Professional Stock Investment Advice - Most Common Trading Mistakes

The best Stock Market advice you will ever read is to learn from mistakes when someone else has made them. So, this stock market advice list I made a list of some of the most common trading mistakes that are made. Even I’ve made some of these. If you have already made some of the mistakes, you can rest assured that you aren’t alone in making them. If you haven’t made them, then here’s a way to get around having to learn by making the mistakes yourself, by reading my stock market advice list.

The Stock Market advice tip #1, and worst mistake that people make is that they believe trading is the easy answer, a way to get rich quickly. People will often expect to become wizards in the market overnight, but they fail to realize that trading is like any profession; you must learn how to do it first.

For example, would you attend a weekend doctor’s seminar and expect to conduct heart surgery on Monday? Of course not! I am shocked at what people expect when they go to a weekend trading seminar. They think they will create wealth without having to work, invest or think, and it just doesn’t happen that way.

After treating trading like a get rich quick scheme, my next stock market advice tip #2 and most common mistake, is to approach the market without a plan. Without a trading plan, traders approach the market in an inconsistent manner. One day they trade stocks and the next they trade the foreign exchange. Or, they may use one set of indicators one day, and the next day they will throw these indicators out the window and take on a completely new set. Without a consistent approach, the only thing governing their trading decisions is really emotions, and that will doom them to failure.

If a new trader has managed to skip these last two mistakes, they often fall down when they try to go it alone. This is my Stock Market advice #3, all traders should find themselves a coach, or a mentor. Someone who can help them spot the errors in their system that they might not have noticed. An outside point of view can help you avoid other costly mistakes, and greatly increase your profits.

These are some common and quite basic mistakes. The next errors I’ll mention are ones that are just as prevalent in the trading industry, but they often occur once traders have been around for a while. I have some personal experience with these mistakes. Let’s call this stock market advice list, the three most expensive mistakes I’ve made.

My stock market advice mistake tip #4, or the first most expensive mistake, I made was to search for the “Holy Grail” of trading. This was an incredible waste of both time and money. During the first three years of my trading career, I spent over $25,677 on a library full of books, videos and seminars as well as spending thousands of hours in search of the perfect trading methods. Honestly, 95% of what I bought was pure junk… I should have listened to my mentor earlier and realized the “Holy Grail” of trading is simply excellent money management!

My stock market advice mistake tip #5 or the second most expensive mistake I made was not having a predefined exit point. Early in my trading career, I remember trading a stock I thought had a high percentage chance of rising. I was too confident. I fully leveraged the position. Unfortunately, when things did not go as planned, I did not know when to exit, and was paralysed. I kept rationalizing why I should hold onto that stock. As the stock continued to fall, I made more and more excuses. At the very end, I remember thinking, “I can’t take it anymore!”

I sold out. That, of course, was the point the stock turned.

I learned two very valuable lessons that day. First, always have your exit points predefined. Second, big losses once started out as small losses, and it is much easier to take a small loss than a big one.

My Stock Market advice mistake tip #6 or the last most expensive mistake, I made is not one that took money out of my pocket; instead it was a mistake that made me leave money on the table. In fact, this reoccurring mistake cost me big.

Early on, I remember selling positions as soon as they showed a profit. I would not let my profits run, as I was too afraid to give the money back to the market. I figured the profit as mine. The result was that I ended up selling the stocks that were making me money.

It wasn’t until my mentor explained to me that when you are trading, and showing a profit, that is the point where you should be adding to the position, not closing it out, that I began to understand what I was doing. Once I started following his advice, my trading profits soared.

Trading is not an easy profession, but it give you great rewards. Avoid these common errors on my Stock Market advice list, create a simple, well-designed trading system, and learn your market. If you take the time to study the market, and learn from other’s mistakes as well as your own, you will become a successful trader.

