Insider information
As an investor you probably believe you can outsmart the market. You are sure you can pick the right stocks at the right time. Furthermore, you will sell these stocks at exactly the right time. The execution of your investment strategy gives you a return that exceeds the return of the market, year over year. Even better, you make this return with a lower risk profile than the risk profile of the general market.
Information
Having the right information is very important to become a successful investor. Most information that is released by companies will not shock the market in a dramatic way. But it always pays off to keep an eye on news about a company that you invest in, or would like to invest in.
As an investor you should keep in mind that you will never be able to track the news of all companies. There are simply too much companies and investment possibilities. Spitting through the press releases of all companies will keep you off the street for a long time. And when you can go out again, you will find another pile of press releases.
Create your own portfolio of companies that you like. I like to call this my opportunities-portfolio. Keep track of information that is released about these companies. And if there is information that you think you can benefit from, invest in these companies. This will allow you to keep a close eye on the news, and still are able to get out from time to time.
Timing of information
But information is not the single most important thing that an investor needs. Timing of that information is. When you get information at the time that the market has already reacted on this, you will not be able to benefit from that. The sooner you can get a hand on information of companies in your 'opportunities-portfolio', the sooner you can invest in them. And this means that you can benefit from changes in the stock price for a longer period.