I always enjoy reading Chuck Jaffe's columns on Marketwatch, even though I don't always agree with his analysis. He provides thoughtful analysis of issues that most other columnists don't bother with. Somehow, I only just found out about his radio show, and I'm excited. On Your Money with Chuck Jaffe (Insipid name. Marketing execs: Think of something better), he takes questions about stocks (and gives more thoughtful analysis than Cramer's Lightning Round), discusses the market, and conducts interesting interviews.

On his most recent show, he spoke with Brent Wilsey of Wilsey Asset Management, who talked about the importance of using ratios in stock selection. I certainly agree that they are a good starting point -- I use stock screeners regularly to find solidly profitable companies trading close to book value with minimal debt. But I would also caution investors that screeners are also just a starting point.

In Ken Fisher's new book, The Only Three Questions That Count, he discusses one of the most important questions for investors to answer: What do you know that others don't? If you're basing your investing decisions on ratios, stock picks from popular websites, or the newspaper, you're probably not acting based on any knowledge that is uniquely your own. My advice: Use the screeners for quantitative measures, but don't be afraid to inject your own knowledge. Is there a hot new product in your industry? Are you a fashionista who has a better grasp of the latest fashion trends than the Wall Street analysts? Thinking about investments this way is the most likely way to find answers to the question: What do you know that others don't?

Chuck Jaffe's radio show: What you know that others don't originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 01 Apr 2007 09:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.