btw, two other points if yer picks keep running after you sell, that's GOOD it means you are picking strong stocks second of all, memory is VERY selective. we tend to remember the winners we sold early moreso than the ones we sold that didn't do that
Plenty of interesting idea's on the topic of leaving dollars on the table. We all have our own ways of doing business. Some of us trade short periods of time numerous times a day and the names and transactions become blurred at best and trades good and bad forgotten as we are too busy seaching for the next play...last trade like a bowl game is quickly forgotten. Some of us trade longer periods but have many trades again minimizing memory value to most all trades. Then there are those of us who should trade less often but cannot sit in the trade regardless the system they use for many different reasons from hyper people to ineperience traders. This strategy helped me tremendously. I bought with the intention to hold with the hope to gain with minimal risk as far as i could then figure. Bought 1000 shares of a $23.00 stock I then sold the covered call options 1000 shares /100 = 10 option contracts at the $30.00 strike. This committed the trade for that months option cycle. So got some jingle for the sale of the option which put a bit of downside cover to the stock purchased. As luck had it the option expired worthless and the stock was at /near $28.00 so i made clean off with the option contracts i sold, thought this was great plus bonus of $5.00 on each share of the held position. So I repeated the process and still do this with shares today while trading other strategies. Sorry for the rant lol
I think everyone leaves money on the table at some point... but if you are careful, when it's time to lose money, you don't lose as much either, so your attitude can be really beneficial as well. I try not to buy anything that will drop much, based on fundamentals, and I sell based on momentum. It won't make you feel better, but I still have some stocks purchased in 1999 and 2000. They're the ones beginning to make some moves, but it's a long long way back up (CSCO from $72.50 for one specific... so any upside for me there is nothing). For me, they are bellweathers, and a lesson I have to look at every day when I think I had a good day. Here's the crazy part. I frequent this forum because I think by osmosis I'm going to get interested in technicals and better at gauging fundamentals. I have read several books on TA, and they just bored me silly. Fundamentals? That's not a good predictor either, Microsoft and TWX have pretty incredible fundamentals, but they don't move much. I trade on gut feeling, news and logic, as I can't find anything else that's reliable. Ie, when everyone was screaming recession, I thought the market was trying to shake the insecure people out of the trees for a huge move up. I went all long, and in tech no less. I know no one has anywhere else to put their money but the stock market. How can it do anything under these circumstances but go up? Don't regret your profits, 33% is a hella lot better than Treasuries and CD's! I will say that I'm very shaky for January. My gut tells me we're in for a good sized correction (I read buying opportunity) some time mid January... but not Dec.
ByLoSellHi, I think that your entries and exits were really good. You could have reenter those stocks when you saw the price ready to resume the advance again.
Thanks sigma. I know that a lot of people here have been making great points - such as locking in profits is a guarantee and you can't look back - but I do need to become more disciplined and not so trigger happy on stocks that are running.