Posts Tagged trader

Acapulco – The Stock Market Dives

There is a famous cliff on the ocean in Acapulco where experienced divers jump into the sea. It is very dangerous because the water at the base of the cliff surges from a depth of 2 feet to 12 feet. The diver must time his leap so the water is at the greatest depth when he enters or he could easily be killed as many novices before him have been. Timing is the key.

This reminds me of the stock market where timing is also the key to wealth or poverty.

The ocean waves surge in and out against the cliff in short cycles. The tide moves in and out in longer cycles and is very predictable. When you look at Nature you will see there are relatively predictable cycles everywhere. We see day become night, the changes of the seasons and birth to death of our own bodies. Some changes are so microscopically small we cannot see them and others are so long we are not aware they are taking place. Everything has a season or a cycle. It is up to us to be able recognize it and use it to our advantage.

People ask why did the stock market go up (down) today? These short moves can usually be laid to some recent event. Then there are longer surges and regressions of months or a few years. We have bull markets and bear markets that seem to have historical cycles that last decades. These latter cycles run for about 16 to 18 years and move similar to the surges of the sea against the Acapulco cliff. A knowledgeable market timer will buy when the water is out (stocks look their worst) and hit the ocean (sell) as the surge is at its highest.

The ability to do this is NOT guess work. It is an understanding that cycles apply equally as well to the stock market as they do to the forces of Nature. Unfortunately, the principles to learn this very simple technique are not taught in college. Most must learn the method in the school of hard knocks. It can be very expensive.

In our recent bull market from 1982 to 2000 we had one of the predictable long cycles. The mindset of the public has become so hardened to the bull concept that they (and almost all brokers) have forgotten that each up surge is followed by a down surge of approximate equal length. This is not very comforting to current owners of stocks and mutual funds, but once they realize it they can do the prudent thing to protect their money – sell. Then they can buy U.S. Treasury bonds and wait for the next bull market to arrive. It is not very exciting to be in cash, but it is much better than seeing your money slowly disappearing before your eyes.

You must learn entry and exit of the stock market just as the divers in Acapulco have learned the correct moment to jump off the cliff.

Al Thomas\’ book, \”If It Doesn\’t Go Up, Don\’t Buy
It!\” has helped thousands of people make money
and keep their profits with his simple 2-step
method. Read the first chapter at
http://www.mutualfundmagic.com
and discover why he\’s the man that Wall Street
does not want you to know.

Copyright 2005

Writen By : Al Thomas

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What Is A Trading Plan – And Why You Need One?

How do you make money without picking tops and bottoms?

I am glad you asked…

Successful trading is similar to a successful business. You see, every successful business has a business plan so do successful traders. The astute reader knows that, successful traders have a systematic way they approach the market.

The definition of a trading system is a trader\’s business plan; it defines your approach to trading

1. A properly constructed trading system will leave no room for human judgment
2. It will define your actions given any circumstances that may arise.
3. It is a distinct set of rules
4. Which instructs the trader what to do and when to do it.

The importance of this trading plan cannot be understated. Without a consistent set of guiding principles to govern your trading decisions, most traders will hop from one trade to the next, guided by emotion or hysteria.

I firmly believe that not having a plan, you are doomed to fail.

Trading systems themselves will come in many varieties, although they all take the guesswork out of trading. A trading system will determine for you when to buy or sell. System trading has proven itself consistently to be the most effective long-term trading technique.

In fact, you may have even heard the story about one of the most famous system traders of all time, Richard Dennis. It just so happened, in mid 1983, Dennis was having an ongoing dispute with his long time friend Bill Eckhardt about whether great traders were born or made. Dennis believed that trading could be broken down into a set of rules that others could learn. On the other hand, Eckhardt believed trading had more to do with innate instincts, and this skill comes naturally.

In order to settle the matter, Richard suggested that they recruit and train some traders and give them actual accounts to trade to see which one of them was correct. He named his prot?g?s after visiting turtle farms in Singapore; he decided to grow traders similar to the way farmers cultivated turtles, hence the name: Turtles.

To cut a long story short, Dennis taught his trading methodology to these groups of students who later became some of the most successful traders of all time; proving finally, that anyone can become skilled at system trading.

Just like the turtles, I too have studied under a mentor who tutored me in the science of trading. Now, I pass these secrets on to you.

