In reply to @Patterns. "Patterns3,900 Posts.18118/05/1910:00Post #: 38627213Share@Rick64There are three obvious questions from those figures Rick1) How are you determining your correct position size?2) What are you using for an exit strategy?3) Where do you determine the stop loss will be?"
I am now using a combination of Incredible Charts stock screener and posters I have come to trust on Hot Copper for my entry selections.
My position size is limited to under 1k due to: A) Brokerage is kept to a minimum. I usually trade around $800 - $900 per buy which gives me scope to earn 10 - 20% before brokerage doubles. B) Still learning so do not have the confidence that most of you guys have. C) I am a tradie, with limited work opportunities atm, and have learnt to be very careful with limited funds, due to past mistakes.
My exit strategy: A) I have a stop loss set at -15% by default. This is arbitrary depending on entry price. B) I have an automatic sell set at +40%. This also is arbitrary due my ability to be in front of my screens. If I am at work and unable to monitor my stocks, the above stops will kick in.
I do not buy in the am unless I know I can monitor the stocks for the whole of that day.
I realise that the above is very amateurish to you guys, but any plan is better than no plan, which is what I had just a couple of months ago. With time I hope to gain in confidence, thus enabling my ability to increase position size. I have learnt to read charts and have rudimentary knowledge of technical analysis , I now have Viewpoint, which really opened my eyes as to what happens on the markets. I was trying to trade for years with just the basic Commsec website, now I realise why I had lost so much money. I have cut out all the dead wood, except for a couple I have no choice in. I have learnt that stock trading is just that, get in and get out as fast as possible. I used to just hang on blindly hoping for a stock to go up, sometimes for months or even years. It rarely happened, never in my case. I have had a pretty good week this week. I earnt plenty of readies from my trade. I had several small wins on the market. I traded PCK 4 times for one loss and 3 wins. Bought one parcel of HYD of 36,000 shares at 2.8. Sold 15,000 for 3.6, holding the rest. Bought one parcel of ADN of 80,000 shares at .01. Sold 30,000 for 1.4, holding the rest. These stocks came from a combination of my scans and Hot Copper chatter. It may seem tiny to you guys, but to me it is a big deal. I am actually making money. A huge difference to 2 months ago.