About The Author
David Jenyns is recognized as the leading expert when it comes to designing profitable trading systems.
Discover the "secret formula" of trading that anyone can use to consistently generate BIG profits from the market by downloading your FREE copy of David's new Ultimate Trading Systems course.
Click Here To Download ==> Trading Systems http://www.ultimate-trading-systems.com

The Hidden Secrets of Successful Stock Market Trading Rules - Fine-tuning Your Stop Losses

There are two cardinal successful stock market trading rules that I am sure you are quite familiar with by now.

The first of the two most common stock market trading rules are to cut your losses short. The second of the two most common successful stock market trading rules are to let your profits run. However, you can take it one-step further by fine-tuning your trailing stop losses, and becoming more risk seeking once your stock is in profit. Increasing your risks, at the right time, can allow you to get all the profit you possibly can out of your system. You may wish to test the effects of these successful stock market trading rules by having a wider trailing stop loss than your initial stop, and see how this is reflected in your system.

For example, you could set your initial stop loss at two ATR but set your trailing stop loss as three ATR. This allows the stock, once it`s in profit, a little bit more room to move. You`re still limiting your risk at the beginning of the trade by keeping a tight stop loss; however you`re going to become risk seeking in a profitable situation. That is to say you`ll be willing to risk more once you`re already in profit.

Personally, I think this is one of the many successful stock market trading rules you can use to take it a step further than most people are willing to go. With this strategy, I also mix and match my stop loss methods. For example, in one of my stock market trading rules, I set my initial stop loss at 2.5 ATR, but my trailing stop loss is calculated using a completely different method. I use what`s known as the lowest low stop. The way this stop loss works is you find the lowest low in the last X number of periods, and base your trailing stop loss on it.

Now, for that trend following system, I actually find the lowest low in the last 40 days. I then position my stop one cent below this low. It`s almost as though it`s consulting the price action itself by identifying where the lowest low is, and this can be highly effective. Many times my stop has been set one cent below a support line.

The way this trailing stop loss works is that on each day a new trading day is added to the chart, and one of the old days drop off. I then find the lowest low in the last 40 days, and reposition my stop at that point, if it needs to be repositioned. This stop has been extremely valuable for me, and it may be a stop loss that you may want to consider testing.

But, before you go looking for that perfect trailing stop loss, realize that in it`s own way, it`s very similar to the initial stop. There is no perfect stop that will guarantee to get you out of the stock at the perfect time, and save you the most profit.

Sometimes it will work for you. Other times it won`t. The real key and secret of having a stop loss and an initial stop do their best for you is not how you calculate it, it`s just having them in place.

You need to find an initial and a trailing stop loss that you`re comfortable with. You also need to understand how they work so that the actions they direct you to take makes sense to you. How do you find a stop that you`re comfortable with?

Test them. Pick out a whole lot of charts of stocks that you`ve been looking to trade, and marking where you would receive an entry signal, set various initial stops and trailing stop losses. Progress through the trade, revaluing your trailing stop loss and see which one works the best.

Often successful stock market trading rules are designed with simple concepts that works best at this point. When you base your system on understanding, rather than optimization, you are more likely to stick with it. If you can come up with a good, straightforward set of your own stock market trading rules, you will be able to apply it across a number of markets on most trading instruments. Really, when designing any system around a set of stock market trading rules, all components should apply to this same principle. You want to keep things as simple as possible, that way it`s robust and can be applied to any market. As long as you follow this underlying principle, you`ll be on the right track.

About The Author
David Jenyns is recognized as the leading expert when it comes to designing profitable trading systems.
His most recent course Trading Secrets Revealed is a step- by-step trading roadmap to having excellent money management. Learn how *you* can become one of his students. Click Here ==> http://www.trading-secrets-revealed.com
Receive David’s free trading tips by signing up for his eZine at: ==> http://www.trading-secrets-revealed.com/pop.html

Professional Stock Market Advice Reveals Most Common Trading

The best Stock Market advice you will ever read is to learn from mistakes when someone else has made them. So, this stock market advice list I made a list of some of the most common trading mistakes that are made. Even I`ve made some of these. If you have already made some of the mistakes, you can rest assured that you aren`t alone in making them. If you haven`t made them, then here`s a way to get around having to learn by making the mistakes yourself, by reading my stock market advice list.

