Never lose money in the stock market again. Yeah, I know. Don't buy any stock, but that is not what I meant. There is a clear and easy way to protect your capital ? what you have now and what you might decide to buy in the future. And don't count on your broker to tell you this.
As you are aware we have been in a bear market since the beginning of 2000. That is a long time and if you have held your stocks and mutual funds for all this time you have some pretty terrible losses. Losses you did not have to take if you had a knowledgeable broker or financial planner. Financial planners don't know any more than brokers so you can't count on them to save your money from being flushed along with everyone else. It is a shame that brokers and planners are not taught how to protect your capital.
When a broker is hired he is given 2 manuals to study. One is on SEC (Securities and Exchange) regulations so he will not break any rules so his company will not be fined for misconduct. The other is on how to open new accounts - how to get you to send money. There is no training on how to trade ? buy low and sell high. His training manual consists on how to do "research". Research is knowing all about a company to determine if it is well run and they are making money or have the ability to make money some time in the near future.
You can obtain complete reports of everything you want to know and even more from Morningstar. They will bury you in information. This kind of "research" is worthless. Why? Because if you can find it out then everyone in the world knows it and it is reflected in the current price. The one thing you want to know is if you buy it will it go up.
The average broker has about 300 accounts and unless you have lots of money he will not pay much attention to you. As new brokers get a large number of accounts they give away the small accounts (those with less than $50,000) to the new, less experienced brokers so they can concentrate on the big boys with big bucks.
That is why you, and only you, must learn how to protect your investments. In a bear market the one who loses the least is the winner and the way to do it is with Stop Loss Orders. If you bought a stock or mutual fund you must immediately decide how much you will risk if it should go down instead of up. Usually 10% is a good rule of thumb. If you paid $40 per share you should sell it immediately of it goes down below $36. Don't ask your broker because he has been taught to Buy and Hold and that philosophy will break you. As your stock goes up you must raise your stop (never lower it) so it trails 10% behind the closing price posted very Friday in the newspaper. There are literally hundreds of thousands of people today who wish they had done this during the past 2 years.
If you were one of them it is not too late to start now so your retirement account will be there when you need it.
Al Thomas
Author of "If It Doesn't Go Up, Don't Buy It!"
Never lose money in the stock market again.
http://www.mutualfundmagic.com
move in cleaning service Lake Forest ..Sidney felt sick as she looked at her latest OptionsXpress... Read More
Mutual fund investing is a lot like Thai cooking. Everyone... Read More
One of the great "secrets" of successful people is discipline... Read More
Forget making a profit; instead focus on the income provided... Read More
First let's see what protectionism is. According to Mr. Webster... Read More
Just 30 years ago the stock market was a shadow... Read More
Mutual funds were created with the idea that one person... Read More
There are red lights, green lights, blue lights and spot... Read More
It has fallen upon the consumer to make our economy... Read More
Let's assume that you want to make some serious money... Read More
When is a dividend not a dividend?The latest thing "conservative"... Read More
There is no question that the stock market is being... Read More
On Friday or Saturday evening my wife gets a movie... Read More
Several times each month I am solicited by various market... Read More
Reduce your investing and stock market risks by:Setting your sights... Read More
Its dinnertime and the phone rings. It's Joe Noname with... Read More
Every publicly traded company is required by the SEC(Securities and... Read More
Everything you invest in has risk so you want to... Read More
It is finally catching up with them. The brokerage companies... Read More
After finding the price of a particular stock, usually the... Read More
I am sure that if you have a brokerage account... Read More
We all know the expression, "My country, right or wrong",... Read More
The fight continues to rage among traders who use technical... Read More
The stock market has not been very kind to your... Read More
When is a dividend not a dividend?The latest thing "conservative"... Read More
pet-friendly home cleaners Glenview ..Since I can remember, and that's a long time ago,... Read More
Because you don't feel too sure about which stock or... Read More
When most analysts, financial planners, fund specialists and investors try... Read More
I continually hear from economists, talking heads, other market letter... Read More
"If you don't know where you are going, any road... Read More
The stock market has not been very kind to your... Read More
The trading method you employ to approach the stock market... Read More
Mutual funds are doing more and more to discourage investors... Read More
We are already in it, but you can't see it.... Read More
Reduce your investing and stock market risks by:Setting your sights... Read More
You remember (they show it on TV every year) the... Read More
After the publication of the first part of this two... Read More
I feel that an investment strategy in the stock market... Read More
It has often been said that there is only two... Read More
Do you have a nest egg? You know, a place... Read More
When it comes to stock market trading it PAYS to... Read More
I often hear from people, "I don't trade. I invest.... Read More
Minority Report the movie may not be far off if... Read More
You have decided to buy some stock or mutual funds,... Read More
Using Swing Trading Strategies and Technical Analysis when Trading Stocks... Read More
I have been trading for several decades and was an... Read More
The Macedonian Stock Exchange (MSE) is not operating successfully. True,... Read More
Congress recently passed another new law that is supposed to... Read More
The stock market can present you with a lot of... Read More
(1) Stock Market is Tough Place to Make Any Money... Read More
Stocks & Mutual Fund |