Altern, I am going through some of the same thought processes as you are, and I'm sure others are too. This has been the first year I have participated actively as an investor/trader and I have chalked it up as a learning process, even as I have made some pretty good profits...I have seen things that I could have done much better. I am in the transition of altering my thinking as I have become a much closer observer of the market and the changes that have occurred in the over the past couple of years, namely what we recently discussed about the buy and hold method being essentially a losing proposition these days. Now for the past ten years I was mostly a B&H investor and in most cases it worked very well for me. So trying to eradicate that kind of strategy from my thinking does not happen easily or quickly, but since I am now a trader verses an investor, I must change my thinking to adapt to the market cycles.
Like you I have held some of my core positions, and only cores, in technology....LPTHA from the single digits, ELON at $12, NXTL at $30, PLUG at $16, SUNW, etc. These are good stocks with great futures, but now I am wondering why I still have them. I have been thinking a lot about this as, of course, hindsight is 20/20. I don't think however that now is the time to sell, but it may be a long time until we see the money flow back into these issues. You should sell though if you are under your purchase by 8%. Applying this #1 rule in capital preservation will let you live to fight another day in the market.
So I can't really answer your question except to say that we learn. And sometimes we learn the hard way, which is usually the way that sticks in our mind the longest...protecting us better the next time.
Julie |
