Getting back one's confidence in the market

[benwex]

I have been involved in the stockmarket since 2003. I rode the bull market up and now have crashed down...

I have erased all my multiple gains (and some more) in that period and did not get out. I have some penny dreadfuls which I dont know what to do with.

Now I find it so difficult to look at the screens, listen to what happen lastnight in the US, commodity prices etc...

I am sure I aint alone.

How do you get back on the horse, if ever??

benwex

 

[jersey10]

Re: Getting back ones confidence in the market

I have been involved in the stockmarket since 2003. I rode the bull market up and now have crashed down...

I have erased all my multiple gains (and some more) in that period and did not get out. I have some penny dreadfuls which I dont know what to do with.

Now I find it so difficult to look at the screens, listen to what happen lastnight in the US, commodity prices etc...

I am sure I aint alone.

How do you get back on the horse, if ever??

benwex

Like anything in life that goes wrong, you have to evaluate why it went wrong, adjust how you do things in the future and move on.

 

[Wysiwyg]

Did you think along the lines of .... it can`t get any worse?I did.

 

[chops_a_must]

Learning to sell?

 

[Whiskers]

I have been involved in the stockmarket since 2003. I rode the bull market up and now have crashed down...

I have erased all my multiple gains (and some more) in that period and did not get out. I have some penny dreadfuls which I dont know what to do with.

Now I find it so difficult to look at the screens, listen to what happen lastnight in the US, commodity prices etc...

I am sure I aint alone.

How do you get back on the horse, if ever??

benwex

No you're not alone. The short answer is, you need to find your feel for and get in sync with, the rhythm of the horse for a smoth ride... and simillarly with the markets.

I also dabble in some penny dreadfuls at times and have made some good gains at times... but similarly I had to cut my losses on some to make better use of my cash with more promising short term trades.

I can't/won't advise you what to do, but if you could name the 'dreadfuls' and the reason you bought them, we could have a look at some charts and fundamentals and help work you through what you see and some common decision making tools.

 

[Real1ty]

Learning to sell?

As simple as that sounds it is on the money.

You have to take a small loss to avoid a big one when the market is telling you that you are wrong.

 

[Lucky_Country]

You have lost nothing until you sell !

Hindsight we would have all sold everything 12 months ago and be buying back in at these current levels.

Ask why did you buy these companies and how long did you plan to hold them for in the first place ?

Penny dreadfuls are usually companies in the early stages of a project so they make take up to 7 years to bear the fruit of the hard work done.

 

[chops_a_must]

You have lost nothing until you sell !

Hindsight we would have all sold everything 12 months ago and be buying back in at these current levels.

Ask why did you buy these companies and how long did you plan to hold them for in the first place ?

Penny dreadfuls are usually companies in the early stages of a project so they make take up to 7 years to bear the fruit of the hard work done.

And that attitude is exactly why buy and holders lose everything like in the OP.

It completely ignores the fact that fundamentals and other things can change drastically over time, and must be acknowledged.

 

[MS+Tradesim]

You have lost nothing until you sell !

Hindsight we would have all sold everything 12 months ago and be buying back in at these current levels.

Ummm....a lot of people did sell prior to the crash and are looking for an entry opportunity. You don't need hindsight. Just responsiveness to what is going on at the time.

And if you truly believe you've lost nothing till you sell just try and get a margin loan valued on your buy price.

"I'd like to get a margin loan."
"Great. What is your portfolio worth."
"$100k"
"Excellent. Do you have an account statement?"
"Yep, here. It says it's only worth 40k but really it's worth $100k coz you don't lose anything till you sell and I'm not selling."

*Door. Kick.*

 

[jonojpsg]

And that attitude is exactly why buy and holders lose everything like in the OP.

It completely ignores the fact that fundamentals and other things can change drastically over time, and must be acknowledged.

Indeed! Anyone still holding AAR? I'm in a similar situation with some penny dreadfuls - AAR is one. Don't know if they'll get up eventually but am going to wait and see i think. I definitely learnt that I have to set up stop losses for every buy i make - if i had i think i would be about 10-15k better off than i am today - and that's on a small overall total too.

I agree that for one to get back in successfully you need to learn what went wrong and FIX it, like me and stop losses.

 

[Julia]

You have lost nothing until you sell !

I guess that's what the holders of CNP and AFG were saying to themselves as they watched the slide all the way down. Sure worked for them.

 

[GreatPig]

I guess that's what the holders of CNP and AFG were saying to themselves as they watched the slide all the way down. Sure worked for them.

I did if they still haven't sold yet...

GP

 

[SM Junkie]

I read an article in the paper quite a few weeks back. It talked about elderly people attending a stock market seminar on the financial crisis. What I remember from it, is that most of these people were not that concerned about the current crises because they have been through crashes before and were basically preparing themselves for where to invest next.

I want to be like them. I want to look back on this experience and see it as an opportunity to learn and perhaps next time I will do things differently because I know differently.

So although it hurts right now, one day I hope to be thankful for the opportunity to gain so much knowledge.