A trading system is simply a set of rules that address every aspect of a trade such as entry and exit conditions and money management. Regardless of how complex it may be, a good test for your trading plan is to hand it to someone else to read thoroughly. See if your selected candidate asks questions. If they can easily understand all the rules and the requirements of your strategy with little to no questions, then you have compiled a sound investment plan.

All successful traders that I meet do this and they have their exact trading methodology written down.

Since most traders lose money and do not have their trading methodology written down, does not it make sense to do what the masses are not doing? If you are trading now and have not taken the time to write out methodology, then stop trading and get it done!

Why is it so important? When you take time to sit down and spell out how you perceive the markets, you are accepting the fact that you might be wrong. You are beginning to accept responsibility. Once you write down how you perceive the market, the only conclusion you can arrive at, if the market does not behave according to what you wrote, is that your perception is wrong. When you write down how you are going to enter a trade, only if certain events transpire, you eliminate any possibility of blaming the market. You are forcing yourself to have discipline.

In other words, if you determined that certain bullish signs show up in your market then you enter into a long position. If these prior events occur, and you did not enter the trade, that failure is your fault.

The Components of Your Trading Plan:

A business plan has set components; so does a trading plan. In fact, there are three major components within any trading plan and they are entry, exits and money management rules; here is a quick summary:

1. Tested Entry Rules

– Entry rules are a precise set of rules that an instrument must pass before you enter a trade. Entry rules should be simple, direct, and leave no room for human judgment.

2. Confidential Money Management Rules

– Perhaps the most important and least addressed aspect of trading is the ability to manage risk. A profitable trader is one who has the ability to manage the risks associated with trading. A trading system should define exactly how much money you are willing to lose on any given trade.

3. Tested Exits Rules

– Entering a share is all to no avail if you do not know when to exit a position. Having rules that defines your exit is equally important as one that defines your entry.

When you take time to write down your trading rules, you transform your mental reality to a physical reality. You cannot fudge the numbers, or avoid taking responsibility.

By writing down your methodology, you are forcing yourself to create a series of decisions based on how you see the markets and this my friend is just the beginning.

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David Jenyns is recognized as the leading expert when it
comes to designing profitable trading systems.

His most recent course Ultimate Trading Systems is a step-
by-step trading roadmap to designing profitable trading
systems. Learn how *you* can become one of his students.
Click Here ==> http://www.ultimate-trading-systems.com

Receive David\’s free trading tips:
==> http://www.ultimate-trading-systems.com/stocks.html
-=-=-==-=-=-=-==-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Writen By : David Jenyns

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Tips To Finding Other People\’s Simple Trading Plans

Did you know you can make money (and a lot of it) by simply modeling someone else\’s trading plan? Yes, it is true. Unbelievably, there are many of trading gurus doing it RIGHT NOW.

All you do is model your system on an
already tested and proven trading plan.

If you are new to trading, or even if you have been trading a while, this is a secret very few successful traders talk about. You see, many successful traders diversify their trading float by trading other peoples tested systems – because it is so easy to do.

There are several reasons to start construction of your own trading system by stealing or borrowing another trading system\’s ideas and concepts.

FIRST, as I said, it is easy. There are some pretty good trading systems out there. Some are free and some are very expensive. The costs of these systems are not an indication of the value of the system. The problem with some trading systems is that they might not work for you. Now I am not talking about out right dishonesty, which is a big problem when trading. Rather, I am talking about your ability to effectively trade with the system that you are using or buying.

You need to use a system that matches your life style and personality. If you have a day job (not trading), do not use a system that requires you to stare at a screen all day. You will be distracted at work and miss the opportunities to make money or worse you will not close a trade effectively and will lose money.

Some systems have a potential to lose 20, 30 or 40% of your money before they are profitable. Can you handle a system that can drop your trading capital to half before making money? Or, are you prepared to have a string of 8 to 10 loses in a row before you have a winning trade? Some of the best traders in the world lose money on more than 50% of their trades.

An excellent trading method made famous by Richard Dennis and William Eckhardt and sometimes referred to as Turtle Trading, is one of the best trading system that I know. They obtain returns in excess of 20 to 100% per year. With that said, could most traders trade their system? Not a chance! Dennis and Eckhardt also loose on over 60% of their trades.

SECOND, do not reinvent the wheel. Face it, if you are a new or even a fairly serious trader, what is the possibility that you will come up with a totally new concept? There are some very smart and wealthy traders out there. Why not use their ideas? Remember Dennis and Eckhardt in the above paragraph. Their system is based on a \”breakout\” method.

