Ever jumped out of an airplane? It's OK if you have on a parachute. Pretty dumb if you don't.
Every buy any stocks, mutual funds or Exchange Traded Funds? It's OK if you know how much you are willing to risk. Pretty dumb if you don't.
Parachute investing is buying an equity with a parachute so you won't risk all your money or, better yet, give back the profit you have made as the stock or fund went up and then goes down. If you bought that hummer at $12 per share and during the past couple of years seen it go up to $52 you don't want to give back that nice profit, do you? With a parachute you can save most of it. How?
When you invest in any stock of fund you must know how much you will risk before you buy it and how much of the profit you are willing to give back when it turns down. Take that beauty at $12. Instead of going up it went down. Are you willing to agonize as it drops to $5? If you had a parachute you would have jumped out of the plane before it crashed. If you had an exit strategy for your stock you would have sold it before you lost a big chunk of your cash.
The secret of a safe investment is an exit strategy. When you bought Mr. Twelve Dollars you shook hands and told him I'd like to be your friend, but if you change your name to Ten Dollars I am leaving. Maybe that that is not very nice, but nice doesn't cut it in the investment world.
Mr. Twelve Dollars said I am going up and I want you for my friend. Please follow me and if I falter you can leave and we will part friends. Now that makes sense. You trail along and after it goes to $52 it does falter. Do you know where you are going to leave or are you going to ride it go back down to $12? In other words do you have your parachute on?
That parachute is your continuing exit strategy that is in place every day. In the investment community it is called an open trailing stop loss order. Any broker can put this in place for you. You might be lucky enough to have a broker who knows where to place stops, but unfortunately there are not many of them.
The brokerage industry does not teach its employees (brokers) how to protect customers' money. If that is the case you might want to use the old standard 10% rule. Have the broker place an open stop every Friday at 10% of the closing price of that day as it closes higher. Never lower the stop loss. Brokers hate this as it makes them work, but that is what they are there for and that is how they earn their commissions.
With your parachute you can always protect your original cash purchase from a big loss and as your stock advances you can lock in profit as the stock advances.
Every investment should have a parachute.
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
Tinley Park executive chauffeured services .. Lockport Chicago limo O’HareReduce your investing and stock market risks by:Setting your sights... Read More
Are you paying any attention to your retirement savings? Do... Read More
The demand for world oil is increasing while world reserves... Read More
Every day on CNBC-TV they show a 200-day moving average... Read More
With over 6,000 mutual funds available, it may be tempting... Read More
Index Fund Trading can be one of the most profitable...or... Read More
I often play a little game with myself when I... Read More
You probably know the story of Sherlock Holmes and the... Read More
When it comes to stock market trading it PAYS to... Read More
The trash business in its efforts to cook their books... Read More
You've decided to try your luck at trading stocks or... Read More
Financial markets provide their participants with the most favorable conditions... Read More
The Law of Chaos is the theory of random unpredictable... Read More
I have a 2-car garage. There are nice shelves on... Read More
Sometimes the best way of lowering exposure to risk is... Read More
Who are the successful investors?There are those who follow the... Read More
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall and all the King's... Read More
There has been great condemnation recently because China has been... Read More
One of the most believed bits of conventional wisdom from... Read More
The trading method you employ to approach the stock market... Read More
Stock trading can be a very profitable activity. You can... Read More
There is nothing more exciting than finding an undervalued stock... Read More
The higher the market goes the more confusing are the... Read More
We've all heard of the stock market and probably have... Read More
I cringe every time I hear a novice investor tell... Read More
limo Chicago Hickory Hills ..Let's go into the details of why non-indexed mutual funds... Read More
After the publication of the first part of this two... Read More
Robert Rodriguez likes to buy stocks at their lows. When... Read More
I have watched my cat play with a bag of... Read More
I constantly hear the talking heads on CNBC-TV, the radio... Read More
Most people think the stock market is a zero sum... Read More
It is commonly reported that the stock market averages about... Read More
Outlined below are some of the advantages and disadvantages of... Read More
First let's see what protectionism is. According to Mr. Webster... Read More
Who are the successful investors?There are those who follow the... Read More
Using Swing Trading Strategies and Technical Analysis when Trading Stocks... Read More
If you have not back tested your trading system, you... Read More
Everyone who follows the financial news has heard of mutual... Read More
Well maybe that's overstating it a little, but it's certainly... Read More
What are you thinking when it comes to your no... Read More
I made my very first investment in the stock market... Read More
There is nothing more exciting than finding an undervalued stock... Read More
You remember the story about the frog that was put... Read More
Is really not as important as to how you invest... Read More
Cat or dog? Maybe Zebra. Shucks, I don't know, but... Read More
You have heard about a particular mutual fund from a... Read More
It has often been said that there is only two... Read More
Two weeks ago I wrote about what the Securities and... Read More
The debate rages all over Eastern and Central Europe, in... Read More
For the last 12 years we have seen the Japanese... Read More
Stocks & Mutual Fund |