The Stock Market advice tip #1, and worst mistake that people make is that they believe trading is the easy answer, a way to get rich quickly. People will often expect to become wizards in the market overnight, but they fail to realize that trading is like any profession; you must learn how to do it first.

For example, would you attend a weekend doctor`s seminar and expect to conduct heart surgery on Monday? Of course not! I am shocked at what people expect when they go to a weekend trading seminar. They think they will create wealth without having to work, invest or think, and it just doesn`t happen that way.

After treating trading like a get rich quick scheme, my next stock market advice tip #2 and most common mistake, is to approach the market without a plan. Without a trading plan, traders approach the market in an inconsistent manner. One day they trade stocks and the next they trade the foreign exchange. Or, they may use one set of indicators one day, and the next day they will throw these indicators out the window and take on a completely new set. Without a consistent approach, the only thing governing their trading decisions is really emotions, and that will doom them to failure.

If a new trader has managed to skip these last two mistakes, they often fall down when they try to go it alone. This is my Stock Market advice #3, all traders should find themselves a coach, or a mentor. Someone who can help them spot the errors in their system that they might not have noticed. An outside point of view can help you avoid other costly mistakes, and greatly increase your profits.

These are some common and quite basic mistakes. The next errors I`ll mention are ones that are just as prevalent in the trading industry, but they often occur once traders have been around for a while. I have some personal experience with these mistakes. Let`s call this stock market advice list, the three most expensive mistakes I`ve made.

My stock market advice mistake tip #4, or the first most expensive mistake, I made was to search for the “Holy Grail” of trading. This was an incredible waste of both time and money. During the first three years of my trading career, I spent over $25,677 on a library full of books, videos and seminars as well as spending thousands of hours in search of the perfect trading methods. Honestly, 95% of what I bought was pure junk… I should have listened to my mentor earlier and realized the “Holy Grail” of trading is simply excellent money management!

My stock market advice mistake tip #5 or the second most expensive mistake I made was not having a predefined exit point. Early in my trading career, I remember trading a stock I thought had a high percentage chance of rising. I was too confident. I fully leveraged the position. Unfortunately, when things did not go as planned, I did not know when to exit, and was paralysed. I kept rationalizing why I should hold onto that stock. As the stock continued to fall, I made more and more excuses. At the very end, I remember thinking, “I can`t take it anymore!”

I sold out. That, of course, was the point the stock turned.

I learned two very valuable lessons that day. First, always have your exit points predefined. Second, big losses once started out as small losses, and it is much easier to take a small loss than a big one.

My Stock Market advice mistake tip #6 or the last most expensive mistake, I made is not one that took money out of my pocket; instead it was a mistake that made me leave money on the table. In fact, this reoccurring mistake cost me big.

Early on, I remember selling positions as soon as they showed a profit. I would not let my profits run, as I was too afraid to give the money back to the market. I figured the profit as mine. The result was that I ended up selling the stocks that were making me money.

It wasn`t until my mentor explained to me that when you are trading, and showing a profit, that is the point where you should be adding to the position, not closing it out, that I began to understand what I was doing. Once I started following his advice, my trading profits soared.

Trading is not an easy profession, but it give you great rewards. Avoid these common errors on my Stock Market advice list, create a simple, well-designed trading system, and learn your market. If you take the time to study the market, and learn from other`s mistakes as well as your own, you will become a successful trader.

About The Author

David Jenyns is recognized as the leading expert when it comes to designing profitable stock trading systems.
Discover the "secret formula" of trading that anyone can use to consistently generate BIG profits from the market by downloading your FREE copy of David's new Ultimate Stock Trading Systems course.
Click Here To Download ==> Stock Trading Systems http://www.ultimate-trading-systems.com/stocks.htm

Risk and Stock Trading Fees: The Two Barriers To Overcome If You Want A Successful Trading Career.

