First, Top Ten is a source of new ideas so don’t feel like you have to grab every stock—it’s about having the ones you own do well, not kissing all the babies.
Second, consider having a Top Ten “portfolio” (could be a separate account or just mentally part of one of your accounts) that has a set maximum number of stocks—let’s just say 5 to 10, but it could be anything.
Third, focus mostly on the Top Picks each week, and then look for themes (which I try to highlight)—new sectors or industries that are emerging. Also, look for stocks that have shown up recently; if it’s the second time in Top Ten in a couple of months, it’s likely the stock is getting going.
At day’s end, Top Ten is meant to be something where we do the first four or five steps of the process for you: find the strongest stocks, tell you what’s driving the stock, highlight a good buy range and loss limit, etc., and then let you take it from there. It gives less “hand holding” than our other advisories, but obviously more ideas, and following some simple guidelines like those above can help you focus in.