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Strategies & Market Trends : Your Worst Trading Enemy.. You -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: RobQ who wrote (85)	1/18/2001 6:14:13 AM
From: shawnwolff	Respond to of 223

To: RobQ Re: Retirement account I do know what you mean. In my own trading, I have different strategies and time-frames. I have one larger account I trade with longer-term trades. I see the issue of the money not being "real" creep into that account at times. I think it is also easy with a larger, or longer-term account to lose perspective on gains and losses. A one point gain may seem great in my short-term account, but it is spit in the ocean in the longer-term. Unfortunately this is also the case with losses. A 2 pt. loss doesn't seem like a lot. But if those losses start becoming consistent, it is amazing how fast they can add up. When I first started trading, I chatted a lot with a man who had received a one million dollar severance pay-check that he was trading. I mentioned to him one day how mortified I was at blowing a stop and taking a 5/8 pt loss. I remember him laughing at me, saying he could lose that amount in his sleep. Well. over the course of the next year, those 5/8s in his sleep added up, and he lost the entire account. I find that just trying to keep awareness of the issue often helps me to overcome it. I remind myself that small gains and losses add up, on a daily basis. I always tell my class, that the "turtle won the race". And that is so very true in trading. - Shawn

To: RobQ who wrote (85)	1/18/2001 3:43:05 PM
From: ArnieC	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 223

Like you I trade my retirement account and hold my regular account long term. One of my problems is I panic when I see an analysts downgrade and the stock plummets. When this occurs in my IRA account I sell, usually a mistake. I tend to hold on in my regular account if the fundamentals are still good. I have learned it's better to sell on the way up then to wait until a stock has fallen considerably and then sell on the way down. In other words don't get greedy, but take a fair profit especially if it's long term. At times I have a significant gain short term and then I don't know what to do. Usually I try and wait for the long term. Over all I have done very well in my regular account and have removed money for other purchases.