Investors who are looking for the best home for their capital are now increasingly choosing shares as a target for their investments. Because of the rapid development of electronic trading, one of the great things about the stock market these days is that there’s an enormous amount of choice. Retail investors who are interested in buying or selling shares have many options.

Trying to decide which stocks to pick involves many factors: formulating a right trading strategy, deciding the top buys & top sells, as well deciding the timing and when to ‘strike’.

The best way to learn Trading is by experience: everyday successes and setbacks eventually lead to better understanding of financial markets. But you don’t have to travel this road on you own; many others have made this journey before you and have shared their know-how and expertise on the best trading strategies.

It is important, however, to think for yourself. It is your money, after all, and your investments must make sense for your personal risk appetite and goals. If you’re looking to keep your independence, then there are some basic tips to help you find the best shares to trade.

The most important thing to keep in mind when trading the stock market is that there are no permanently “best” or “worst” shares. Attractive buy and sell trading opportunities appear on the market all the time and shares that were a great “buy” yesterday may be an excellent “sell” next week.

Instead of focusing on individual names from the outset, it’s better to first decide on an overarching strategy, risk appetite and time horizon and then pick stocks that fit those criteria. Momentum or bargain? High dividend yield or range trading? Short-term or long-term? After you decided on a strategy and found stocks that fit the bill, check the history of the stock, check the price levels and check the fundamentals, then trade accordingly.

Volume is another important criterion when researching the best shares to buy or sell. Are traders showing sufficient interest in buying or selling these shares?  Is there sufficient liquidity (i.e. supply and demand) for you to enter and exit a trade at the exact price levels that you desire?

Finally, remember the old cliché – know your market. If you are familiar with a market, you’ll be able to invest fairly early on when a stock has the most growth potential. You’ll know the pitfalls that are common to that specific market and you’ll know what stable growth looks like. If you’re less familiar with a market, do your research, manage your risk and exercise caution.