Why bother?

[GeoffM]

Yes another newbie. I have sat hear for weeks now reading as much as I can ( yes I have plenty of time on my hands ) I find some of the threads have some real informative information buried amongst there many pagers. Wading through them is can be tiresome especially when one person starts having a shot at another.

From what I have observed is most newbie’s want to know the basics of trading starting with the shares Then build there own trading stile after getting the basics down pat

Now I ask why bother spending time reading every thing you can about trading ,becoming confused with information over load , then try to sift the “basics” from all the other information you gather along the way . I understand the each person has to find there own still or what suites them BUT underling this is basic information

You learn to drive a car so you can obtain a drivers licence . Then you learn the characteristics of the car you intend to own Some people go on to drive bigger cars Tow caravans drive trucks or double B’s BUT every one needs to know the basics before moving on and upwards . If you have the paying work you can hire a driver with a truck and let him do the work for you

So why should I keep reading when I can subscribe to the many “news letters” “trading systems”, “recommendation ”that are available. Some are free some you pay a monthly subscription to. Some have “wining systems” and imply that you will easily cover your subscription fee .

I don’t want to reinvent the wheel . If there “system” works why not follow then Learn along the way and hopefully make some money

So by now you should of worked out I am totally confused as to which way to go and look forward to some others thoughts on this subject

Geoff

 

[Sean K]

It's taken me 15 years to still be a newbie.

Keep reading.

Good luck.



Oh, there is a beginners forum to ask any question you may have. You will find many people here to be very happy to give you answers free of charge.

PS, nothing wrong with joining a stock newsletter by the way. I was a member of FP for a couple of years and got some great info out of it, but it ran it's course.

 

[prawn_86]

So why should I keep reading when I can subscribe to the many “news letters” “trading systems”, “recommendation ”that are available. Some are free some you pay a monthly subscription to. Some have “wining systems” and imply that you will easily cover your subscription fee .

Think about it logically. If these systems actually made money wouldnt they be hedge fund managers or the like, rather than flogging their products to the average Joe.

Most have a disclaimer saying you must take each and every trade generated, which is usually well beyond the amount a newbie can afford.

Newsletters can have some useful info, but remember a lot of the time they have vested interest. IE - holding stock and providing recommendations on it...

 

[aohx075]

I'm a newbie like yourself and in the learning process...it's a hell lot of reading and understanding but at least it prevents your from losing thousands if not tens of thousands of dollars.

I'm trying to absorb as much information about Forex trading as I can from these free forums without having to spend money on costly magazine subscriptions that may or may not have the information that I really need. My plan is to paper trade for a few months and familiarise myself with the different currency pairs and trading strategies.

I like your analogy to driving, except I don't see them being very comparable. When you're driving, the aim is to get from A to B in the fastest and safest manner possible. That entails co-operating with other drivers to avoid collisions and accidents. Trading on the other hand (the way I see it), you are making a profit/loss against other traders, organizations and institutions; thus in many ways you're competing with each other not so much co-operating.

Anyways don't know how helpful this rant has been but just my 2c
^___^

 

[Wysiwyg]

Trading on the other hand (the way I see it), you are making a profit/loss against other traders, organizations and institutions; thus in many ways you're competing with each other not so much co-operating.
Anyways don't know how helpful this rant has been but just my 2c
^___^

Hi, for a trend to be a trend a majority of market participants have to agree on it.Like working together with the option of resignation at any time you wish.

Nothing worse than being a bear in an uptrend or bull in a downtrend though profit from corrections are achievable and some trade this way.Though short selling an uptrend or going long in a downtrend has never been fruitful for me.

 

[johenmo]

GeoffM - there are gems amongst a lot of stuff.

The experienced say "keep it simple" and I think they are correct, but the leap to get there is huge. comments like, you need to find your own system etc etc is perhaps encouraging but not specifically helpful.

From what I gather so far, a lot of indicators etc are used as filters and one or two should be used for entry exit. What works depends on what you want to trade, when, how much to trade etc etc.

Search under beginners lounge and under strategy forums - especially key words like first ( I started on on my "first system" and got some good info - which stopped a lot of wasted time). Others have done similar.

This is general but you have figure what it is you want to do e.g. buy and hold 12 months+ because of capital gain, or trade in a very short term? This sort of thing will move you to what you need to know vs. what you want to know.

I found it confusing and have been doing some paper trading.

Last thing - I have been looking at "recommendations to buy" and tracking them. All except one have gone down (which I expect), and very few have been "recommended to sell" so far. Analyst recommendations change too late for my liking.

 

[GeoffM]

I like your analogy to driving, except I don't see them being very comparable. When you're driving, the aim is to get from A to B in the fastest and safest manner possible. That entails co-operating with other drivers to avoid collisions and accidents. Trading on the other hand (the way I see it), you are making a profit/loss against other traders, organizations and institutions; thus in many ways you're competing with each other not so much co-operating.

My Analogy to driving is to point out that you need the basics first before you take on the next eg driving a truck
As in trading you need the basics first 
If you can “Bye” a news letter /system then why try and reinvent a system After a period of time you can then modify there system to your own stile 
Does this make sense or do you keep reading , paper trade ,perfect your own system “reinvent the wheel” and hope you have bigger wins than losses 

Appreciate any comments

Geoff

 

[BrendonC]

Hi All,

Just like to add to this thread, I spent 11 years trying to find a golden formula and lost a lot of money along the way. it is has only been the last few years that I have worked out systems that i am comfortable with and are consistantly profitable. Not massive profits, but I think finding something that is consistantly profitbale will allow you to compound profits not losses. In a nutshell, the searching for what works for you is well worth it. I learnt the hard way, but if I was to do it all over again I would search for people who are doing it successful. Beware of most seminar companies, some are really good, but take it all in from books, seminar forums and develop enough knowledge to develop your own system. I will post systems that work for me and allow me to do this full time but they are just strategies that suit my trading style and are not for everyone.

