We all know that emotions control every decision that an investor makes in any type of money related vehicle. Whether is be the stock market, real estate, art work or antiques, emotions ultimately set the final price on both sides of the transaction. Some investors have greater control over their emotions while other investors are destroyed by their emotional reactions to certain events.
One common occurrence that I have seen many investors make, including myself, is placing a position in a stock at the wrong time. My last article detailed the importance of timing, while this article will concentrate on the importance of staying focused and emotionally stable when things don't work out as expected. In the past, I would study a stock's chart, the fundamentals, the general market health and everything else that I felt necessary before placing a large sum of cash behind my beliefs. When things went wrong and I was forced to sell for a small loss, I would drop the stock from my watch lists and remove it from my memory. This was one of the biggest mistakes that I was making during my earlier years of investing. The greatest investors study their mistakes and learn why they were wrong. If you don't learn from your mistakes, you will continue to repeat them and never move to the next level.
I was usually correct with my analysis on the particular stock but many times I was too early with my entry point during a new up-trend. Months later, I would come across the same stock in my screens but it was now up 25%, 50% or more from my initial buy point and stop loss. I would be frustrated for selling my stock too soon and was getting tired of using rules and missing big winners that I sold for a loss. I knew money could be made in Wall Street by using the law of averages to my advantage and employing strong money management skills but I needed to employ the rules more consistently. I started to practice what I was taught by selling my losers quickly and allowing my stronger stocks to ride their trends. Over time, I was experiencing a few more losers than winners but my stake was growing because these losers were smaller in size than the winners. The words written in the books were true; Jesse Livermore, Gerald Loeb and William O'Neil were all accurate with their lessons about cutting losses quickly.
More importantly, I learned to keep strong stocks on my radar even if I bought too soon and was forced to sell for a loss. My timing was wrong and my ego was shot because I was wrong, so I typically decided to stay away from that specific stock because it had already taken my cash and my pride. Emotionally, I was burned by the stock even though this was not entirely true. Investing is a game of trial and error. It is okay to buy a stock at the wrong time and sell, only to buy it again because they timing may be better. If you cut the losses small and allow winners to grow, the averages will ALWAYS work out, I promise. You must be honest with yourself to allow the averages to work out. You cannot allow a stock to drop past your sell point and you must try to always hold the strongest stocks without selling them during a premature pullback. This all sounds so easy but it is not! If it was so easy, we would all be extremely rich and the stock market would be everyone's full time job.
I kept using my system of trial and error and started to record every thought and transaction I made. With my revised philosophy in place; I continued to study the stocks that I was forced to sell and tried my best to re-purchase, even at higher prices than my original position if the time was right. Even now I have these issues, the greatest traders of all time always had these issues and every fund manager must decide if the time is right. My latest example, which can relate to almost everyone in the community is Paincare Holdings, a stock that was purchased solely as a "test buy" that I was forced to sell. If things turn around and the general market starts to rally, I would have no problem buying the stock at a higher price than my original position if the opportunity presents itself.
LaBarge is another example, first showing up on the screens at $9.35 but during a down-trending market. The new pivot point and buy area was $14, over 50% higher than the original price but a solid entry point regardless of past gains or prices. Mentally it is always the toughest to buy a stock at a higher price than you were watching it at an earlier date but it can be the most rewarding strategy. Never look at a chart and toss away a candidate because it has moved up 50% or even doubled in recent months, the real move may just be beginning.
The moral of this article is to make you understand that timing may be your only issue when buying stocks so never throw away a possible superstar because you bought too soon. Keep it on your watch list and be prepared to initiate another position, even if it will cost you an extra point or two. If you buy again and it doesn't work out, re-peat the process, there is always a chance that the stock was not meant to be or your analysis was slightly faulty. In either case, learn what you are doing right and wrong so you can be prepared to use those lessons with the next stock.
Chris Perruna - http://www.marketstockwatch.com
Chris is the founder and president of MarketStockWatch.com, an internet community that teaches you how to invest your money with solid rules. We don't stop at just showing you our daily and weekly screens, we teach you how to make you own screens through education. Through our philosophy, you will be able to create your own methods and styles to become successful.
executive chauffeured services Bradford .. Madison to Airport carHow many times has this happened to you? You're at... Read More
Three little pigs went to the market to stock up... Read More
Just 30 years ago the stock market was a shadow... Read More
Professional stock options traders use the term lean to refer... Read More
Even if you don't own any of their stock or... Read More
One of the big advertising kicks today from mutual funds... Read More
Wouldn't it be nice if you were only in the... Read More
If you've ever flipped on the television to CNN Financial... Read More
Most people think the stock market is a zero sum... Read More
If you don't know what a Roth IRA is then... Read More
If you're like many investors who squander those small dividend... Read More
Have you seen all those big full page ads for... Read More
Picture one of those clubs where only the real heavyweights... Read More
There is so much involved in developing peak performance, that... Read More
A 'stock option' is a contract between two parties giving... Read More
If you have talked to a stock broker or financial... Read More
Both the stock market and oil prices rallied recently, which... Read More
In a previously written article, we expanded the use of... Read More
TOO OFTEN, INVESTORS SIMPLY CHOOSE TO follow the crowd. This... Read More
If you have been watching the stock market at all... Read More
I cringe every time I hear a novice investor tell... Read More
It looks like the market is ready to start up... Read More
I constantly hear the talking heads on CNBC-TV, the radio... Read More
If you are fed up with early redemption charges and... Read More
Every stock market investor faces one primal enemy. An enemy... Read More
O'Hare Chicago prom limo ..After finding the price of a particular stock, usually the... Read More
Before they go over the cliff to their destruction these... Read More
There are red lights, green lights, blue lights and spot... Read More
Most advisors will tell you they can beat the market.... Read More
When an individual investor wants to roll up his sleeves... Read More
Picture one of those clubs where only the real heavyweights... Read More
I was recently interviewed for a press release through a... Read More
Investors who exclusively use broadly diversified, no load mutual funds... Read More
I have a 2-car garage. There are nice shelves on... Read More
In one of my previous articles (Investing in the stock... Read More
Intervention. Now don't let that big word scare you. The... Read More
The higher the market goes the more confusing are the... Read More
If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck... Read More
What can I expect to make my first year of... Read More
To become a successful trader you must have some kind... Read More
I was devastated!I just couldn't believe it. I was 10... Read More
With over 6,000 mutual funds available, it may be tempting... Read More
Just about everything you have been told about Social Security... Read More
Day trading is all about making buy and sell decisions.... Read More
A few years back ? it seems like an eternity... Read More
Every day on CNBC-TV they show a 200-day moving average... Read More
If you're a normal human being, your need to feel... Read More
The gleam and bright lights of Wall Street lure in... Read More
"If you don't know where you are going, any road... Read More
Question: How does it get better when it gets worse?Last... Read More
Stocks & Mutual Fund |