Showdown Trading v investing All that stuff posted to backup the...

Showdown Trading v investing All that stuff posted to backup the buy and hold
argument is just theory ... proposed by a bunch
of academics that probably have never had to
figure out a trade for themselves.To be meaningful, it should have a PRACTICAL element attached to it, like show us your trading plan ...
What makes the studies so interesting is that they analyse the trading history of thousands of guys like you over several years from computer records of actual trading strategies as implemented in the real world. The numbers tell the painful truth: traders lose compared to buy and holders. I'd be curious to see a study showing traders succeeding. I bet you can't find one. Trading is a zero sum game before costs. After transaction costs and taxes it is a game where the pool of participants will inevitably lose.

and we still don't have any response to the three questions for these long term HDR holders:Where EXACTLY is your exit?
As a Buffettonian I'll sell when HDR is trading near or over its intrinsic value, however long that takes. Why the obsession with an exit strategy? Buffett said his favourite holding period is forever. I don't see any traders in the Forbes global rich 200 list. How can you believe in a philosophy which has never produced a winner like Buffett? This severely undermines the credibility of the trading mantra.


If you work on profit percentages, how come you
didn't take your profits when HDR was over $1.oo
... that surely met your percentage gain from where
you claim to be holding ... yes?
Because HDR was, and is, worth a lot more than a $1. Why sell something for less than it is worth? Only the insiders can predict every rise and fall. The rest of us would be best served by patience and careful research instead of falling victim to the fallacy that it is possible to consistently profit from short term price movements.


Do you REALLY have any sort of trading plan to
take profits, WHILE THEY EXIST, in this trade?
Nope. My plan is to slowly accumulate shares in stocks trading at significant discounts to fair value and keep the turnover in my portfolio to less than 10% pa. You need to understand the concept of price and value. Price is what you pay, value is what you get. If the price is a lot less than the value, as it is with HDR, the rewards will follow. We both have our idols. My idol is the worlds richest man. Your trading idols wouldn't make the Australian BRW rich list, let alone the global list. The truth is that the people that make the most money from trading are those peddling the books, software and seminars.