trading isn't for everyone. if you can't make money in all types of markets -- and this year was different than the previous 5 in terms of high volatility -- then it's not for you. a career change might be a good idea.
Actually, trading is not suitable for many prior to them deciding to get involved in trading. Based upon the last post (2nd post) by pumpanddumper in this thread... Seems like he falls into the category of someone that should have never gotten involved in trading in the first place. Now going back further to his first post that started this thread... I don't understand that message. Now that he's no longer involved in trading (letting his existing trades become investments while hoping they rebound)... Why not just go back to doing what ever that successful business he did before out of his home especially since it funded his trading the first place. This time around, he takes his business profits and use the profits to fund his own retirement fund. Mark
And you sound like every other new to the game know it all asshole. My advice to you is to get fucked.
Thank You for the tip. VMware, Inc. (Public, NYSE:VMW) appears to be a computer software business. Finance.google.com is reporting that VMware earnings, equity, assets, revenue are all increasing. I wonder if you are failing at being a failure.
Failure is a vital ingredient in success. http://www.amazon.com/Failing-Forward-Make-Most-Mistakes/dp/0785274308
Your right you should have stuck with the indexes, DIA,QQQ,SPY. One thing is certain the indexes will not go to zero, stocks can.
PumpandDumper. Trading a very serious business, and it should be treated as such. Those who don't have a clue what they are doing, will lose. Especially if you daytrade. This is only my opinion of course, but I think, especially for those starting out new, trading longer term is much easier. An added benefit of trading EOD or weekly (I trade weekly), is that you can still work 9-5 fulltime. I say an added benefit because you will trade better knowing because you would not be under pressure, that are still earning a fulltime wage, or income which will be uncorrelated to the financial markets. More benefits include: less stress, less screen time, less brokerage fees, and possibility of dividends. (Of course the drawback is not a very smooth equity curve, but comparison of weekly versus intraday is a whole other topic out of the scope of this thread). 25-30%p.a. is about normal for a weekly system. Its not the hundreds of percent several ET members claim to earn but in my opinion its nothing to scoff at. First of all you need to treat trading like a business. What does this mean. Well you need a business plan (trading plan). This must outline in an exact and definitive way: *What to buy. *When to buy. *How many to buy (money management) *When to sell at a loss (risk management) *When to take profits. And this business plan needs to have a reasonable (at least better than even chance) or success. You need to be confident that sticking to the plan has a high likelihood of being profitable. How do we do this? Through backtesting. So this comes to the next point. Like any other business, you must equip yourself with the required resources. For trading this means software, historical data, and education ie. books. Take the time required to EDUCATE yourself how to properly trade. If you don't have a BLUEPRINT, which means a trading plan which has been exhaustively and stringently backtested, then you will it very hard, because you have no basis to make your decisions. With the blueprint, its easy, If this happens, do this. If that happens, do that. Will every trade be a winner. Unless you are Mark Weinstein, No. But don't look at each trade in isolation. I must say that having a system and trading intraday is a recipe for disaster, im sure you are not the only one. But you are probably one of the few who are man enough to admit they have failed in a public forum. But remember what Richard Nixon said: "A man is not finished when he is defeated. He is finished when he quits". Work hard enough and you will get there. There are many things to consider when developing a system, way too much to mention here. Check out my blog, there is alot of useful information and resources there. thetrendfollower.blogspot.com Any questions leave a comment, and I will attend to it. All the best with your trading. Nizar.
this statement can be very true and so very untrue....you need to know who you are , where you are at and how much longer it may or may not take to reach the end of the tunnel....quitting does not necessarily mean you are finished....it may just be the beginning....the hardest thing for a business owner to do is throw in the towel after all the time and money invested, but it may be the wisest choice...peace
I think the original poster is committing one of the most common mistakes people make in trading: Inability to let go of their ego/pride and get too emotional. What do I mean? You are biased one way about your action and you expect the stock (or whatever instrument you trade) to behave in a certain way. If it doesn't, you don't want to be proved that you are wrong, so you either hold on, becoming a bagholder, or average down, digging a bigger hole. I've seen this way too much. Some people are simply unable to control this aspect. Their pride/ego ("well, I'm too smart to be making wrong decisions. I'm right" attitude) interfere them in the ways of risk management. In the market, you are only right when you make money. Simple as that.