Strictly speaking, penny stocks are stocks that the beginning investor, in many cases, can actually afford to purchase. You discover that penny stocks are especially in new or up and coming companies or companies that are on their last leg and treading water. This doesn’t mean that even those companies that have fallen off the big lists aren’t worthy investments, all the same they have been known to pick themselves up, reinvent themselves, and find themselves back on the big lists. For the sake of this article however, penny stocks are sometimes big companies going through a downward spiral, which makes them, just like the new companies, somewhat of a risk.

The SEC or Securities and Exchange Commission classifies penny stocks as those that sell for less than $5 a share. Of course other exchanges consider those selling for less than three dollars or even one to be penny stocks. Essentially, penny stocks are those that are not exchanged on the major stock exchanges such as NYCE, AMEX, are NASDAQ. It really depends upon the exchange in which you are trading. Penny stocks are a little more risky than many of the rest however for good reason. Just as they are very risky however, they are also quite profitable for those who manage to trade penny stocks successfully.

The risks in penny stocks go well beyond the obvious and are part of the reason that payoffs are so rewarding for those who are fortunate. There is very little skill that goes into successfully trading penny stocks but a lot of luck. If you are a gambler at heart then this is definitely your sort of investment. It is very important however that you enter into penny stocks trading with the firm understanding that you aren’t likely to be successful. In fact, chances are good that you will lose as much as you make from the prospect. There are those however, who have managed to defy the odds and win quite handsomely in the game we’ve come to know as penny stock trading.

A few things you will want to keep in mind before you begin trading in this highly volatile market include the following. First of all, penny stocks are not like regular stocks where they are heavily traded and there is almost always someone waiting in line to purchase. When you decide to sell it could be a while before a buyer comes along. This means that penny stocks are not the most liquid stocks on the planet and if you need quick access to your money this is definitely not the stock for you.

Another thing to keep in mind when it comes to penny stocks is that there is often very little information on these companies. Unless you have excellent research skills and the time and energy to put them to use for your trading endeavors you are very unlikely to find much background and financial information on these companies as opposed to many publicly traded companies that are pretty much required to open their books to investors. This is dangerous to investors because knowledge is important and schemes are plenty.

Every penny you invest in penny stocks should be a penny that you are very well prepared to loose and perfectly happy to earn a return with. You could hit the lottery on your penny stock investment and earn literally three to four (or more) times what you invested in your stocks. Chances are that the opposite will be the case however and you will lose your investment. As long as you are prepared to deal with the consequences and allow yourself to be pleasantly surprised when your trades pay off you might be the perfect person to trade in the penny stock market. When making your decisions about the types of stocks, bonds, or funds you wish to include in your portfolio you may want to include a few penny stocks for the sake of diversity and to risk a small sum of money on a long shot. You never know when those long shots will pay off.