Now that you have some money burning a hole in your pocket and the stock market is going up you have decided to buy some stock or maybe a mutual fund, but you have the momentous decisions to what to buy.
At this point you have three decisions to make besides which equity to buy:
1. How much to buy.
2. When to buy.
3. When to sell.
Which of these is the most important decision? Let me tell you this as a professional trader. What to buy and when to buy are the two least important of these decisions. Maybe only 10%. I know that comes as a shock to you because everyone is trying to find that one perfect stock that will make him a millionaire almost immediately. It's not going to happen.
Trading is an occupation. Just like the business or profession you are in now it takes time to learn. There are certain basic rules that apply to every occupation. Most brokers and financial planners don't know them, but as a former floor trader I had to learn them or I could not have survived.
What to buy is the least important because there are always several good buying opportunities every day. When to buy is not anywhere as important and when to sell. Every professional trader I know will first determine the risk, his potential loss, before buying. At the same time he makes his buy he puts in a sell order called a stop-loss order to automatically exit the position should it go against him. He is not thinking about how much he will make on a trade. He is thinking about protecting his capital should he be wrong. Professional traders are right less than 50% of the time, but they never take big losses.
The loser's philosophy is always thinking about how much he will make and he refuses to face up to the very possible fact that he could lose money, a lot of money if he does not have a loss limit of some kind on his position. The loser is willing to be wiped out rather than admit he is wrong. Brokers tell you you have not lost money until you sell. Believe that and I will sell you my flying pig.
The other very important concern for your investments is how much of this stock should I buy. A good rule of thumb is between 10% and not more than 20% of your portfolio. Most mutual fund managers limit a risk position to about 5%, but they have other considerations. Never put all your money in one trade because it looks so good. That is super dumb.
Before you decide what to buy be sure you have in mind the amount you are willing to risk and the size of the position you wish to take (number of shares or dollars). When you have learned this you will be a successful stock market investor.
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.
1-888-345-7870; http://www.mutualfundmagic.com
Trading is a fascinating activity.There are so many layers to... Read More
I love roller coasters. The steeper the better. High and... Read More
What does it mean to short a stock?This means that... Read More
As I have said many times before in this column... Read More
With all the bad news that has been dumped upon... Read More
Everyone who follows the financial news has heard of mutual... Read More
The bulls and bears of the stock market are both... Read More
There is so much involved in developing peak performance, that... Read More
Because you don't feel too sure about which stock or... Read More
Regardless of the fact that the world's stock markets have... Read More
Let's first define insanity. It is doing the same thing... Read More
Now that you have some money burning a hole in... Read More
Let's go into the details of why non-indexed mutual funds... Read More
As an investor you will want to check out any... Read More
What is the Series 7 Exam? If you... Read More
There is a famous cliff on the ocean in Acapulco... Read More
It looks like we have now entered a new bull... Read More
During the month of January the Dow Jones Industrial Average,... Read More
I use the P/E ratio as a secondary indicator for... Read More
If you are fed up with early redemption charges and... Read More
Every Wall Street analyst, financial planner and broker will tell... Read More
I am sure that if you have a brokerage account... Read More
Time to look back2004 is over, now we are in... Read More
It's about time someone spoke the truth concerning outsourcing. The... Read More
When it comes to stock market trading it PAYS to... Read More
full-service cleaning Mundelein ..This is a rather simple strategy with which I am... Read More
Never lose money in the stock market again. Yeah, I... Read More
One of the big advertising kicks today from mutual funds... Read More
The basis of diminishing return discussions surround such simple notions;... Read More
Just about everything you have been told about Social Security... Read More
For the last 12 years we have seen the Japanese... Read More
Right now there doesn't seem to be any "gold fever".... Read More
When will the stock market stop going down and start... Read More
If you have been dealing with mutual funds for any... Read More
Spread trading is a technique that can be used to... Read More
You read and hear a lot about hedge funds. Unfortunately,... Read More
You should ignore analysts on TV, the radio, the newspaper... Read More
Let's say you are interested in this one company. You... Read More
Regardless of the fact that the world's stock markets have... Read More
Fundamental analysis.Fundamentals analysis says the best way to predict the... Read More
Recently I was invited to appear on a live CNNfn... Read More
There are many important things you need to know to... Read More
I feel that an investment strategy in the stock market... Read More
Do you have a financial planner? Does one of your... Read More
The fight continues to rage among traders who use technical... Read More
Stocks breakout from properly formed bases everyday but many investors... Read More
So you're started trading, you bought some positions with your... Read More
Suppose your position has made a big move and you... Read More
It has often been said that there is only two... Read More
(1) CHK stock price $16.74, NAV $32.5CHK is my favorite... Read More
Stocks & Mutual Fund |