Saturday, July 28, 2012

Trade Update and Advise


The market has been moving through a choppy zone since June.  Although we've seen higher highs and higher lows since the beginning of June, the swings have been fairly consistent and reasonably predictable.  That said, I wouldn't be surprised to see the market begins to accelerate in either direction.  

Due to the market conditions, I've been keeping any positions light and taking profits and losses quicker.  I do, however, want to reflect on an example of poor trade management by myself that led to, not just a bigger loss than normal, but a mindset that limited returns on future trades.  My issue?....I got too involved in the "story" of a stock vs. trade my plan (VRNG on 7/26, buy at 4.22 sold at 3.76).  Instead of taking a 2.5% loss, I took a 10% loss.  This caused me to second guess a couple of my trades the following day.  GE, ARIA, and EGHT were buys that I sold for tiny losses or tiny gains because of my worry about the prior day performance.  All three stocks accelerated higher shortly after I sold.  

It's difficult to put that poor trade behind, but it is critical to do so. Learn from the mistake and come back stronger from it.

Trade Update:
I'm keeping my eyes open for more longer term opportunities for my portfolio. I will update the blog as I enter anything new.  I am watching WFC as it appears to be hitting resistance.  If it breaks, the move up could be decent.

I sold my position in LQMT as my stop at .27 got taken out. I took the loss (from .31) on the small position.

I still have my position in SGMNF (SGM.V).  The pattern continues to look promising. I''m looking for a move above .41 with some good relative volume.

Follow the trend. Protect your capital. Trust in your plan.
~JP


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