Saturday, 27 August 2011

Making 200% In The Stock Market Can Be Easy

By Helen Hathaway


There is an unlucky belief among many folks that doing well in the stockmarket ( and other markets, for what it's worth ) needs a great amount of work and tons of time. This is partially a result of those in the markets needing to make what they do appear complex, and thus exclusive. The unvarnished reality of the circumstances are that you do not have to devote your life to the markets to provide good results.

I'll use myself as an example. In most years there are important time periods during which my timetable of travel and other commitments inhibits me being very active in the markets. One actual year I added a 6 week trip between the end of May and the early part of July in to the mix as well. In the course of that year I did a total of approximately 12 trades in the exchange. Need to know my return for that year? It was more than 200%.

Now you may be thinking this is an enigma. It isn't.

Over about an eighteen month period between 2002 and 2003 I was ready to double the value of my retirement account trading stocks ( I had to double it to make up for the thrashing the retirement funds I had been in before that had taken ) always using a way more conservative approach than in the example above. Again, that was done on a comparatively low number of trades.v in actual fact I do not typically make that many trades in any specified year. If I am getting terribly far above twenty it's rather strange.

Obviously , I am not a day trader. I don't get into and out of positions swiftly. My method is one I have formed over time which permits me to find stocks with good upside potential that I haven't got to constantly watch. The positions I put on are planned to be held for weeks, if not months. That is the timescale when the biggest moves happen, so that is the timescale I need to trade.

The method I use incorporates all 3 first sorts of market research elemental, technical, and quantitative. Having said that, nevertheless I am able to go thru the stock selection process in one or two hours, at most. If there is not anything worth actually taking a look at, the entire thing can be done extremely quickly.

What's more, if I have active positions on I will probably not be looking to enter any fresh ones. If that is the case apart from a little checking up to find out how the stocks are trading and if there's any vital stories, there is very tiny to be done. I will literally trade my system in only a few hours a month.

Now you might be saying that I've got a great system. Maybe I do. It certainly works for me given the constraints I operate under with my schedule. I don't consider it any major secret, though. In fact, I outlined it in detail in my book, The Essentials of Trading, so you are free to take a look at it for yourself.

The important point here is that I was able to develop a trading style and methodology that works for me. Anyone can do that. It is a question of making an honest self -assessment and defining an approach that fits within the parameters you have for trading or investing in the markets. Maybe you can day trade, or maybe you're like me with limited time to dedicate to finding good stocks to buy.

Whatever the case, you have to do what works for you and realize that you can trade effectively regardless of how much time you have to put in to it.




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