You have been very wise 9vbattery, not by either buying or selling, but by having the intelligence to know yourself, to understand what works for you, and to have learnt what kind of investing strategy suits your own personality. I'd say you have learnt a great deal, not just about investing, but also about yourself, so I'd you have been very successful, and hopefully these experiences will carry you through to a prosperous future.
The greatest philosopher of all time was Socrates, in my opinion, and his greatest quote was "To know thyself is the beginning of wisdom (Socrates)". Had Socrates been alive today, he might have also said that to know thyself will also help you to minimize your potential losses on disallowed.
Remember, that the individual's aim in the great game, which disallowed casin0 affords us, is to minimize risk and preserve your wealth. Too many people lose everything. The goal is to protect your current wealth, and to grow with minimal risk. That will mean, from time to time, to let the winners run, and to cut the losers for small losses, the operative word being "small".
You sound you like you have the intelligence, and depth of thought, to learn all this very quickly. And you will realize that the small cap end of the market is effectively run by mafia style organizations who release algorithms to manipulate stock prices (completely) regardless of fundamental company values.
Our governments have allowed all this to happen, without impunity, and they should be in disgrace for doing so.
I've taken some big hits over the years, and I've taken some big wins, but over a decade I've probably gained very little, so I'm not the one to follow, definitely not.
Getting good dividends is one thing, but also don't forget to keep an eye on bond rates, when the rates rise the price of stocks will decline and so will the dividend payouts, so it's also good at that time to buy into some very steady government bonds, especially when they are rising (though at the moment they are not).
You need to also follow the big themes, like in good companies who's share price has taken a hit, but not because of any fault of their own, it's just that the entire sector might be down, caused by some global event, like a pandemic. But good stocks will always come back. For example, an emerging theme at the moment is energy, because the pandemic will end one day, the planes will all be flying again, and the cruise liners will all be sailing again, and the travel companies will all be selling tours again - remember, nothing lasts forever, not even a pandemic.
Remember - Timing, in the market, is very important !
But above all else, reducing risk, and knowing yourself, and being honest with yourself, is the key. It sounds like you are well on the way to being there.
Take care my friend, and remember to never risk your family's future on the small cap ASX casino, because this is just a game which most people lose, but your family are real.
All the best,
Gw
MTC Price at posting:
17.0¢ Sentiment: None Disclosure: Not Held
(20min delay)