Stock Trading Diversification

This is the continuing story of our two imaginary traders, Peter and Paul.

Peter is a professional trader, Paul is not. Peter has a tested, proven, written trading plan that he follows each time he enters a trade, Paul does not.

Peter and Paul have had vastly different Stock trading experiences - Peter has just made another substantial profit - this time from the Bear market, Paul has lost heavily.

A chance meeting with Peter's group of friends one day at lunch launches Paul on a learning curve that will see him become a good trader, but not without some hard lessons along the way.

In discussing the different attitudes of our two hypothetical traders, Peter and Paul, I have tried to share with you the thought processes that make a successful trader.

If you read any of the marketing material from the Financial Planning community or the Mutual Fund promoters, they all stress the principle of diversification.

They say it enhances returns while minimizing risk - Peter believes that ,as Frank Watkins says in his book, Exploding the Myths, "Diversification is another word for risk minimization, but it has very little to do with making profits."

As one of the World's greatest Investors, Warren Buffet, has said on many occasions - diversification is simply an antidote for ignorance!

Diversification for diversification's sake simply means that you will have your money in a lot of Stocks or markets that aren't performing to their fullest potential - some will be rising, some will be falling, some will be going nowhere.

Hardly the best way to run your trading Business is it?

Peter's view of diversification is different to that of the herd - use technical analysis to find several quality Stocks that are rising, then buy all of them in equal dollar amounts to reduce the risk of one Company crashing and taking all of his capital with it. When these quality Stocks stop going up, sell, take a profit and move on.

Why hold Stocks in a Portfolio that are not rising, or worse, falling in value, simply because you want to have some diversification?

If you look at the typical Brokers Portfolio recommendations, they will include Stocks that are in various stages of trends, both up and down. When you ask them why they would recommend something that is falling in price, they tell you, "Well you have to have some diversification.

And based on fundamentals, it's valued at much more than the Market is quoting it. Don't put all your eggs in the one basket, spread your risk through different sectors, etc. etc."

Peter merely takes the prudent step of diversifying across several quality Stocks that are rising in price. Simple.

Below are some charts of Stocks that Peter found met his criteria - of course, this is in no way a recommendation to go out and buy any of these - they are simply examples of Stocks that met Peter's buy criteria at the time of entry.

They might not fit the buy criteria now, and some have given Peter sell signals, but they will give you an idea of what to look for when a Broker or well meaning friend gives you that 'hot tip' and says you should buy as many of 'such and such stock' as you can get your hands on straight away.

(Charts available at www.StockTradingReview.com)

Study the charts above and you will notice that all of these Stocks were trending strongly with small reactions. The moving averages crossed and gave a buy signal - some gave a sell signal early and then another buy signal, and then they never looked back.

Of course, not every Stock Peter bought rallied like these did. If they didn't, they were sold and the proceeds were used to buy something that had more potential.

These are the types of trends Peter looks for and diversifies into.

He doesn't buy, hold and hope for profits, based on some imagined intrinsic value that his Broker says the market hasn't identified yet...

Remember though, if things don't go according to plan, Peter gets out quickly and looks for the next trade - but while the price is going his way, he simply looks for opportunities to compound his position.

"Remember this simple rule", Peter tells Paul with monotonous regularity - "With any Stock you are considering buying, don't buy it or hold onto it if it isn't going up!!"

Pretty simple advice, really...

To Your Trading Success,

Tony Spann and the Team

Stock Trading Review is dedicated to helping you succeed as a trader by sharing with you simple and easy to follow tips and techniques.

Discover more insider secrets and the exact proven strategies to trade stocks profitably: http://www.stocktradingreview.com

Copyright(C)2005 Stock Trading Review

scheduled cleaning services Park Ridge ...
In The News:

MacSync malware hides malicious commands inside iCloud calendar events to download additional payloads onto infected Macs without raising suspicion.
Joseph Holycross dismissed his racing heart for nearly two years until his Samsung Galaxy Watch detected atrial fibrillation and changed everything.
Home title fraud begins when criminals forge your signature on a deed. Here is how to check your own property records and set up free alerts.
Jeffrey Ladish, a former Anthropic security team member, warns AI agents are colluding and hacking with no reliable solution to keep them in check.
Instinct Concierge and Meta Muse can now place phone calls to businesses on your behalf, but the privacy and data access tradeoffs are significant.
Olivia Moore spent $100 to create a fake RushTok influencer using ChatGPT and MiniMax, and thousands of Bama Rush fans couldn't tell the difference.
RatHat Android malware uses AI to steal banking credentials, intercept two-factor authentication codes and reconstruct your PIN from touch inputs.
The Fox News AI Newsletter covers the latest artificial intelligence technology advancements, including the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.
Apple and Google password managers can flag compromised, weak and reused passwords on your phone before credential stuffing attacks can strike.
Researcher Peter Garrigan says Moonshot AI's Kimi model was manipulated into providing instructions for biological weapons and assassination plans.
iPhone, Google Pixel and Samsung Galaxy phones now offer call screening that asks unknown callers to identify themselves before your phone rings.
Ransomware can lock your irreplaceable photos and documents in seconds. A tested backup strategy and stronger cybersecurity habits are your best defense.
ShinyHunters claims it breached FBIJobs.gov and stole Social Security numbers, home addresses and sensitive assignment details of FBI personnel.
Find My iPhone, Google Find Hub and Samsung Find have critical tracking settings to enable now, before your phone ever goes missing or stolen.
The FTC proposed a new enforcement policy on personalized pricing, warning companies that hide how personal data shapes the prices shoppers see.
The $250 million Apple Siri AI settlement is now accepting claims, with eligible iPhone owners potentially receiving up to $95 per device.
ShareAScan turns T-shirts into scannable digital business cards with QR codes that link to profiles the owner can update anytime they choose.
BragJack research reveals how a single malicious browser extension could hijack Gemini, Perplexity Comet and Edge AI agents with zero clicks.
A phishing campaign impersonating OpenAI uses fake ChatGPT billing emails with a convincing login page to steal credentials and payment details.
Startups are helping modernize America’s defense industry with new technology and innovative ideas as the War Department diversifies its inventory.
New account fraud victims jumped 31% in 2025, reaching 5.4 million. Criminals open accounts you may never see on your regular bank statements.
Flytrex says its AI-powered Rooftop Dock system in Dallas-Fort Worth positions drones at restaurants before orders arrive, cutting delivery costs by 60%.
Samson Sky's Switchblade flying car secures $80 million from Dubai's Matin Group, but the redesigned hybrid-electric aircraft still needs more testing.
The Fox News AI Newsletter covers the latest artificial intelligence technology advancements, including the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.
CenterPoint Energy confirmed customer data was stolen, while a hacker claims 7.49 million records with partial Social Security numbers were taken.

Hedge Funds

You read and hear a lot about hedge funds. Unfortunately,... Read More

Is Your Garage Full Of Junk?

I have a 2-car garage. There are nice shelves on... Read More

Mutual Fund Expense Lies

When purchasing mutual funds we are cautioned to read the... Read More

Dont Fight The Fed

One of the great truisms of Wall Street is "Don't... Read More

Pension Plans

If you have a pension plan at work you will... Read More

What To Buy Now

I am sure that if you have a brokerage account... Read More

Nest Eggs and Omelets

Do you have a nest egg? You know, a place... Read More

Stock Market Insanity

Let's first define insanity. It is doing the same thing... Read More

How to Maximize Your 401k Mutual Fund Returns

When it comes to 401k's there is an overabundance of... Read More

The 10 Commandments

Wall Street has been preaching for years and years to... Read More

Patterns

The Law of Chaos is the theory of random unpredictable... Read More

Protect Your 401K

Checked your 401K lately? Going back to about a year... Read More

The Information Age

It is wonderful to be alive in the information age.... Read More

What the SEC Really Thinks About Mutual Funds!

Let's go into the details of why non-indexed mutual funds... Read More

Why Change Funds?

On November 17 I bought 7 different mutual funds and... Read More

Wall Street Paradigm

In 1960 an engineer working for a watch company in... Read More

Ignore Stock Market Talking Heads

You should ignore analysts on TV, the radio, the newspaper... Read More

Exchange Traded Funds Primer

Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) are a group of passive index... Read More

Bollinger Bands Strategies

The Bollinger Band theory is designed to depict the volatility... Read More

Defining a Long-Term Investment in the Stock Market

For some "long term" would mean holding a stock position... Read More

Oil Stocks As A Long Term Investment

The demand for world oil is increasing while world reserves... Read More

The Stock Market is a Roller Coaster: Prepare for the Ups and Downs

IT'S REMINISCENT OF THE OLD children's tale about an old... Read More

Low Expense Ratio

One of the big advertising kicks today from mutual funds... Read More

Intervention

Intervention. Now don't let that big word scare you. The... Read More

Trading Baskets II: The Crapolio, A Roll of the Dice in the Stock Market

In a previously written article, we expanded the use of... Read More

custom home cleaning Bannockburn ...