Some people spend 4 years of study at Uni to develpo skils to work 40 hours a week for 40 years to retire broke or living on a pension. Invest the time now in simulation and keep learning and eventually with persistance you will find skills that you will have for the rest of your life.

Newsletters and trading reports and room are a great guide but this game is mainly about pshychology and confidence and you wont develop this following other peoples signals blindly. Own your signals, own your investment or trading strategies and keep testing and researching. worth it in the end.

Cheers
Brendon

 

[Green08]

Yes another newbie. I have sat hear for weeks now reading as much as I can ( yes I have plenty of time on my hands ) I find some of the threads have some real informative information buried amongst there many pagers. Wading through them is can be tiresome especially when one person starts having a shot at another.

Geoff, some of us use logic - yes a very strange asset class in this era.

Some of us are sitting on cash, so the pot shots we take at each other are simply through boredom. Thus the general chat room whcih can be quite an eye opener.

Kennas is correct - keep reading as you will be doing it for many years.

Fundamentals of a company and charts have gone out the window. This is a whole new system no one has discovered yet.

Read carefully and if your instincts is "do not touch it" then don't.

 

[Sir Osisofliver]

Yes another newbie.

Now I ask why bother spending time reading every thing you can about trading ,becoming confused with information over load , then try to sift the “basics” from all the other information you gather along the way . I understand the each person has to find there own still or what suites them BUT underling this is basic information

So why should I keep reading when I can subscribe to the many “news letters” “trading systems”, “recommendation ”that are available. Some are free some you pay a monthly subscription to. Some have “wining systems” and imply that you will easily cover your subscription fee .

I don’t want to reinvent the wheel . If there “system” works why not follow then Learn along the way and hopefully make some money

So by now you should of worked out I am totally confused as to which way to go and look forward to some others thoughts on this subject

Geoff

Geoff,

Welcome.

There is a simple answer to your question. Do you really want to trust your hard-earned dollars to someone that is working towards their own enrichment? It's an unfortunate state of the many information providers, brokers and planners, that many of them will treat you as a source of revenue...rather than have your best interests at heart. If you can find a good broker who you trust...great... but most "good' brokers have been in the industry for a decade or two and once you are at that level you don't want to deal with the small fish (I speak from experience). You are much more likely to have some kid who's ink is barely dry on his degree who uses you as his "learning experience". Lets face it...most of the best brokers decide after a while... why should I do this for clients and deal with the stress when I can do this for myself?

It's an old adage but a true one. Give a man a fish and feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and feed him for life. By all means subscribe to an information newsletter (and track back what the previous recommendations have been to see what their track record is like), but learn enough to make your own decisions and understand why an investment is a good or a bad one.

Good luck

Sir O

 

[Green08]

The experienced say "keep it simple" and I think they are correct, but the leap to get there is huge. comments like, you need to find your own system etc etc is perhaps encouraging but not specifically helpful.

Keep it simple is beyond reasonable. Finding your own system = though not encouraging is not the thing to be playing with at the moment.

Tha classic values of caution and patience and reading a company's history, balance sheet - where do they honestly sit on the world's stage? do you see the inter-related industries to it? seems to have been forgotten.

Yes there is a time. Honestly, no one knows. I find it rather amusing with an 'expert' comes out with 'the bottom' or 'this assest'. Any one will do anything to sell you something now.

Look around you and take in the enitre going on's of the global it is not related to a single assest class.

Not useful other than to say the classic virtues maybe what you should invest in

 

[professor_frink]

Fundamentals of a company and charts have gone out the window. This is a whole new system no one has discovered yet.

not much of a fundamental guy, but the charts are still fine

I imagine that the folks out there with a good grip on the fundamental side of things are still doing alright too

 

[Nick Radge]

..charts have gone out the window. This is a whole new system no one has discovered yet.

And there is one reason why reading forums can be deceptive. You take in opinions that may not have a logical basis...nothing wrong with charts in this environment.

 

[Green08]

And there is one reason why reading forums can be deceptive. You take in opinions that may not have a logical basis...nothing wrong with charts in this environment.

Yes deceptive.

Everyone has their own agenda whether your a chartist or fundamentalist or somewhere in between or none or the prior. I would be wary of any stock broker or investment manager (many seem to be out of work with rather large debt) - find out if they actually have a ligit job, credentials and years of knowlegde across the board. In this climate it really is quite selfish. If your system is working then good for you! I doubt many will share their success.

Then you have your exposure through direct trading, let someone else do it, your super, your kids trust account, your account etc. What’s your risk tolerance, what is your source of information, who do you believe - even for the well informed and experienced. How is your self confidence in high stress monetary environments?

I am being ambiguous as I don't believe alot here. And will not disclose holdings if at all.

I hope you do research and take in around you some kind of logic

 

[kam75]

becoming confused with information over load , each person has to find there own still or what suites them

Geoff

Hello Jeff

Information overload is one of the main reasons why traders fail. The other is not taking losses when small and trading a system or rules that don't suit them.