You know the old joke:

"How do you make a million in the stock market? Start with two million?"

There is no way around it, risk and stock market fees are a part of trading that you can`t avoid. But, you can manage your risk. You can also manage the brokerage stock trading fees that eat away at your trading float. All it takes is some planning and making good choices.

If you think you`re ready to start trading, look carefully at where you`re getting your money from. Maybe you`ve been considering trading for a while and built up some savings. That`s good planning. Or maybe you`re considering borrowing money. This is generally a bad idea. Maxing out your credit cards is a quick and easy way to get cash, but the effects can be devastating.

It`s hard enough to worry about making trading profits along with the stock market fees you have to pay. But, worrying about the debt servicing on your credit cards builds too much stress. You will be too concerned with making payments to be concerned about good trading. Don Miller talks about this in Trading Markets World Meet the Traders when he tells new traders to worry about trading well, not making money. One of the best ways to learn trading is to begin on a part-time basis. This allows you to hone your skills while you still have an income stream. As a trader, you need to realize the risk you`re taking by simply putting your money into the market.

With good money management, you`ll be able to limit your risk. But, there is a kind of risk that can`t be minimized, and that`s "market risk”. This is the risk that the market might not be there tomorrow. Just by putting money in the market you are putting it at risk, so make sure you only trade with money you are willing to lose. This isn`t to say that you are going to lose all your capital - it`s just to say that you need to be able to focus on trading well, not trading to make money. See, you can only do this if you work with money you can afford to lose.

Once you`ve got your capital together, you can consider the next barrier to trading, stock trading fees. Although there is no perfect amount of capital to start trading with it`s no secret that the bigger the trading float you begin with, the easier it is to trade and the less percentage of stock trading fees you will have to pay. This is because of the single biggest expense in trading - brokerage stock trading fees.

Every broker has many different stock trading fees, but many charge flat stock trading fees per trade. These flat stock trading fees are easier on traders with larger fund sizes. For example, to obtain a better understanding on how stock trading fees work, let`s consider two traders. One is starting with an opening position of $1,000 and the second is starting with an opening position of $10,000. All traders are charged flat stock market fees of $100. So, our first trader, with a position of $1,000 has to make back ten percent of his float on each trade before he breaks even. But, our second trader only has to realize a one percent gain to reach his break-even point. This doesn`t mean that you can`t start trading with a smaller float, but if you do you are at a bit of a disadvantage.

However, you can use your trading float size to help determine your trading system. If you have a very small trading float, it`s recommended that you look at a long-term system. With a long-term system, you will be incurring far fewer stock trading fees. A short-term system, where you are receiving lots of buy and sell signals will chew up your trading float very quickly with the cost of the different stock trading fees.

This is why short-term systems, such as day-trading, are best suited to larger trading sizes - it is easier on the stock trading fees. I actually recommend that when you begin trading that you look at a longer-term system. You can manage a long-term system while still working full-time. Once you are successful with the long-term time frame, you might look at moving to a shorter-term system and focussing more time on your trading.

You can mange both risk and stock trading fees with planning, and by making good choices. Your level of capital will be set by what you can afford, and what you are comfortable risking. How that capital grows will be set by the time-frame of the systems your planning to trade, and the instruments you trade with. from winter's barrenness, they desert us too quickly!

About The Author

David Jenyns

Discover BIG profits from the market by downloading your FREE copy of David's new Ultimate Stock Trading Systems course. http://www.ultimate-trading-systems.com/stocks.htm.

