Australian (ASX) Stock Market Forum

Your Biggest Investment Blunder!! & lessons learned!

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How b'out buying into PDN in '98 (75ooo @ 7c). Holding for 3 years (despite the spikes) sure that nuclear energy and uranium was about to go off. Ended up cashing out at a significant loss to buy into BDL (down from >2.00 to 3c) sure that their african worries were complete- only to have BDL fall over and do a 100:1 share consolidation :banghead:
Managed to turn 5K into $50 for the whole excercise.
Stopped doing the sums when PDN breached $5 (try to anyway :( )

What do you do, told myself three years was the limit
 
My single big blunder was back when IB was fine with margin for Aussies.
Big mistake 10/2014 lost a crap load and took years to recover.

Lesson learned for sure.
 
sptrawler said:
My single biggest blunder, is holding onto a $ hit share, thinking it will end up smelling like roses.
The problem is I still do it, I think Skate said, doing well in shares is knowing when to sell.
That is the best tip ever. IMO
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I have done this a number of time.

And like duh - Homer!!

I now - always draw a line in the sand. I'm out at that level, no ifs, no buts!
 
myrtie100 said:
I have done this a number of time.

And like duh - Homer!!

I now - always draw a line in the sand. I'm out at that level, no ifs, no buts!
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I know what you are saying, I locked in an eye watering loss on AMP, last week.
But I feel a lot better now, I've stopped sobbing and having suicidal thoughts. :roflmao:
 
Biggest blunder I've ever made was taking professional advice and not questioning everything.

Long story short lost serious $ at the time.

If you're paying for advice on any subject then make very sure that whoever's giving such advice is themselves successful in that field. Make sure you know enough to determine whether or not they know their stuff. Same goes with anything important. :2twocents
 
sptrawler said:
My single biggest blunder, is holding onto a $ hit share, thinking it will end up smelling like roses.
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Yeah that's something I've avoided totally. Weekends (weekly system), run a scan and enter the sell 5% below Fri close. Never missed a sell.

Smurf1976 said:
Biggest blunder I've ever made was taking professional advice and not questioning everything.

Ahhh yes, I can relate to that!
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My biggest blunder has been not buying CSL when it was less than $25.

I understood the company, I believed it was a great company, with good growth prospects etc. and knew it was recession proof.

But I couldn’t get past the high P/E ratio, and that was a mistake.
 
I so wish my biggest blunder was a missed opportunity.
.i was playing with a set of option.left for a Thai holiday in the north with a 60k paper profit, when back in the connected world after a fortnight, was at a 10k loss
What was i thinking
I never ever made 60k paper profit since...
 
@Sir Burr thank you for reactivating a thread I have not read before & this thread is very educational. I'm re-posting a few of my posts from the 'Dump it here' thread as there maybe a quote that gets other members to visit & read my thread.

Skate said:
Quote
“Education is something that is done to you. Learning is something you do for yourself."
Skate.
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sptrawler said:
I know what you are saying, I locked in an eye watering loss on AMP, last week.
But I feel a lot better now, I've stopped sobbing and having suicidal thoughts. :roflmao:
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@sptrawler thanks for making this quote as it has given me the blatant opportunity to promote my 'Dump it here' thread & your post adds validity to one of my previous post [attached below]

Skate said:
Misery of selling a large loss
When the misery of a big loss is suddenly removed by selling the position you'll feel a surge of energy - the weight will be lifted and you might be surprised at how readily you can find other opportunities that will help you make up your loss.
Skate.
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The bleeding obvious
As this thread is about investment blunders let me state the bleeding obvious - blunders in this game come from (a) NOT picking stocks that increase in price & (b) NOT effectively managing the positions after you buy them. Item (b) is the one you should take notice of - not doing so can cost you money.

Skate said:
Trading success depends on two basic things:
1. Picking good stocks that increase in price, and
2. Effectively managing the stocks after you buy them.
Effective management means having a plan for either cutting losses or taking gains. Managing your stocks after you buy them is what determines your level of success. Great investing results are a product of shrewd selling rather than smart buying.
Skate.
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Skate said:
Luck
To a great degree, our success or failure in the market is a function of our luck. We like to think that our results are a direct consequence of our insight and efforts, but the reality is that luck plays a big part in how we do.
Punching Bag
No matter how smart we are, or how hard we work, we will regularly be hit by news, circumstances, and developments that are unforeseen and unknowable. The stock market gods will periodically use us for their entertainment, and there is nothing we can do to prevent it, so we have to be ready and mentally prepared.
Skate.
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sptrawler said:
My single biggest blunder, is holding onto a $ hit share, thinking it will end up smelling like roses.
The problem is I still do it, I think Skate said, doing well in shares is knowing when to sell. That is the best tip ever. IMO
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@sptrawler - thanks for referencing one of my posts & for the benefit of others I'll re-post them.

Skate said:
Selling
Successful trading is largely the art of selling. Buying a stock is easy. It is determining when to cut our losses or when to take our profits that is hard. Because it is so hard to determine when it is the right time to sell, many just don’t do it.
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Skate said:
It's underrated
Selling is one of the most underrated and unappreciated tactical tool any trader has. Traders like us can use our small size, quickness, and aggressiveness to outmanoeuvre and outrun the giants of the market controlling our own destiny by being quick to act when the time is right, and quick to retreat and sell at the first sign of trouble.
Skate.
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The 'Dump it here' thread if full of quotes like the ones above, other members have also contributed to the thread & it's a worthy read. If you only want to read my posts grab the free eBook listed in my tag below.

Skate.
 
My biggest investment blunder was, a few years ago, being inspired by Warren Buffett and becoming a value investor. I underperformed during that period. It was a blunder for me, personally, because by nature, how I view investing is the opposite of how a value investor sees the world.

I have no doubt that if I stuck with it, I would have been successful at value investing. I learn fast and can apply myself to just about anything.

But as Warren says: stick to your circle of competence. My lesson learned is that there's no need to become an expert in every style of investing. You're better of finding the style that aligns best with your personality, and become an expert in that.
 
My biggest blunder, sucked into saftey in the market and wasting heaps of time and money naively trying to win at futures trading untill BBY went broke.
 
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