When it comes to buying a stock or mutual fund most people act pretty quickly. There are some who will take the time to get a report from Morningstar (it is worthless) or get reports from their broker (also worthless) or even do a search on the Internet (if you know what you are doing). When your broker says "buy" you buy and when a friend gives you a "tip" you buy.
Any fool can buy. It is the wise man who knows how to sell. One of the old masters of the market Bernard Baruch used to say, "I sell too soon", but he died a multimillionaire.
There is a reason folks are slow to sell. They fall in love with their position and know all the reasons why they should hold on. "My broker said it will come back". And pigs can fly.
With all these symptoms that have turned into syndrome diseases like acid reflux for which there is one of those purple pills to cure you in a hurry. When you buy a stock or mutual fund that doesn't go up or, worse yet, goes down we need one of those purple pills. People have contracted Inertia Syndrome.
The symptoms are terrible. Each day as you look on the financial page of your paper and see your stock has gone down another point your stomach begins to act up and you need one of those pills. You keep putting off going to the doctor (broker) to tell him to sell so your symptoms will go away, but you don't. Things continue to get worse and worse until your money is almost all gone. Then you decide to sell. By then it is too late. What should you have done?
When it comes to your health you can change your diet and stop eating all those lovely sweet gooies that have no nutrition. When you own a stock like that and you lose sleep the best thing to do is to get rid of it. Maybe you have a profit and you are seeing it disappear. There is a way to relieve yourself.
Most people don't know when to sell so the best thing to do is have the market tell you. It is very easy. The first rule for making money in the market is to cut your losses short. As soon as you buy any stock or fund you must decide how much you are willing to risk. Five percent? Ten percent. Fifteen percent? That number should be calculated from the closing high of the move or never lower than where you bought it. If you paid $50 per share your risk should be no more than $5.00 per share.
To overcome Inertia Syndrome put the medicine in play as soon as you buy your position by using an Open Stop Loss Order. By limiting your risk you will never have a really bad belly ache.
Al Thomas' book, "If It Doesn't Go Up, Don't Buy It!" has helped thousands of people make money and keep their profits with his simple 2-step method. Read the first chapter at http://www.mutualfundmagic.com and discover why he's the man that Wall Street does not want you to know.
Copyright 2005
shuttle to Midway Beardstown .. Lockport Chicago limo O’HareIf you have talked to a stock broker or financial... Read More
I constantly hear the talking heads on CNBC-TV, the radio... Read More
People are constantly asking me why is the stock market... Read More
The Macedonian Stock Exchange (MSE) is not operating successfully. True,... Read More
You remember (they show it on TV every year) the... Read More
We've all heard of the stock market and probably have... Read More
The Dow Theorycharles h. dowcharles h.... Read More
A colleague of mine just returned from a scuba diving... Read More
Are you paying any attention to your retirement savings? Do... Read More
Every year I go to the Money Show in Orlando,... Read More
After the publication of the first part of this two... Read More
I cringe every time I hear a novice investor tell... Read More
Money: the most charged word in the planet. It means... Read More
Let's assume that you want to make some serious money... Read More
Caught in a whirlpool and being sucked under. No life... Read More
Sidney felt sick as she looked at her latest OptionsXpress... Read More
If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck... Read More
Over the past few months, several investment professionals have brought... Read More
One of the great "secrets" of successful people is discipline... Read More
When the stock market is going up and all your... Read More
Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) are growing. Investors are choosing low... Read More
As an investor you will want to check out any... Read More
You probably know the story of Sherlock Holmes and the... Read More
In a previously written article, we expanded the use of... Read More
There are so many kinds of work that needs to... Read More
Green Bay Hummer H2 SUV rentals ..So you're started trading, you bought some positions with your... Read More
Ever jumped out of an airplane? It's OK if you... Read More
People are constantly asking me why is the stock market... Read More
This is an extract of an article which was first... Read More
Let me start by saying that...Most online brokers do not... Read More
Many people would like to diversify their portfolios to expand... Read More
Everyone who invests in the stock market wants to be... Read More
A stock market index is a statistical measure of changes... Read More
I use the P/E ratio as a secondary indicator for... Read More
One of the great truisms of Wall Street is "Don't... Read More
The trash business in its efforts to cook their books... Read More
What account size do I need?How much money can I... Read More
Among the largest forces that affect stock prices are inflation,... Read More
For the year 2000 we have seen hundreds of mutual... Read More
Time to look back2004 is over, now we are in... Read More
When will the stock market stop going down and start... Read More
The greatest stock market myth is the idea that investing... Read More
To begin, you might look at playing the stock market... Read More
Before you embark upon a journey of trading stocks or... Read More
Stocks breakout from properly formed bases everyday but many investors... Read More
You'd have had to be living on a desert island... Read More
Yesterday I received my monthly issue of MONEY magazine. This... Read More
Spread trading is a technique that can be used to... Read More
Sometimes the best way of lowering exposure to risk is... Read More
If you have been watching the stock market at all... Read More
Stocks & Mutual Fund |