Trading Expert Discovers Ways To Beat Stock Market Odds With Money Management

The first point to mastering money management is that you have to understand when you’re trading on the stock market is that you are playing the odds – but unlike many forms of gambling, you can make money. The key to making this money is to respect the risk that is part of the market, and manage it. Money management is a set of rules and guidelines that enables you to turn a profit. By being triumphant with your money management skills, you can keep your risk at a level at which you’re comfortable with, keep from making poor trading decisions, and ensure you don’t loose your trading capital. This is why it is so important to follow money management rules.

Why do these money management rules work? You know, it’s funny. I once thought I had a fool-proof way of making money on roulette. You see, I’d bet on red and black. I’d sit at the table. After the ball had landed on black or red five times in a row, I would start betting on the opposite color.

Let’s say I had five reds in a row. I would then start to bet on black. If I was wrong, I would go ahead and double down, so that if I started my bet at one dollar, the next time I would be able to bet two dollars, then four dollars, then eight, then 16. With this system, eventually I’d win and I’d come out one dollar ahead.

So, here I am at 23 and I’ve set up my computer program to test my theory. I made a ridiculous amount of money in the program. I really thought I had the Holy Grail here. But, if it’s so easy for an 23 year old to figure it out, why aren’t all the casinos out of business and why aren’t we’re all millionaires? Unfortunately, roulette doesn’t work this way.

You see, if we’re flipping a coin, heads has a 50 percent chance of turning up on each flip of the coin and so does tails. But, each flip is independent of the last. The last coin toss has nothing to do with the one before it, each flip is a random event. This means it’s possible to get a hundred heads in a row if you do it long enough, and believe it or not, that’s what happened to me. When I first played roulette in a casino, I saw a string of 23 blacks in a row. I went home defeated.

Trading is the same. A percentage of your trades will not work out. A certain percentage will not go in your favoured direction, and the next trade has nothing to do with the last one. Even if you have the world’s most accurate method, over time you will go broke if you don’t practice good money management.

Money management rules include defining your trading float, setting your maximum loss, calculating your stop loss, and most importantly learning how to choose your position size. Once these rules are in place, it’s important to stay with them. They will keep you from making snap decisions, and playing the odds longer than you should. This is why money management rules are a critical part of any effective trading system.

About The Author

David Jenyns

Discover BIG profits from the market by downloading your FREE copy of David's new Ultimate Stock Trading Systems course. http://www.ultimate-trading-systems.com/stocks.htm.

Stock Market Investing - Top 10 List

The 10 dumbest things investors say to advisors.

1} When my investment gets back up to what I paid, get me out.

This is surely a big mistake. That stock has absolutely no idea that you're waiting for it to go up so that you can sell.

2}The stock is selling at $3.00 a share. How much can I lose?

$3 multiplied by the number of shares.
Oh yeah, don’t forget to add in commission.

3} I want to buy shares of XYZ Company. Three years ago, they were selling at $60; now the stock selling at $5.

You can actually make a lot of money investing in good companies when their stocks are out of favor (go to dictionary – look up: “Warren Buffett”). You cannot make money buying junk just because it’s cheap. (Same dictionary – lookup “cheap junk”). If this creates confusion – please see item 2.

4} The stock is up 10 % this past month.

It’s too high, I can’t buy it now. Have you ever heard of a long-term uptrend? Just because you missed the bottom doesn’t mean you missed the boat. I’ve heard that the shortest time measurable by man is the time between when it’s too soon to buy a stock and when it’s too late.

5} I paid $60 for that stock 3 years ago. Today it’s selling at $4.

I can’t afford to sell. I don’t want to lose so much. I’m just guessing here, but did you say the same thing at $30? $20?

6} I bought the stock at $10 and now it’s $35. I have too much profit.

I can’t sell here. I don’t want to pay so much in taxes. My wish for everybody is that next year you have more than twice the profits and that you have to pay twice as much in taxes.

7} I never sell an investment at a loss. I’m a long-term investor. Eventually, they always come back.

