Quote:
Originally Posted by scho63
Have you evaluated what your profits would have been if you just bought and hold versus trading out?
Sounds like you picked great stocks but hot put too early.
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This is just for my trading account, FYI. I treat my retirement accounts very differently.
Learning what part of the market we are in and at what stage the stock is in are key. Locking in profits are never a bad thing (and this market is extended), and there's always another stock to be found that meets Stage 2 criteria for finding a breakout and making more money. No can can consistently sell at the top or buy at the bottom. It's simply an unrealistic goal. Holding too long keeps your capital locked up in sideways markets (doing nothing) or worst case scenario, sees you losing capital in a falling stock and then averaging down. The goal is the find a quick profit (days to months), turn it, and then find another stock that meets your criteria.
The key to growing account value in a trading account is reducing capital loss at all costs. Since I adopted a key plan and have been following these strategies since December 1st, I am up 12% while the S&P is about 5%. I followed similar plans before but not at 100% and my biggest failures were allowing myself to hold a falling stock, convincing myself it would turn around. Getting a 25-50% loss on a stock just shouldn't be an option.
I think most people buying individual stocks needs to have an appreciation for risk management. It only takes one terrible play to erase the gains you've made in numerous other stocks. You could use NAIL as that example as that leveraged fund could quickly move against you.
By all means I am just providing information about how I trade, but everyone can make their own educated opinion.