Posts Tagged ‘long haul’

Emotional Maturity

Tuesday, November 25th, 2008

If you are going to be a winner in the stock market you must have emotional maturity. I did not say you had to be smart or know how to pick stocks and mutual funds.

Once someone buys a stock or mutual fund he immediately seems to have a love affair with it. It can become a fatal attraction that can lead to disaster.

All brokers and financial planners are taught to buy and hold no matter what happens to the price of an equity. They get married to it and hope that it will treat them well while they are together. Today about 50% of all marriages end in divorce yet people will hold on to a stock forever that has gone down waiting for it to come back so they can get out “even”. In a bad marriage you never get out even.

Any time you buy a stock or mutual fund you must have an exit strategy in place or face dire consequences meaning loss of your investment. When I was a floor trader on the exchange I would buy various equities, but before I made my purchase I always knew in advance how much risk I was willing to take. My prenuptial was in place.

Here is the greatest secret to making money in the stock market. It is knowing when to sell. Always figure you will have a loss until you see it go up and from then on your primary purpose is to keep the profit you have made. Never give back profits. If you become emotionally tied to any stock or fund it will definitely come back to bite you.

In 1998 you could have bought Janus 20, one of the largest and best known mutual funds, for $40 per share and gleefully watched it go up to $93. Today it is selling for $35. That love affair has cost someone money. If the investor had looked at that mutual fund as just another piece of paper to hold as long as the principal was appreciating he would have been dollars ahead. Brokers and financial planners foster this kind of immature thinking because they know they might upset the client if they told him to sell his dearly beloved shares.

Every professional trader I know would not subscribe to the long haul theory. That is the death of a retirement account. So many people buy a stock and refuse to sell it for less than they paid for it. Would it not have been better to have taken a small loss and had that money to invest in a better situation?

The immature investor is willing to take a big loss rather than a small one. It takes fortitude to be able to sell out of a losing position. When you learn this lesson you will become wealthy.

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

al@mutualfundstrategy.com; 1-888-345-7870

Things You Probably Won’t Do Again - If You Discover the E-Mini

Wednesday, October 29th, 2008

Most of us learn to think early on that the Stock Market is:

1) Some mysterious place where rich people gamble; then…

2) When we learn a little about it…. we see it as a place we can put some of our money and it has a chance to grow (over time);

3) Even though our money is always ‘at risk’, still the stock market produces better than a bank savings account or CD ever does. (Usually, that is.)

When you were a kid in school, and even through college, were you ever taught anything about the stock market other than the bare essential of ‘investing for the long haul’?

‘Investing’ is always the key word. Have you ever heard or read a brokerage firm or a Mutual Fund’s advertisement that talked about anything but investing? Investing is the only thing most folks know as to financial planning. The mutual fund ads have convinced you that you aren’t capable of doing your own planning, though…let alone your own investing. They blatantly tell us that [we] should leave [our] planning to the ‘professionals.’ Namely, them.

Some 80-million Americans buy into their sales pitch…turning their financial planning and retirement hopes and dreams over to them. Those who want to get a little more involved, and learn a little about what’s going on, soon begin discovering one ‘eye-opener’ after another. Once you do, you’ll never do things the same way again.

First of all, you’ll learn that:

1) The Stock Market historically (since its beginning in 1896), has averaged 10-15% annual growth…even with all of the bad times averaged in! In other words, if one truly went for the ‘long haul’ their portfolio would have grown. Regardless of depressions, Wars, 9-11…..and even Sept 2008(!) The stock market always has and probably always will, beat anything the banks offer.

2) The second big ‘eye-opener’ would be discovering that trading (verses passive investing) allows one to take advantage of the UP’s and DOWN’s the Market is constantly experiencing;

3) The third is that the ‘Insiders’-those stock brokers and mutual fund managers, are the one’s who really know how to make the Stock Market pay off for themselves: They trade all day everyday! But, they preach only ‘investing’ to their clients. If you understand ’shorting’ and the full nature of the agreement you signed when you opened your stock account or mutual fund, (acknowledging that your money is ‘at Full-Risk’), then you’ll recognize whose money it is that makes it possible for them to trade everyday at the levels they do! But, you and your portfolio? One can only hope that the stocks you think you are a long-term investor in, do grow over time. If they don’t? Oh, well…you acknowledged that you were ‘at full risk’ so the ‘manager’ is protected no matter what. He can trade with your stocks (sitting in their ‘house account’) and you’ll never know the difference. (He might even get real greedy and trade in your actual account. But then, that would be called ‘churning your account to collect extra commissions’. He might get his hands slapped if you noticed it and complained.)

4) The fourth and greatest ‘eye-opener’ of all is that -with a little bit of knowledge, you can enjoy the same tremendous advantages of being a ‘trader’ yourself - right along with them!

Thanks to the Internet and the personal computer, the Stock Market has been changed forever. With these tools and a little trading knowledge, the playing field with them has been leveled for you. Instead of long-term hoping, you can now make it your daily cash flow machine, just like they do.

Oh, they don’t like it! Vested interests in the status quo never welcome change.