I know most traders could not trade using their exact method but they could take components of it, like breakouts to validate or confirm a trend.

THIRD, use other systems to give you the basics of what is necessary in a system to make money.

So I guess the question is now… where do you find good trading plans to model? Before you start looking for trading plans, you need to have some sort of a check list. Take out a piece of paper and write down different things you want to accomplish with a trading plan. What do you want to learn? Go from the gut, your heart and pick things that mean something to you. If you just randomly select items off of a page on the internet, your list will not have meaning and personality and that is what you want. A system that you can personalize to fit your lifestyle.

This checklist will help you find successful trading plans that already work without developing your own. Develop a habit of constantly snooping around and doing research. I am constantly looking to see what other people are doing in the trading arena and if you keep it up, you will too.

-=-=-==-=-=-=-==-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
David Jenyns is recognized as the leading expert when it
comes to designing profitable trading systems.

His most recent course Ultimate Trading Systems is a step-
by-step trading roadmap to designing profitable trading
systems. Learn how *you* can become one of his students.
Click Here ==> http://www.ultimate-trading-systems.com

Receive David\’s free trading tips:
==> http://www.ultimate-trading-systems.com/stocks.html
-=-=-==-=-=-=-==-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Writen By : David Jenyns

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The Secret Method To Selecting A Winning Trading System

Every successful trader has a winning system. There are of course, as many systems out there, as there are traders. Some systems get you to buy on strength and sell on weakness others do the opposite.

Some investors succeed as value investors , a la Warren Buffet ; others make their millions in momentum trading . I have even heard of an astrologist who uses the stars to trade profitably. Although, there are a variety of methods, the point I am trying to illustrate here is this: there are many ways to profit from the markets, but you ultimately must devise a system that is your own, because the personalization will act as a motivational discipline to stick with the plan.

There is however, one common element amongst all successful traders…they have a systematic way they approach the market. This approach is unique. In reality, no two people have exactly the same amount of money, tolerance for risk, personality, time or experience. Therefore, the key to success is to design a system that is suited for you.

Many traders fail because they do not assess how well a trading system matches their temperament. Instead, they chase fads, searching for the \”Holy Grail\” of trading success; or they waste their money on the latest investing software or buying up the tapes of the latest self-proclaimed stock market guru.

The fact is there is no perfect system. Successful investors succeed because they choose a system that they feel comfortable with, not one that claims to be the current trend. A cool, disciplined trader will make money with an \”average\” system, while a nervous, arbitrary trader will wreck a \”brilliant\” system.

The key is to develop a methodology that maximizes your strengths and minimizes your weaknesses. Nevertheless, how do you do that? First, define your objectives.

Ask yourself these questions:

1. Am I designing a trading plan for cash flow or capital growth?

2. Do I want to trade part time or full time?

3. How much money can I work with?

4. What annual rate of return do I want? (Note: the higher the return, usually the higher the risk).

Decisions such as these will have the largest impact on the style of your trading system.

For example, if your goal is cash flow and low risk, buying or selling at extreme levels (overbought/oversold) is an unlikely style. If your goals center on quick capital growth, high returns and high risk, then bottom picking strategies and gap trading may be your style.

I had one client that was a wiz at buying and selling on eBay. This person was a beginner so I suggested buying the trade closer to the 52-week low, then selling the trade when it foresaw a profit.

Entries and exits must be precise and must follow a strict set of rules.

Styles range from aggressive day traders looking to scalp few point gains to investors looking to capitalize on long-term macro economic trends. In between, there are a whole host of possible combinations including swing traders, position traders, aggressive growth investors, value investors and contrarians.

Moreover, your style will depend on your level of commitment and experience. Day traders are likely to pursue an aggressive style with high activity levels. The goals would focus on quick trades, small profits and very tight stop-loss levels. For this, the trader uses intraday charts to provide timely entry and exit points. A high level of commitment, focus and energy would be required.

On the other hand, position traders are likely to use intraday charts and pursue 1-8 week price movements. Focused goals on short to intermediate price movements and the level of commitment, while still substantial, would be less than a day trader.

With this in mind, be sure to define your trading objectives as best as you can. Unless your system matches your own criteria, you will never make big profits. You need to ask yourself the simple question: \”I am trading in the market because I want to __________\”…

Answer this and you are well on your way to setting your portfolio objectives.

