Stock picking is in many ways similar to choosing a spouse. If you have a lot of money, your options are countless. If you have no money, then you don't have to bother and everyone will understand your position. For many people, their money situation lies somewhere in between the two extremes.

In this article I will assume you are a first time investor with very little investment knowledge but with a big desire to succeed and a lot of hope and confidence

Inorder to pick the most suitable stock, you only need to follow 3 simple steps.

Step 1 - LIST. Make a list of prospective stocks by listing 10 companies that you know to be successful and which you believe have a promising future.

How? Examine your lifestyle and look at the products and services that you pay for repeatedly. This means that you like the products and you believe in the companies that make them. For example if you regularly eat the big Mac, you shave with Gillette blades and drink Coca Cola, then put McDonalds, Gillette and Coca Cola on the list. You do not have to go with these obvious examples. Examine your expenses and you will see many more public companies that you spend your money on.

Why? Investing is about taking a step of faith. You are more likely to take my advice if you generate a list of companies that you are familiar with and those that have earned your trust

Step 2 - WEED. Examine the list and weed out the stocks that are not great candidates at this time.

How? Remove from your list all companies with stock prices less than $50. Google the companies in the revised list for expert reviews and remove a company if at least 2 investment experts indicate negative future performance or possibility of negative news regarding the company.

Why? If a company has a price above $50, it means the public already has considerable confidence in the future success of the company. Negative news and performance generally will adversely affect the short term price of a stock. You should not invest in a stock that is likely to lose value as soon as you buy it.

Step 3 - PICK. . Choose the stock with the best of the following 3 aspects. Highest price, Best expert reviews and Most consistent price growth over the last 3 years. The following statement is the most important thing about this whole investment strategy. If you forget everything else, please remember this one statement.

When? Invest in the chosen stock when and only when you notice that a large investor has started to buy this stock. Sell this stock on the day you notice that a large investor is selling this stock.

How? You can track stock price and investor performance on websites that provide free charts on publicly traded stocks e.g. bigcharts.com and stockcharts.com . You can buy the stock you choose using websites such as Scottrade.com, etrade.com,

Why? Large investors such as mutual funds buy and sell stocks in large quantities worth millions of dollars. This means they cannot sell or buy the stock they want in one transaction. They normally take more than a week to buy or sell stocks. If you examine the volume and price chart of a particular stock, you can be able to tell when a large investor is buying or selling. Since price is determined by the economics law of supply and demand, when a large investor is buying the stock the demand is high and the price will increase. When a large investor is selling a stock, the supply is high and the price will fall.

If you find this information helpful, or if you have something to ask or add, please let me know by writing your comment.

You can also read my other article on Ten Things To Know Before You Invest at http://hubpages.com/hub/Ten-Things-To-Know-Before-You-Invest .