Dont you just hate that?

[willair]

The thing i like about this stuff is when i make a profit, it goes straight in my back pocket (ex tax of course)
When i had my business, to put $3.5k in my pocket the business would have had to make approx. $10k gross. Gotta love that.

And don't they all line up for the cut of the profit pie,from the phone calls, broker cost,and the big cut from the pie with the "ATO" wack, but there is nothing like those instances of positive feelings when
everything goes the way you plan..imho..willair..

 

[boods99]

Just out of curiosity evand, what do you use to track the prices and is it done in real time or is there a time lag?
Just always wondered how it was done
Do you need to run special software or is available on Commsec etc...

Cheers

Boods

 

[Jodie701]

boods99 you can use ComSec Pro Trader which is free if you do x amount of trades per month. It's all live data feed. The screen is flashing every time a trade takes place. It's really nifty

I would love to get back into trading again ... was wondering if it's too risky to borrow equity to do it, or is it better to spend years and years saving up to do it.

 

[evand]

My only cost is Comsec buy/sell fees. You cant avoid the ATO. Well you can, but not doing this.

And don't they all line up for the cut of the profit pie,from the phone calls, broker cost,and the big cut from the pie with the "ATO" wack, but there is nothing like those instances of positive feelings when
everything goes the way you plan..imho..willair..

 

[evand]

I use the Comsec web site. Prices & depth are in real time.

I used to use ProTrader but got rid of it and just use the online Comsec now.

Not a real good day for MCC. It has gone backwards (will have to wait, it will come back) but i sold out of DOW with a nice earn and looking to sell MIN & TOL today for a decent profit as well.

Just out of curiosity evand, what do you use to track the prices and is it done in real time or is there a time lag?
Just always wondered how it was done
Do you need to run special software or is available on Commsec etc...

Cheers

Boods

 

[boods99]

Thanks for your replies evand and Jodie. Another question I've always had is out of the thousands of stocks available to buy, how do you decide which ones to add to your "shortlist"?

Don't worry, not asking for specific stocks, however would just like to tap into how traders operate.

<spot the complete shares newbie>

Boods

 

[joanmc]

HI Boods I started with what i knew and understood i.e. banks rio bhp asx flt wow wes. when I was used to their "habits" I added in a few more. My watchlist now has about 40 shares in it that I buy and sell regularly and I make a nice living from it thanks

ps I am intra/inter day trading

 

[Jodie701]

boods99, I would recommend that you read the book "Trade your way to Financial Freedom" by Van Tharp. There are some other great books out their but this one is a must read. Basically it really doesn't matter which stock you pick, you still have more than a 50% change of loosing money with any given trade taken. The successful trader though, learns how to stay calm and sell the loosers quickly and hold onto the winning trades.
It sounds simple, but emotion really plays a big part, especially for a newbie with real cash in the market (as opposed to paper trading). Most people do the opposite and keep the loosers hoping they will go back up and sell the winners just to make minor gains.
Anyway, trading books talk about coming up with a system that suits YOU and how to do it! Like property investing, what works for some doesn't work for others, you have to trade the way you feel comfortable. If you have a system in place, it takes the emotion out of trading so it should be easier to do although some people still let emotion get involved if they have say 10 lossing trades in a row, they take a break and miss the 11th trade which would have given them their yearly profit. You need to trust your trading plan (system) and stick with it.
Also you need a very large capital to get started as brokerage fees and data costs will chew largely into any gains. (By very large, I'm thinking along the lines of $100k). Then you risk no more then 1% of your capital on any given trade. The book goes into detail on position sizes etc as that is determined by the volatility.

 

[shuggy]

Thanks for the tip, i bought some at 8.67 this morning

For share investors/traders.

This morning at market open i put an order in for $50k x MCC @ $8.84. While i was fiddling around looking at other opportunities it took off and was up 7% within half an hour.

I would have made $3.5k in 30 minutes, turned my computer off and went for a surf and coffee on this beautiful warm Sydney morning.

That's what i get for nickle and diming it and not keeping my eye on the ball.
Its coming back a bit now but i missed the boat.

No worries, there are plenty of other opportunities at the moment, but that was a beauty to miss. I'm like a kid in a lolly shop.

 

[kum yin lau]

Hi boods, I can't pretend to be a guru about stocks but in many ways, it's similar to property investing. It's just a different asset class.

We're small people trying to do our best in this world.

I start with taking a stand about the general state of that market. Eg in March I was convinced that we'd oversold. We can look at the daily volumes of trade. And the prices of shares, the 52 week highs & lows.

Then I highlight the dividend yield, get the PE ratios and look at the market capitalisation.

End up with a list of 10 to 20 stocks. Then pay attention to the headlines, the scandals, the sensational press. Any stock with any hint of stigma, I avoid.

In the end, I picked the only 2 that didn't go up!

I also have a very unscientific way of going about it. I peeked at what my sister bought and sold and what she paid for it. I peeked at Lilyhouse's stocks & saw one that was on my original list. And I could get it for 40 cts less than she paid!

