It's Time to Build a List of Trustworthy Stocks

So I propose that the readers of this column -- and anyone else we can hook into the effort -- put together a registry of clean stocks.

There's Strength in Numbers

I'll start the ball rolling and serve as umpire and bookkeeper. And I'll add whatever knowledge I can contribute. But the ultimate list will grow out of the collective efforts of investors on the Internet.

This process isn't guaranteed to catch every bomb before it goes off, but the effort should provide some extra security in a very uncertain investing world.

Here's how it will work. (And I'm open to suggestions to improve on the idea. I won't cast this process into concrete until we've given the mechanism a trial.)

Each month I'll put three candidates for our clean stocks list out in front of you in one of my regular columns. These three names will be the result of my sifting through emails from you during the previous month suggesting stocks for the list.

Once the three names are out there, readers can send me emails arguing for or against each of the stocks. The more readers who comment on a stock, the better chance we have of unearthing important information about the company, both good and bad.

In my monthly column, I'll report on what this collective research effort has uncovered. Stocks that pass this test will join our standing registry of clean stocks. Stocks that got dinged by readers will fall to the wayside, and I'll say why. (Of course, any reader who subsequently finds out anything about a stock already on the list that might lead to its disqualification can open up the discussion on that stock all over again.)

Once we've built up a critical mass of clean stocks in our registry, I'll set up a standing portfolio of stocks in the list, with dates picked and performance since that date. Plus I'll add links back to the original column adding the stock. At the same time, I'll also set up a community on MSN Money to discuss these stocks so everyone can see the exchange of information. Until then, I'll report on the most interesting contributions from readers on the candidate stocks in the updates to my columns.