I am not sure what year of the bull market we are in or even if it’s a bull market. The market has just been going up.

Through 2012, the market was up four straight years and 2013 has been wonderful so far. For those long stocks, the volatility has been dropping too, so you might have started to forget you even own stocks and just assumed the ones you do own go up.

That’s great if you have been in the right stocks.

When Ivan and I created the Stocktwtits 50, our goal was to deliver a group of stocks that would do great in an up market. If the stocks fell of the list, you would sell them. Pretty simple.

I gauge how I am thinking and doing by how many stocks in my portfolio are from the Stocktwits 50. In this up market, I like to make sure that 80 percent of my ideas (5-6) are on the list. Looking at the list this week, I can tell why I am underperforming. I have just 6, the market has been on a tear and there are at least 3 I eyeballed and should have owned.

The 6 I own $AZPN, $EBAY, $GOOG $ADBE, $MELI, $LNKD. $MELI I bought last week on the stream and it just so happened it showed up this week. Google has had only two weeks on the list. In perusing it this week, I am kicking myself over netsuite (30 plus weeks on the list) and On Assignment, a staffing service that Ivan and I have covered for a long time on our show. For this strong market 8-10 would have me feeling like I was on my game.

There are a million ways to invest in the stock market for sure. If you are just learning and want to own individual stocks or are unhappy with your returns, follow the Stocktwits 50 and ease in to the best stocks that the market is serving up. Assume you will top the market so don’t plunge in all at once, but this list will be a great starting point for letting great stocks get you in the market.