Ever heard of ENRON? Pan American Airlines? Polaroid? Penn Central Railroad? If I were to be your advisor for the next 20 years, I GUARANTEE you that you will have losses. Losses are a very important part of a successful investment program. Since the perfect human hasn’t been created yet, the perfect advisor hasn’t been created yet. Expect to have some losses and plan accordingly.

8} Sell my utilities; buy DOTCOMS.

Stock brokers heard this, a lot, just a few short years ago. Every up cycle investment advisors are instructed to sell safe, but dull investments and buy something with sex appeal that’s moving. The worst possible thing has happened – one of the clients' friends or acquaintances is making more money than they are. It’s the CINDERELLA story. They’ll look great for a short time. Then, the clock strikes “OVER” and their limo turns back into a pumpkin.

9} I know as much about the stock market as any broker.

What would you think of me if I came to your place of business and told you that I know as much about your business as you do? Can you outperform a professional in the short run? Absolutely. You would never say this to your doctor, lawyer or accountant. You wouldn’t even say that to your butcher or your barber. Stock market investing is the only profession where the amateurs think they know as much as the professionals because they might have picked a winner at one time.

10} That total stranger made the investment sound like such a great idea.

Of course he did. That’s his job. Do you remember your mother telling you “Don’t talk to strangers.”? When was the last time you ran with scissors? If you develop the practice of giving your money to strangers, sooner or later, you will come to harm. Or, as Al Capone used to say “Anybody found sleeping in the trunk of a car, deserves to be shot.”

About The Author

Gary Wollin is a Warren Buffet style investment advisor with 45+ years of Wall Street experience. He has been regularly featured in The Wall Street Journal and New York Times. He writes and speaks on sales, customer loyalty, and the stock market. http://www.garywollin.com

Stock Market Wisdom from The Tortoise and the Hare

Once upon a time, there was a young hare, a hotshot rabbit investor who would always brag to anyone that would listen and that he was the smartest, fastest, best performing investor in the world. He would constantly tease the old tortoise about his slow, solid investment style.

Then, one day, the annoyed tortoise answered back: "There is no denying that you are very aggressive in your investment strategy. You take very high risks and get high returns. But even you can be beaten."

The young hare squealed with laughter. "Beaten? By whom? Surely not by you. I bet there's nobody in the world that can win against me, because I'm so good. If you think that you can beat me, why don't you try?"

Provoked by such bragging, the tortoise accepted the challenge. Each of them put an equal amount of money into a new account and the race was on. The hare yawned sleepily as the meek tortoise trudged slowly off.

As might be expected, the tortoise invested in high quality blue chips, companies with household names.

The hare, as anticipated, invested his money in dotcom stocks and options.

You know the story. The aggressive hare jumped out to a big early lead. In a rising market, the highest risk stocks perform the best. This is called momentum investing. Money flows into the investments that are performing the best.

The hare, having jumped out to such a large early lead, stopped paying attention to the market environment. Basically, he fell asleep. He thought to himself, "I'll have 40 winks and still remain way ahead of that stupid old turtle."

The hare awoke from his sleep and gazed around looking for the tortoise, who was nowhere in sight. Unfortunately, while he was sleeping, dreaming about what he would do with his winnings, the market turned against him.

His very high-risk portfolio had taken a terrible beating and was now practically worthless.

The tortoise, a Warren Buffett style investor, had passed the sleeping rabbit long ago. He had been plodding forward, steadily, since the beginning of the contest. The Tortoise never for a moment stopped, but went on with a slow but steady pace straight to the end of the course.

The hare realized that the tortoise was way ahead of him, and away he dashed. He leaped and bounded while gasping for breath, but it was too late. The tortoise had beaten him.

There are two very important lessons to be learned here.

First – slow and steady wins the race.

Second – never confuse your own intelligence with a bull market.

About The Author

Gary Wollin is a Warren Buffet style investment advisor with 45+ years of Wall Street experience. He has been regularly featured in The Wall Street Journal and New York Times. He writes and speaks on sales, customer loyalty, and the stock market. http://www.garywollin.com