-=-=-==-=-=-=-==-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
David Jenyns is recognized as the leading expert when it
comes to designing profitable trading systems.

His most recent course Ultimate Trading Systems is a step-
by-step trading roadmap to designing profitable trading
systems. Learn how *you* can become one of his students.
Click Here ==> http://www.ultimate-trading-systems.com

Receive David\’s free trading tips:
==> http://www.ultimate-trading-systems.com/stocks.html
-=-=-==-=-=-=-==-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Writen By : David Jenyns

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A Simple Relationship To Put Money In Your Pocket

Every US based worker that has attended a 401K planning seminar has heard the same lecture. Diversify your money between US based Large, Mid and Small Cap stocks then mix in some International Stocks and Bonds. Your percent allocation to each sector will vary depending on your age. It must be sound advice if some many professionals agree on this approach. Most will follow this advice tweaking it every now and then. However, with a little more understanding you can outperform those advisors.

The objective of investing is to buy low and sell high which is not as easy as it sounds. At least in the stock part of your portfolio, it is slightly easier to do with your bond allocation. The key to bonds is interest rates. As interest rates go up, bond prices go down. As interest rates go down, bond prices go up. That is all the average investor needs to know about bonds.

Let?s say that you purchased a bond that was paying 3% interest and then interest rates increase to 3.5%. Why would a new investor buy your bond paying 3% – when a new one could be purchased that returned 3.5%? Thus, the only way to entice people to buy the 3% bond is to lower its price (rates goes up price goes down). Now the investor has a choice of buying the lower yielding bond at a lower price versus the new higher yielding bond at a higher price.

The Fidelity US Bond Fund (FBIDX) is available in many 401K plans. Its returns over the last 6 ? years is as follows:

 	          2000    2001       2002      2003     2004     2005    YTD 5/2006
 Total Return%    11.4     8.1       10.2      4.9      4.4       2.3     -0.8 

What happened to the returns? Interest rates were low in the first years of the decade; then the fed went on rate raising campaign that commenced in June of 2004. By knowing the relationship between bonds and interest rates, a savvy investor would act accordingly. Thus, bond allocations would increase in low interest rate environments and decrease in high interest rate environments. I bet you didn?t hear that in your 401K seminar.

Just a little financial education will carry you a long way and lead to better results. As we are nearing the end of the interest rate increases here is Bill Gross\’, often referred to as \”the Warren Buffett of the bond world,\” current position.

July 7 (Bloomberg) — Bill Gross, chief investment officer at Pacific Investment Management Co. and manager of the world\’s biggest bond fund, said the bear market in bonds is over. “The bond bear market is beginning to go into hibernation, which is the same thing as saying the bear market\’s over,\’\’ said Gross in a television interview from the firm\’s headquarters in Newport Beach, California. “It ended two days ago on Wednesday. While we\’re not about to reap huge capital gains, bonds will do better from here in terms of price.\’\’

As rates go down bond prices go up.

About the Author

Michael Dawson recently said goodbye to a 20 year career in Engineering, Marketing and Sales to focus on living his dream of financial independence. He has since founded The Time and Money Group as vehicle to encourage others to do the same. The company\’s mantra is \”Why trade time for money … when you can have both.\” Sign up for their free weekly newsletter, where he and others discuss the different paths to financial freedom and offer insights for your successful navigation.

http://www.thetimeandmoneygroup.com

Make sure to read one of Dawson\’s most popular articles: \”The No-Brainer Investment Strategy to Double Digit Returns\”

Writen By : Michael Dawson

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Wealth Building – Through Commodity Investing

In my recent article, The No-brainer Investment Strategy to Double Digit Returns, I opined that there is a 34 year cycle in the stock market. A 17 year bull market is followed by a 17 year bear market and that equities and commodities are inversely correlated. Based on this premise, a strategy could be devised in which equities and commodities are alternately invested during its appropriate time during the cycle. I also stated that the last equities bull market from 1982-200 ended with the bursting of the internet bubble and that we are now 5 years into the commodity up-cycle. Finally, I offered research to support this position and results through 2005. So, how is this theory performing over the first six months of 2006?

As of 7/14/2006:

DOW 0.2%

S

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Financial Freedom: Saying Goodbye To The Time For Money Swap

Before we address the issue at hand, let

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