It’s much more than just losing those big commissions you paid your stock broker or mutual fund manager that’s worrying them. Perhaps they are beginning to see where the Internet and PC might make them ‘museum pieces’. To fight it, they never talk about it.

Self-trading and the ‘e-mini’ are the last things in this world they want you to discover. As a note of interest… a 2005 study of the ‘value of a broker or mutual fund manager to his client vs the amount of money he makes’ revealed that the average mid-level manager makes $742,000 a year; The client is fortunate (yes, happy as all get out) if his portfolio gains 10-15% appreciation a year.

Doesn’t the Stock Market average that on it’s own? None other than Warren Buffett said that “equity investors could do better if they listened to no one.” (Cover letter to tlhe Berkshire Hathaway Annual Report, 2005)

All things considered… Is it any wonder that when the ‘e-mini’ was introduced by the Chicago Mercantile Exchange in 1997 as a financial instrument that average folks could afford to learn to trade with on their new computer and via the Internet, that 11 years later, everyone seems to [still] have never even heard of it, yet?

If you would like to learn more, there’s a ton of FREE information available at my web web site and blog.

http://www.emini-forex-trader.com (Mel’s web site)

http://blog.melhardman.com (Mel’s blog)

Proven Currency Trading Strategies

Friday, October 24th, 2008

I’m going to talk to you about the proven currency trading strategies that are going to change the way you make money in this market. This is an extremely big market and that means there are a lot of people looking to make a fast buck. If you’re one of these people, I just have to say “BEWARE”. This market is very unforgiving to those that rush in. The the people that profit are the ones that have a long term strategy to make money. If you’re not hear for the long haul, than you’re just wasting your time. If you’re a person that wants to be a serious trader, than I’ll show you the proven currency trading strategies that are going to help you earn more money in the long run.

Basically, there are two times for you to trade; high and low volume times. The high volume times are doing business hours. This is where big banks and businesses are trading. The low volume times are late in the evening and there isn’t much trading on. It’s actually more risky to trade in the low volume times because there is less stability in the market. Big businesses and banks trade during high volume times because it’s the safest and most profitable time to do it. If it wasn’t, they’d trade at another time.

One of my most important currency trading strategies is the need for automated software. If you haven’t used them before than, you should really get one. You’re just one person and you can’t do everything. These software packages work great because they’ll automatically watch the market for profitable trades. Anything that will help you make more money is a good thing to have.

Don’t wait another minute on lost forex profits. Act now and get the 10 Minute Forex Wealth Builder.

Forex Autopilot System Robot - Bringing Back the 70s

Thursday, November 29th, 2007

Many who attempt to trade currencies on their own never realize that they were scalped by someone using a forex autopilot system robot. Currency trading is ordinarily characterized by complicated technical analysis. The variables to ponder often can seem infinite. A single human mind is only capable of so many calculations per second and can not compete against today’s cutting edge software.

Brute force calculating ability is not the only advantage of software and computer based trading. A forex autopilot allows for the removal of your emotions from the trading formula. Oftentimes, a great strategy proves moot when the trader deviates from it due to sudden hunches. In some instances fear tends to inhibit purchases at the most opportune time. In others, greed prevents taking a profit when all the objective signals dictate that a sell is in order.

Robotic trading prevents these emotions from foiling a good strategy. It enforces discipline disallowing deviation from the core strategy. Many traders end up thanking their robot profusely for preventing an emotional driven error. A strategy is only as good as your ability to execute it and to identify when the brief window for execution arises. A forex autopilot addresses both of these facets with its discipline and speed of calculation and execution.

Another arena in which a forex autopilot proves beneficial is money management. Whereas your trade strategy relates to which currency you buy or sell, your money management thresholds dictate how much you can risk on that given trade. Many seasoned professionals suggest that you risk no more than three percent of your portfolio on any one trade.

Effective money management allows you to stay in the game even after a few trades go against you. A smart trader knows this is always possible for any given group of trades. However, they are confident that their strategy will prove profitable over the long run. Effective money management allows for your strategy to prove itself over the long haul and prevents your account from blowing up after one poorly timed trade.

Humans are prone to exuberance and when an especially appealing trade arises they are tempted to deviate from their risk management parameters. A forex autopilot disallows that. It takes control and ensures your money management policies are enforced sometimes in essence saving you from yourself. A robot knows no greed nor does it experience any fear. Elimination of these emotions helps you to both adhere to your risk management thresholds as well as stick to your core trading strategies.

The forex markets are located throughout the world allowing for a wide range of potential trading hours. Many who trade forex are able to enjoy a lifestyle where they are able to select their own work hours whether it be early in the morning or late at night. This flexibility often proves family friendly and a sense of personal freedom. Forex often proves very attractive to those unable to conform to the typical nine to five regimen.

A forex autopilot system robot can be your secret weapon when it comes to combat in the currency trading arena. Some choose to trade on their own whims and arbitrary hunches. Others use science and technology to address the seemingly chaotic markets. The results often speak for themselves.

In todays business world, automation of work is as popular as it has ever been. Finding the right forex autopilot system robot can make and save you moeny. For more, please visit this forex system review. You might be pleasantly surprised.