Well that went well I have to hand it to neke I hate reporting loses. I have to admit this concludes the first of 2 weeks of trading that i will be exclusively on the road. I don't feel like I can keep up with the news and market like I normally can. It makes me feel especially vulnerable I suspect that's why I exited friday morning with a 3% loss from thursday's close. For now I have no positions in my IRA, I'm long s&p in my taxable account. My indicators tell me it's a good time to go long but I'm leery of more european induced volatility. My chief problem psychologically is I see failing to make money as frustrating as actual losses. It's making me assume risks that I should not. The 2 are not the same. My philosophy of ideal trading is more like the spider waiting for his prey to trap himself vs an ensuing chase with increased risks of injury. Loss of 2.22% for the week
Been there. In the end, I went back through every transaction saw where I should have just waited out the chop, instead of trying experiments. I remember when I went off course, the way I felt, the justification I thought I had, even the lazy days of summer that were influencing me to want to make hay when it's in season. But it's very hard to hold yourself to just one set of tactics. This, after several years just figuring out what they are. They create discipline in the military through breaking your existing psyche through trauma, then rebuilding it into the acceptable form. The Market can do this, too.
fyi: My returns on a buy n hold approach from my latest statement 8/2002-3/2012 have been avg annual returns of 14.56% through DFA. That is a total return of 270% Most investors and advisors only dream of such returns on investment. With the advent of etf's and the increased availability of futures since that start date I'm sure I could comparitively improve on those returns going forward, albeit at modestly higher risk.
Perhaps my goal of another 100% from here by the end of the year is counter productive. I still think s&p 500 can hit 1440 if other markets can remain stable.
News for you phoenix: don't ever think you are the spider when you make that analogy. The market is waiting to suck your blood dry <b>because <i>it</i> is the spider</b>, not the other way around. You are nothing more than a gnat fighting Arragon.
Any news Hoover trading? Or are you too busy ranting on Obama in the politics section. Like I said, one should not spend too much time with politics. It's not healthy and it effects trading emotions in a negative manner.
These last 2 weeks have been a nightmare due to a combination of my job and market action. Murphy's law certainly was in effect these 2 weeks when I was out of town managing another office where internet service was even more unreliable . The hotel I was staying in had no business news channels and I was getting back to the hotel after the evening news each night. So that really wasn't helpful i mean i like NCIS but it doesn't give me any feel for market action esp info on the european mess. The last 2 weeks ironically would have been very profitable with the strategy that I ended just before creating this thread it kinda sucks to have been right but just 3 months early. I know that my current strategy is superior (albeit I'm late to the game in this market environment) because it's a concept vs a 1 time idea. I try not to personalize the market but is it really a coincidence that the market goes against me simultaneously when my job turns to shit and information /communications are poor? This has clarified my intent to quit working full time by next year. It takes 14hrs to complete my job each day that I work, it's not enough money and it's negatively affecting my health and every other aspect of my life. I know that cashing in my retirement and trading is a very risky thing to do financially but continuing on this path is obviously the certain path to destruction. My job now is to become the best trader /investor that I can. All in all I'm not displeased with my performance the past 2 weeks it could have easily had my account at new historic lows. Currently I'm well positioned for more market bearish action , if it rebounds sharply
been a little too busy lately and no, posting in the politics section doesn't affect my "trading emotions" one bit, but thanks for your concern.
Still paying dearly for inability to put my positions on last friday and early monday. my target was up apx 11% yesterday, expected a small pull back(tuesday) but it was leaving me in the dust so I bit the bullet and entered as I was supposed to do friday at the close or early yesterday morning . Loss of 45k(5%+-) today alone. diff between missed profits and actual loss friday -tuesday $120,000. I'm not really mad at myself because I didn't attempt any revenge trading and my chasing behavior was a forced error being a combination of my job and technical difficulties. If I had waited I could have been holding an empty bag while my bogey soared another 30%. or my bogey could fall another 30% from here. Nobody knows the future. All I can say is I'm congruent with what my indicators tell me to do. I just wish I could have been able to execute the plan and today's market action would have been more than compensated for in overall profits.
That's a gut-wrenching loss. I think it would be helpful to plot your own equity chart on a daily basis since inception, then you can objectively compare your own performance over time.