Apprenticed Investor: Six Keys to Stock Selection

So far, Apprenticed Investor has dealt with a lot of theory. We've discussed how emotions lead to bad decision making, and why you should stick to your plan. But I know what you really want: some advice on how to select stocks. That's our goal today.

The idea is not to pick stocks for you, but to help you develop a methodology for selecting stocks -- a set of tools, a checklist of sorts, to help determine whether a given stock is worthy of your attention.

One caveat: We are not addressing whether you should be a buyer of stocks today. Our discussion assumes your asset allocation is appropriate, and that the market is not in a high-risk, low-return territory. I'll address each of those concerns in a future column. ...