To become a successful trader you must have some kind of method or system to follow that will keep you on track. You may be buying and selling on tips, the weather or phases of the moon (there is a system like that).
The two basic methods are based either on fundamental or technicals. In stock the fundamentals take into account sales, gross profit margins, net profit margins, industry growth, management capabilities, price/earning ratios, etc. In technical analysis you would be computing various moving averages (such as 200-day, 50-day 10-day) of the stock price, trend lines, Fibonacci retracement, support and resistance levels, Elliott Waves, stochastics and many others.
There are scores of systems for sale and you can pick and choose among them to see which one suits your bank account and personality. Your choices will range from long-term to day trading. One thing for sure ? don't buy any system that does not have a good exit strategy. Understand that many systems will trade frequently with small losses, but any method must have a won/lost ratio of 3 to 1 to be profitable. That means over the period of one year you must win $3 for every $1 trading loss. You will learn early in the game to love small losses. Never buy any system that allows big losses.
There is a magazine published every other month called Futures Truth that prints the trading record for about 200 commodity systems. A great way to find the best systems without losing your money.
Most of the systems you find will be based upon some kind of strict mechanical entry and exit computation and will need computer software that you will receive when you purchase it. The software vendor may even provide you with a broker who specializes in trading their method.
The reason many of these mechanical systems do not have a better ROI (return on investment) better called ROS (return on speculation) is computer systems adhere to a strict formula for their BUY/SELL signals. They cannot give you a "maybe" because computers don't understand maybe. There is no subjective influence at all. The latter will have both positive and negative results on your returns. Most people don't want any subjectivity and prefer to follow what the computer spits out whether right or wrong; it relieves the trader of the responsibility of the decisions.
There are many professional traders I knew when I was an exchange member who traded strictly on "feel" and I know many who made six figure incomes doing it.
Many people start with a professional system and will tweak it to better fit their personality. This is very common, but requires personal discipline to remain with those alterations. You can't be changing all the time.
Whether for stocks, funds, commodities or whatever you invest you must have an organized trading system that has a good exit strategy. Whatever you buy it is the exit method that will help you keep the profits you make. To be a successful investor you must have a system.
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’HareTo become a successful trader you must have some kind... Read More
You probably have been told that options are risky. Even... Read More
The date October 13, 2000 will forever be embedded in... Read More
Disclaimer: Please note that I do not necessarily purchase, own,... Read More
There are so many kinds of work that needs to... Read More
Recently I watched my favorite football team lose a vital... Read More
There has been great condemnation recently because China has been... Read More
One of the basic laws of physics states that a... Read More
You read and hear a lot about hedge funds. Unfortunately,... Read More
Reach in your pocket and take out that big roll... Read More
THERE'S SOMETHING TO BE SAID FOR standing firm in the... Read More
Mutual funds by definition are a mixed bag of stocks,... Read More
Spread trading is a technique that can be used to... Read More
For the year 2000 we have seen hundreds of mutual... Read More
Over the past few months, several investment professionals have brought... Read More
The trash business in its efforts to cook their books... Read More
"Buy and hold" is one of the most heralded investment... Read More
This article describes the model of a natural relationship between... Read More
To begin, you might look at playing the stock market... Read More
When is a dividend not a dividend?The latest thing "conservative"... Read More
Congress recently passed another new law that is supposed to... Read More
TOO OFTEN, INVESTORS SIMPLY CHOOSE TO follow the crowd. This... Read More
I am sure that if you have a brokerage account... Read More
As an investor you will want to check out any... Read More
If you have been dealing with mutual funds for any... Read More
Green Bay Hummer H2 SUV rentals ..This is a rather simple strategy with which I am... Read More
If you haven't heard of the technical indicator with the... Read More
What are you thinking when it comes to your no... Read More
Have you seen all those big full page ads for... Read More
The demand for world oil is increasing while world reserves... Read More
If you're like many investors who squander those small dividend... Read More
It has fallen upon the consumer to make our economy... Read More
I receive emails from Morningstar. This company provides statistics and... Read More
With the internet such a huge part of our daily... Read More
Time to look back2004 is over, now we are in... Read More
How do you make money without picking tops and bottoms?I... Read More
Three little pigs went to the market to stock up... Read More
The Dow Theorycharles h. dowcharles h.... Read More
The single most expensive stock market trades are those made... Read More
If you are a baby boomer, time is not on... Read More
I love roller coasters. The steeper the better. High and... Read More
You remember the story about the frog that was put... Read More
Peter is a professional trader, Paul is not. Peter has... Read More
When the stock market is going up and all your... Read More
You have a lock on your house. You have a... Read More
What is the Series 7 Exam? If you... Read More
Invest in the stock market for the RIGHT reason, using... Read More
It seems that every day I turn on the TV... Read More
Whenever I see mutual fund comparisons in the trade publications... Read More
Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) are a group of passive index... Read More
Stocks & Mutual Fund |