Well, apologies if I appear to be randomly dropping into the end of year thread... I've been a watcher more than a poster.
This year was my first year trading (initially I was going to be investing but realised I was more interested in trading). I've a full time job so this is very part time. Starting with $10k, added another $3k over the year as top up...
⦁ What worked well, what didn't;
Trial and error. I learnt ways to lose money and to make modest money back. At the start I blindly/naively thought that persons who had experience and the loudest voice were going to be correct most of the time. Oh how wrong I was...
In the end a combination of informed research, more research into the respective commodity/market and a good amount of guessing have ensured that I haven't lost it all!
What didn't work was trying to trade other peoples knowledge/specialties.
⦁ Best trade, worst trade;
Worst has easily been a high entry, averaging down and panic exit in LWP. So much fail its not funny on so many levels (hot potato this one). What idiot puts 70% of the total small fun bucket into a penny stock??? me.
Best was a well researched and very well timed entry into CXX - Cradle Resources. The remaining amount from above trade went into this at a good time (which amazingly I feel I knew) and out at a respectable time. A couple of trades of this stock as I felt safe as I knew
⦁ What you want to do more next FY, what you absolutely will do less of next FY
More research next year, I actually enjoy it and its what makes better trades for me. Also having way more patience with stocks, things don't always happen when you think they should. If I had held alot of my stocks longer I would have made ALOT more money, I even may have picked but did it out of fear anyway.
LESS blind trading into stocks that "will/should/can't believe they haven't" rise immediately. This is listening to less hype and reading more into hints dropped by the market (random and significant volume is one example of a thing that will pique interest for research to begin)
At this stage on stocks I don't know well enough I'm using a "safe" 10% exit rule, if I make 10% I exit. If I'm down it comes down to gut (did me well on the hype of MTH....). Will it work? probably, will I potentially miss a lot upside? probably.
Thanks for the interesting learning this year team...... Lets see if Aluminium and Graphite go amazing.... Because I read someone say that they will so I followed eh? Jokes.
