Hi Flashy,
My routine...
Wow. Remember that everyone develops their own method to this madness. Once you get to know P&F you change what you look for, what you inherently know etc.
First off, DWA is my homepage on my browser. I visit DWA more times a day than I can count.
Following the market everyday I know the status, i.e. the NYSEBP and all the indicators. I know approximately what the sectors are doing and I know what stocks I follow, are doing.
Whenever there is a market risk change, I adjust my plan. For instance, when we are in a bull market, I like to take a little risk and find issues that may take me on a "thrill" ride as well as those that are solid performers. When the market turns bearish, I cover what I don't want to loose and sell what I need to. I'll also find those fun put ideas to play with.
The order is: NYSEBP, Sector %, and then Stock.
If, like some are now, I see a sector move to Bull Alert, I will scan that sector for juicy little tidbits for either a trade or long. I look for patterns that may offer a quick trade (triple tops, triple bottoms).
Here is an example. I've wanted to buy LU for some time. I know on the FA side of things they are great but with the market being poopy, I wanted to wait. I kept LU on my radar screen, watching the sector and LU's performance. LU didn't really break down and when I saw the sector go Bull Alert and LU give two excellent signals (bearish signal reversal and a triple top) I was all over that stock. Charles Schwab had no idea what hit them!
The routine:
I have several portfolio's at the DWA site that I monitor. One is my personal portfolio, one is my IRA, one is Value Line rated 1-2, the others are various groupings. I have one for instance of possible short ideas or possible call option ideas. I have also put the portfolio contest stocks in the DWA database to monitor.
I look at these EVERYDAY! Without exception. It tells me what my issues are doing. I know instantly if their is a trend, RS, momentum or sector risk change. Takes a lot of work out of my hands.
Also, I chart by hand a few stocks to keep in practice.
I have the box seats at DWA so every night I print out his report and read every word. I check the DWA market indicators (only box seats) and do searches for ideas.
I evaluate my portfolio each night. I make sure my plan still makes sense. I set goals. I track to some degree. Often I'm asked what my percentage return is and I really don't know. Pretty good though, I'd imagine.
I know inherently what the market and sectors are doing so I don't "look" at them everyday. I do keep tabs however because sectors and market risk are very important. I know the breakdown points of my stocks and I keep up on them often enough to know if they are reaching their breakdowns. P&F is nice 'cause it gives you time to figure these things out.
Investing isn't easy. It takes work which is why having a broker isn't really as evil as the media leads you to believe. If I didn't know how to do P&F and didn't have an understanding of the market, I'd have a broker. Of course, my broker would be a P&F wiz bang!
I hope this answered your question.
Take care,
Jan I am |
