Small-cap stocks, those publicly traded companies with market capitalizations less than $2 billion, can yield significant gains that are impossible to find in larger stocks. They've also proven to be among the most attractive investments after a financial downturn. Unfortunately, information about how to successfully invest in these smaller companies has been hard to find—until now. Author Ian Wyatt is dedicated to helping investors find great companies at bargain prices before Wall Street or Main Street catches on. As the Chief Investment Strategist of SmallCapInvestor.com, he's guided countless individuals in their quest to capture small-cap investing success. Now, with The Small-Cap Investor, Wyatt will help you do the same. Throughout the book, Wyatt clearly outlines his proven investment process and the systems that are involved—detailing eight straightforward steps you need to take to find, research, and analyze small-cap stocks that could put big gains in your portfolio. Page by page, he takes the time to explain the essential criteria involved in picking the right stocks and timing your buy/sell decisions. Topics touched upon include: Identifying growth trends and market sectors positioned for rapid growth in the years to come Secrets for finding undiscovered small caps before they are embraced by the financial media and institutional investors Understanding the fundamentals of a potential investment, including products, services, and management's ability to run the business Along the way, Wyatt not only shows you how to find winners, but also addresses how to avoid losers. This is particularly important for investors who have experienced losses in their portfolios, and are looking to grow their portfolios in the coming years. Many of today's top large-cap companies—from Microsoft to Wal-Mart—all started out small and grew to become dominant forces in their respective industries. Investors who bought these great companies early on profited handsomely. By following Wyatt's guidance, and understanding his strategies for finding winners, you'll have a huge edge over other investors and be in a better position to profit from the exponential growth of the right small-cap companies.

Table of Contents:
Acknowledgments xi INTRODUCTION The Story of a Small-Cap Investor 1 CHAPTER 1 Start Small, Finish Big—Discover Big Profits in Small-Cap Stocks 9 Small-Cap Investor: Eight-Step Process for Big Profits from Small Stocks 10 Small Caps as Generators of Growth 11 An Example of Small-Cap Success 15 Small-Cap Value Stocks Outperform Large-Cap Growth Stocks 19 Profitable Small Caps Don’t Always Make Gains on Day One 19 The Inefficient Market Theory: The Small-Cap Advantage 24 The Market as an Emotional Being 25 CHAPTER 2 Big Ideas for Big Profits 29 Spotting the Next Big Idea 30 Expanding Your Search 36 The Competitive Edge 37 Spotting Institutional Activity 38 CHAPTER 3 Finding Great Small-Cap Stocks 43 Growth + Value = Profits 43 Success Stories from the Past 50 IPOs Are the Genesis of Small Caps 53 Spotting Growth Sector Trends 55 News You Can Use 59 You’ve Found an Interesting Trend or Company—Now What? 60 CHAPTER 4 Understanding and Evaluating Financial Statements 65 Generally Accepted Accounting Principles and the Basics of Accrual Accounting 67 Financial Statements Made Simple 69 Ten Key Metrics to Review in Every Financial Statement 72 What Exactly Are Earnings? 76 A Quality Test: Cash Flow Instead of Earnings 83 Ten Accounting Red Flags 86 CHAPTER 5 Financial Projections and Valuations 91 Understanding Financial Guidance 92 A Reality Check 93 Guidance Caveats 96 Interpreting Analyst Estimates 97 Companies Play the Earnings Game 98 Financial Trends for Spotting Promising Small Caps 99 CHAPTER 6 Taking the Mystery Out of Technical Analysis and Trading for Quick Profits 103 Some Technical Basics 105 Accumulation and Distribution 118 The Relative Price of a Stock 120 CHAPTER 7 Trading Strategies for Successfully Buying and Selling Small-Cap Stocks 123 Liquidity Considerations with Small-Cap Investing 124 Risk Tolerance 127 Risk Awareness, an Essential Attribute 130 Timing Decisions 133 Trading Techniques 136 CHAPTER 8 Portfolio Diversification and Allocation 139 Equity Diversification Methods 140 Diversification Mistakes 141 Overdiversification 142 Using Mutual Funds and ETFs to Diversify 143 Risk Tolerance as a Means for Diversifying Your Portfolio 147 Asset Allocation Basics 148 CHAPTER 9 Buy Small Caps to Grow Your Portfolio 151 A Track Record of Small-Cap Success 152 The Key Drivers to Growth 153 Early Bird Gets the Worm 154 Appendix 159 Notes 163 About the Author 165 Index 167