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Strategies & Market Trends : Z Best Place to Talk Stocks -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Ron McKinnon who wrote (22599)	3/22/2000 7:11:00 AM
From: Larry S.	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 53068

I was talking with a good friend yesterday, one who does a lot of online trading. In general, she has great instincts and has made some great flips. A few weeks ago, she bot a bunch of NITE, then bot more as it fell, then bot more as it fell more, till she wound up with a very large position (for her portfolio), very extended on margin. Stock continued to fall, she panicked, and bailed on the whole position for a VERY big loss, wiped out the whole year's gains and then some. Yesterday i talked with her and she told me that she had bot 500 NITE, and when it started going south, she bailed for 1/4 point loss. I congratulated her. Old proverb: the first loss is the best loss. One of the reasons i am more of an investor than a trader is my inability to take that small loss. If I buy a company, it is because i love its prospects. If I am wrong, I usually wind up holding it, riding it down. But then again, I am widely diversified, and no one stock, or sector, ever occupies more than 5% (for a stock) or 10-15% (for a sector) of my portfolio. But I do wish I could take that small loss instead of watching them grow into gagundas. Sure would save a lot of angst and have firepower available for situations that develope. guess this is confession Wednesday. Larry