Ask Colin

This is a bit like the question "how long is a piece of string?" It all depends on so many things. However, primarily it depends on your trading plan.

Take for example the list of 20 most active stocks each day. If you are a momentum trader, this will probably be essential information. However, if you are a value trader, it will not only be irrelevant, it might be psychological poison to your approach.

What I have done over the years is to first soak up everything I can until I start to see it all in perspective. Then, for each piece of information I ask "how will this help me in my trading plan?" If the question is difficult to answer, it is probably not essential.