Prima Yoda took a deep breath as she surveyed the magnificent mountains surrounding her. Whenever she became world-weary, she visited the retreat of her guru, Baba Ganouj, to spend time doing yoga, meditating and learning how to cook legumes.

This weekend's escape was necessitated by a series of events onto which not even Pollyanna could put a positive spin. It wasn't just that her boyfriend left her for a woman *twice* her age, or that the IRS informed her of the illegality of claiming three cats as dependents, or that she received a speeding ticket for passing a school bus at twice the speed limit right in front of a parked police car.

She really needed to center herself.

Just about the only thing going well for Prima was her portfolio. She had studied Foolish ways of investing, and now had a strong, market-beating portfolio made up of a combination of Beating the Dow and growth stocks. She had already lived through some market ups and downs, and she was sure that her investments in solid companies with good products and good management would make her a winner over the long term.

"But it didn't LOOK like a school bus, Officer!"

Prima really needed to meditate.

She sat comfortably on a pillow in the empty meditation room. Eyes closed. Breathe in... breathe out... breathe in... breathe out... slowly beginning the mantra ...byta shivaya... byta shivaya... buy ta shivaya... "Buy two shares of shivaya... buy two thousand shares of Shivaya Industries [Nasdaq: SHIVA]," said a foreign voice.

Prima opened her eyes. She looked around the room. No one. Had she tapped into the realm of ancient yogis? She began meditating again.

"Byta shivaya, byta shivaya, buy two million shares of Shiva. They shattered earnings estimates after the bell and will open higher than today's close. Go buy two thousand shares after hours on the Instinet." Why, it was none other than Mo Mental savagely preying on the weakened consciousness of a weekend seeker.

"This can't be happening," thought Prima. "Who is this MoMental maniac that keeps entering my thoughts? Hmmmm, I *could* make some easy money buying SHIVA after hours then trading it on the opening gap up. Gee, that might even cover the parking ticket! But no... wait... I'm a buy-and-hold investor -- yield not to temptation."

She returned to her meditation. "Byta shivaya, byta shiva, do your own research, <jingle>, do your own research, <jangle>." It was the voice of the investing master, Motley Fool. "Prima, <jingle, jangle> you have been to our forum, you have studied the The 13 Steps to Investing Foolishly, you have experienced investing nirvana; and now you are willing to throw it all away for a quick buck? Tsk tsk." Prima should not buy this stock because:

1) Instinet trading is only open to institutional investors;

2) Prima did not know enough about the company to make a reasonable investment;

3) Being UP on the Instinet is no guarantee the stock will open higher;

4) All of the above.

Enter your selection in the field to the lower right, and get immediate feedback on the answer!

The answer is...

Answer: 4

The Instinet, an acronym for Institutional Networks Corporation, is a huge global system of trading that operates by "crossing" institutional orders, much like the Nasdaq. The Instinet is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission as a stock exchange, and it numbers among its subscribers a large number of mutual funds and other institutional investors linked to each other by computer terminals. The system permits subscribers to display tentative volume interest and bid-ask quotes to others in the system. Thus institutions that can find a buyer or a seller can trade off the exchange. The fees associated with this are 5 to 15 cents per share. Trades may be placed until 6:00 PM EST and the Instinet goes down at 3:00 A.M.

In any event, Prima had no information upon which to make an investment decision. She had never looked at the company's financial statements, read through any supporting documents, run any kind of analysis on the company; why, she didn't even know what business the company was in! Therefore, she was not prepared to make any investment, be it during regular business hours, after hours, or during retreats.

Prima completed her meditation without further interruption. She felt refreshed, and her consciousness was expanded. She committed to enroll in a defensive driving class. She committed to come clean with the IRS. But most of all, she committed to doing some research on Shivaya Industries and then deciding if it was a good investment for her. Now, off to humus class!

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