Last week, I was the leader in the shares game, this week I'm blown apart by the very same share that put me in the lead.

That's why I'm still a property afficionado but in Adelaide it's hard to buy anything now.

Good luck,
KY

 

[evand]

No worries. I hope people can benefit from my posts, tips and all. How many did you buy?

I have a portfolio of up to 10 at any one time and MCC is just one of them. But its a good'n.

Thanks for the tip, i bought some at 8.67 this morning

But you could have said thanks for the tip instead of putting a grin face because you bought it cheaper than me.

 

[evand]

Mate, i name specific stocks all through this thread. I don't mind. I'll share the love LOL (but theyre not recommendations, just my own stuff)

Why people get so secretive on this forum about things surprises me, i'll never understand it. There is nothing to lose by sharing.

I hope people can benefit from my posts tho, i'm thinking of starting a twitter thing of my trading. wonder how that will go.

Ok, i start with this book.

http://www.abc.net.au/local/reviews/2008/11/05/2410730.htm

You don't have to waste your life with fundamental analysis (which i dont have much faith in anyway) , its all done here.

Then i look for stocks from this book that are trending up in an overall market that is trending up. And trade on a day that's heading up (usually after a big night on the DOW)

If its not doing that, i stay out. It is quite a bit more complex than that, but that's it in a nutshell. My only expenses are Comsec fees which are negligible ($30 for a $20k trade and $60 for a $50k one etc)

I don't second guess the market (i don't consider myself smarter than the market) . If the market decides a stock is good and are buying it and the price is heading up, them i'm in on the action. I don't get too hung up on buy prices, just as long as i buy for a decent price and sell for a higher one. That's all i'm interested in.

I use stop losses and position size for risk management. Tho i'm not too anal about this stuff, just as i'm not about property investing. I actually love doing it, the money is a bonus.

Thanks for your replies evand and Jodie. Another question I've always had is out of the thousands of stocks available to buy, how do you decide which ones to add to your "shortlist"?

Don't worry, not asking for specific stocks, however would just like to tap into how traders operate.

<spot the complete shares newbie>

Boods

 

[joanmc]

I agree evan! I don't know why people are scared to say what share they are buying. unless you are shorting it the extra interest in it only helps

I think I must be trading fairly similar to you. I am certainly not a chartist although I am starting to understand their lingo. But IMHO the market is driven by people and their emotions more than anything else. Greed and Fear.

I am really loving what we have been doing in the last 6 months...it has been a bumpy ride but wow! more money to be made than I ever thought possible.

 

[steveadl]

I generally don't mention the name of the shares I'm buying as I'm not interested in hearing people bag it "omg, why did you buy that crap?!" etc. which always used to happen on the share sites I frequented. Maybe on SS it's different?

 

[evand]

What does it matter if someone bags it? You've made your decision, you think its a winner and that's all that matters. I generally don't care what people say.

I generally don't mention the name of the shares I'm buying as I'm not interested in hearing people bag it "omg, why did you buy that crap?!" etc. which always used to happen on the share sites I frequented. Maybe on SS it's different?

 

[kum yin lau]

Hi & thanks, everyone. I remember Chilliiaa posting a list of stocks & I printed it out with special marks against FXL. I didn't follow through, what a fool!

But it's true we do our own thing though we love to hear what others do.

And Joanmc, I'm experiencing the same incredulous disbelief that it's happening.

Good luck,

KY

 

[steveadl]

It doesn't matter, but I generally try to explain my reasoning and the back and forth got quite tedious on sites like HC, InvestorWeb etc especially since the posters on those sites tend to be much more aggressive in their posting temperament. I just got fed up.

Sold out of my last two small stocks this week (COF & CCV) for a profit cos I didn't like their recent announcements. Now just holding blue chips (CSL, MTS, QBE, SHL etc) but these aren't for trading, long term portfolio.

 

[andrew_de_a]

On this topic, can someone please recommend a good book for beginners?

Cheers

 

[Edmond Dantes]

Evand, have you got a trading system that you created yourself? Did you paper trade before going "live"? I'm not into fundamental analysis, more technical analysis.

 

[evand]

The idea of the 'Top Stocks' book is that you are using TA on company's with already healthy fundamentals. Makes it so much easier.

I paper traded for a short while and then realised its a crock. As you cant make the same decisions when nothing is at stake as you do when $50k or $100k is at stake.

What i did do tho, is start with small positions and build up as i proved myself. I started with $5k trades and then $10k, $20k, etc, etc. Each for a few weeks at a time. I was pretty disciplined there.

What i do is basically called 'momentum trading' or momentum investing. I've held stocks for weeks or months if they are still trending upward. On the other hand i've sold out within an hour for a profit.

http://www.investopedia.com/articles/trading/02/090302.asp

Evand, have you got a trading system that you created yourself? Did you paper trade before going "live"? I'm not into fundamental analysis, more technical analysis.