Let's first define insanity. It is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. And that is what most investors do and they can't understand why they are not able to make money in the stock market.
Do these investors need a psychiatrist, a psychologist, a talk with their minister or none of the above? I know, you think they should talk to their broker or their financial planner. Believe me, folks, these two are part of the problem and not the solution.
If they knew the answers everyone would be rich. Let's go back and look at who taught these mavens how to invest. The Wall Street brokerage houses taught them or rather did not teach them the most basic rules of the game. Why? Because brokerage houses want you to buy (for commission) and they do not want you to sell even though that means another commission. There are two basic reasons they don't want you to sell and it has nothing to do with that one selling commission.
If you sell you might take your money out of your account and that is one of the things the Maul Street crowd never wants to happen, but the most important is they make money when your account is invested. It is not a lot, but it in a nice steady 1% or more. You are their unspoken collateral in the worldwide money shuffle.
Any broker who suggests a customer sell is usually chastised in some way or just plain fired. A broker who allows large sums of cash to accumulate in customers accounts is told to invest (?) it or hit the road. The house (that's the brokerage firm) does not want to see customers with big cash balances although there are times when that is exactly where they should be. Remember 2000 to 2003? During that three year period wouldn't it have been better for your account to have had no stock or fund positions?
Brokers or financial planners are not taught simple methods to protect customer funds. And I mean simple. Too many folks during the 2000 debacle lost 40% of their money and more. There was absolutely no reason for this if basic money management techniques were instituted.
Customers could be made aware that they should not give back more than 10%, maybe as much as 15%, of their portfolio value when the stock market goes in the tank. That occurs on a regular basis. Declines in equities of 20% to 40% happen regularly and no customer should be mesmerized into holding during those periods.
During the 2000-2001 period there were less than 3% recommendations by brokers to sell and those sells were after the stock had crashed about 80% to 90%. It is too late then. Your money is gone. If brokers and financial planners had been taught to advise people to place 10% stop loss orders their retirement accounts they would be much fatter today.
Stop doing the same thing over and over again because of bad advice. Learn to sell when your position goes negative. Don't be one of the insane.
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
http://www.mutualfundmagic.com; 1-888-345-7870
one time home cleaning Highland Park ..I know there are a lot of you out there... Read More
(1) CHK stock price $16.74, NAV $32.5CHK is my favorite... Read More
I was recently interviewed for a press release through a... Read More
If you are fed up with early redemption charges and... Read More
Money management starts with protecting your capital, realizing profits and... Read More
I love roller coasters. The steeper the better. High and... Read More
Duck! No I don't mean a quack, quack. I meant... Read More
Wouldn't it be nice if you were only in the... Read More
There is so much involved in developing peak performance, that... Read More
People are constantly asking me why is the stock market... Read More
As GuruFocus updates the stock buys and sells of gurus,... Read More
The stock market has not been very kind to your... Read More
When an individual investor wants to roll up his sleeves... Read More
To become a successful trader you must have some kind... Read More
Wall Street has been preaching the doctrine of Buy and... Read More
Among the largest forces that affect stock prices are inflation,... Read More
Sometime in the third quarter of 1997, someone told me... Read More
Are you attracted to the idea of being in control... Read More
Ever jumped out of an airplane? It's OK if you... Read More
It has fallen upon the consumer to make our economy... Read More
A recent cartoon in my daily newspaper showed two guys... Read More
Wall Street's watchword has always been diversification, but what does... Read More
I constantly hear the talking heads on CNBC-TV, the radio... Read More
When most analysts, financial planners, fund specialists and investors try... Read More
How many people went to a cash position this week?... Read More
licensed cleaning services Park Ridge ..Has your broker been calling you recently with the "great... Read More
Its dinnertime and the phone rings. It's Joe Noname with... Read More
Investors who exclusively use broadly diversified, no load mutual funds... Read More
Why? Because I am going to shatter your conventional wisdom... Read More
Picture one of those clubs where only the real heavyweights... Read More
Recently I watched my favorite football team lose a vital... Read More
The gleam and bright lights of Wall Street lure in... Read More
Minority Report the movie may not be far off if... Read More
An investor can find and research the best stock on... Read More
Let's hope you did not have any of the Enron... Read More
The spring-loaded rat catcher is the ultimate low-tech device invented... Read More
Did you run out to buy that duct tape yet?... Read More
When it comes to stock market trading it PAYS to... Read More
Four blind men were asked to give a description of... Read More
If you are going to be a winner in the... Read More
'Sector funds are too risky.' 'I doubled my money with... Read More
When is a dividend not a dividend?The latest thing "conservative"... Read More
Mutual funds are doing more and more to discourage investors... Read More
So you're started trading, you bought some positions with your... Read More
What is the Series 7 Exam? If you... Read More
Let's go into the details of why non-indexed mutual funds... Read More
What is leverage?Here is a definition of leverage from an... Read More
AS BUILDERS BEGIN WORK ON THE FREEDOM TOWER in New... Read More
Most advisors will tell you they can beat the market.... Read More
In 1960 an engineer working for a watch company in... Read More
Stocks & Mutual Fund |