also follows another old adage you'll be a more successful investor if your investing is more like you.

Amy Wu

Sabrient Select: $39.95/month, $439.45/year

Sabrient Advantage: $69.95/month, $769.45/year

Sabrient Elite: $99.95/month, $1,099.45/year

Current and past articles from Working Money, The Investors' Magazine, can be found at Working-Money.com.