WARNING! The following is an unpaid presentation from someone who can't sleep and has the day off tomorrow. Nothing that follows this warning message is of particular importance to anyone. You would be better off using the time it would take to read all of this to make yourself some coffee and toast - or pull out your own eyelashes (such is the nature of it). Seriously...
YourDudliness,
Very, very, very long story short - My original post was not promoting ignorance or complacency, nor was it downplaying the role of research and due diligence. It was merely a personal reflection of finding one's own level of comfort with what many consider to be a long-term investment in what is currently a heavily controlled short-term trading environment. If you want to take a look every now and then (like me), that is fine. If you want to chew your nails every 5 minutes watching the share price jump around, that is fine. If you want to wage war against the rotten instos, that is fine. If you want to find a healthy balance of whatever it is that works for you, that is fine. Each to their own. My point wasn't that people shouldn't be involved in the daily happenings of this stock, nor that they shouldn't spend as much time on Hotcopper as they like (in fact, it wasn't about what anyone else should do at all). My point was simply, given that I know the share price is being held back beyond my control, it was (and is) refreshing to take a minute to stop analysing ever pip and enjoy the fact that I am invested in this journey. As for anyone else - worry, don't worry, watch, don't watch, 5 bag, 10 bag, buy a Jag, white flag - It doesn't affect me one bit. It is up to each person to find their own balance at the end of the day...
Now, the following is simply an extension of exactly the same thing I just said, but the above summary was an after-thought, and I couldn't bring myself to delete the rest, so...
YD - I appreciate you taking the time to offer an alternative view. It is most welcome. Hotcopper is a fantastic place to share ideas, sentiments and knowledge, which is why I am so thankful to the giants of our company (the ones whose posts I have to read several times over to get half the point) that put in so much time and effort to contribute their incredible insight and understanding. For many, these people help the ordinary Mum and Dad investor to take one step forward in a game where they are 5 steps behind the system by default. In no way do I advocate turning a blind eye and letting one's investment fly around on the wings of circumstance and random chance. Nor do I oppose it. Each to their own. I do think, however, that there is a distinct difference between staying informed, and becoming paranoid that you may miss every second of the action. Like I said before, this stock is a ragdoll, and it will continue to get passed back and forth until it is let go. As rotten as it seems, neither you or I can do anything about it, except hang on to our shares if that is the goal (which, oddly enough, ties in with the general sentiment from my original post) and wait. That isn't throwing in the towel and choosing to be ignorant of the situation - It is simply my understanding of where my investment fits into the grand scheme of 88E. It is good to seek answers as to why the share price is where it is, but once you realise that bigger factors are at play, it makes the long-term goal a lot easier to deal with than the fragile minute-by-minute changes to the daily share price. After all, if it were left up to ordinary people to fight over a reasonable share price for 88E, I think we would be somewhat higher than 3.7 cents. The fact is, money is being made with each little pip. Accumulation is taking place at lower prices, and then, when the conditions are right, up she goes and everyone is happy. Until then, holding long is akin to being a sitting duck (unless, of course, you are smart and bold enough to act on any downward trend for profit), so, why not get comfortable while you wait?
Now, onto your reference that "knowledge is power" - I agree. It is great for an inexperienced investor to learn about market forces and share manipulation. Everyone should be aware of artificial share-price capping and bots and instos and day-traders and what have you. They should be able to read posts about long-term fundamentals of a company, past performance, upcoming announcements and key dates. These are all good things that the Hotcopper community contributes on an hourly basis. I would not change that. Like I said, I am truly thankful for the input of so many, and I think most newcomers feel fairly well supported whenever they have a question or post their own thoughts (with validity, of course). I am not taking aim at the forum, nor the people who post. I am not suggesting people shouldn't look at charts and learn as much as they can. I am not down-playing the power of knowledge and information, and if spending hours going over forum posts and analysing daily data helps people to take control of their investment and "de-stress" as you put it, then that is absolutely fine by me. I often like to do it myself. I just know that if the share price dropped by 20% tomorrow, without any announcement, it would not change my investment one bit. Is that a delusion? Is it blind ignorance? Is it naive to focus so predominantly on the long game? Who knows. But for me, that is my balance. That is my calm, and it helps me to realise that I have made a decision for next year, or the year after, or the year after that, and in the meantime, the instos and bots and day-traders can do what they like, if only for the simple fact that they will anyway, whether I like it or not.
Watching the screens all day works for some people. For others, it doesn't. Some people want peace of mind that they have made a good investment decision, and daily share volatility doesn't really help to achieve that. If the price fluctuates 10, or 50, or 100 times a day, that is an awful lot of analysing (and potential doubting) between now and the big one. Someone new to the game could quite easily feel robbed, cheated or disadvantaged by the system keeping the share price low, given the exceptional potential of 88E, in conjunction with what is already known about its existing prospects. In essence, you can kind of understand it. It feels like a cheap trick from a sideshow stall. How can you win against them, when the odds are stacked in their favour? For some, it is a constant battle to try and get one-up on the big guys. For others, it is simply a matter of waiting until the fat cats get their fill, and kicking back until the weather changes.
I think many people know what it can be like to sit in front of the computer and refresh the back-end out of price pages, with a sense of relief every 5 seconds when the share price doesn't move, disappointment when it drops 0.001 a few seconds later, relief when it levels back out within the next minute, excitement when it rises 0.001 and then disappointment when it falls back to the same price it was just a few moments earlier. Then, perspective comes along and you realise that you are actually fairly happy that the price has stayed the same as when it first opened, because it makes you feel like you are surviving, and that your goal is "long-term". Now, some people love that thrill-a-minute analysis of the stock, but for others, it can be an all-consuming pursuit for answers (some of which may not be answerable until much later). However, no matter which approach you take, I think the best piece of knowledge you can have is this: the only thing you can truly control are your own decisions...
And on that note, I have decided that the world has had more than enough of my pointless ramblings, so it is time for bed.
Goodnight, Hotcopper Land, and good luck to all holders. Go the Blues!
AP
Expand