To: Glenn D. Rudolph who wrote (23637 ) 11/16/1997 11:24:00 AM From: Harry Ehrlich Read Replies (4) | Respond to of 61433
life without joy Glenn, I also lost money on Ascend as it went south. But I got out and flipped short. We were all dreaming of a return to the 80's and the wealth that would follow. You mention a high risk investing style . I believe there are many different approaches/styles to investing and that they are all valid. I have a small library on the stock market and I love to read. From the beginning $9.95 paperbacks to the $175 Street Smarts by Connors & Raschke, they all say the same thing ***money management***. Limit your losses, you must protect your account. By throwing darts at the newspaper, a good money manager can make more money than a superb technical analyst that has no money management skills. You must protect your account and learn to take and enjoy a quick loss. Wm O'Neil's book, "How to Make Money in Stocks" ($10.95) has an excellent chapter on money mangement (Chapter 9). If you read and follow chapter 9, you will never have to worry about life without joy . Think of it like this. If you pick a winning stock and buy into an uptrend, you can make 30% or more. If you pick a losing stock and limit your losses to 7%, you can only lose about 7%. You can be wrong 4 out of 5 times and still make 2% or better. Those are great odds. Bernard Baruch, Joe Kennedy and many of the greats, when interviewed, stated that they never even wait for 7%, they get out a lot earlier. But with the volatility of today's Nasdaq, 7% to 10% might be a better guideline. Glenn, I understand that you are not a beginner and most likely are an experienced investor. I don't mean to insult you with a beginner's book. But O'Neil was interviewed by Schwager in "Market Wizards" and his principles summarized in that classic book. A return to the basics can never hurt. Every time I failed to follow that simple rule of limiting losses, I cried. If I had limited every losing position, and rode evry winner, I would not even be trading now; my assistants would be handling all that stuff for me while I was down on an island somewhere. I am trying to discipline myself in my trading. That is the hardest part and that is the key. I'm full of advice and trying my hardest to follow it as well. I hope the joy returns to your life; hey, it's only rock 'n' roll. Harry