Articles & News About Money & Coin Collecting

Stops Make Money

During the day I watch CNBC-TV, the stock market channel. Fortunately, I keep the sound muted or I would be hollering at the dumb "experts" being interviewed. The experts seem to know all about the market except they don't know how to protect their capital.

Every few minutes there is a chart in bright yellow of some stock showing its price performance during the past year. Lately it seems that most of the stocks have lost from 50% to 80 or 90% of their value.

Oh yes, this beauty did go up from 20 to 120, but is now back to 20 or some number very close to erasing almost all of last years profits, many going to a loss. The commentators give a nice running explanation of the "reasons" this stock did what it did. All hindsight and we know hindsight is 20/20.

Not once have I heard one these mavens ever suggest that a trailing stop would have sold out the stockowner at a nice profit within 10 or 20% of the top of the move. Microsoft went to $120 and proceeded to lose 50% of its value, dropping to $60. If you had had a distant trailing stop you might have been sold out about $90 or better. If you are still in love with MSFT you may now buy many more shares than you had before. Make sense?

There is a correct way to use stops, but the best is a mechanical method. Just set an amount you are willing to give back. Some traders recommend an 8% stop, others 15% to 20% of the low of the previous week placed with your brokerage firm each Monday morning as a Good-Til-Cancelled sell order. There is also the simple close below the 20-day moving average computed weekly. And many others. If you care anything about your money you might want to do some study to see the type of stop you might wish to employ to protect your capital.

Most professional traders, and I know most people are not professional enough to do this, will place their sell stops below what they consider to be critical support. This is a matter of interpretation and requires experience. I can almost guarantee your broker doesn't know how to do this so you should adopt one of the mechanical methods. When your stock or mutual fund is making that loud swishing noise going down the porcelain container your broker always comes up with the sage advice, "You are in for the long term" or "The market always comes back". In your lifetime?

Take a look at some of the dogs you are carrying in your portfolio right now. Figure out what would have happened if you had put in a trailing stop. My experience of trading for more than 30years has shown that if you had been stopped out that within 60 days that stock will be trading lower than your sell price about 80% of the time.

The first rule of investing is to protect your capital. Use stops.

Al Thomas' book, "If It Doesn't Go Up, Don't Buy It!" has helped thousands of people make money and keep their profits with his simple 2-step method. Read the first chapter at http://www.mutualfundmagic.com and discover why he's the man that Wall Street does not want you to know.

Copyright 2005

Other Article Sites

findabook.com  moneycd.info  a-mortgage.info   about-lemon-laws.info  aboutstudentloans.info
all-about-publishing.info  auctions-articles.info  bestcollege-university.com  bestispconnection.com
biblefolder.com  blogger-website.com  books-used.info  brokers-guide.info  buywindows.info  cable-dsl.info
career-miner.com  carpel-tunnel.info  cashinaflash.info  cashloanreviews.info  casinobell.com  chat-house.info
clearmycredit.info  collegeloantips.info  crones.info  depression-articles.info   dirnic.net  dishguides.info
divers-below.com  expodog.info   financewizz.com  fire-insurance.info  getgood.info  handleit.net   it-idea.info
health-supplies.info  hosting-right.com  insidealert.com  insurance-facts.info  jobs-employment.info
justgood.info  lookgold.net   lowcost-travel.info  money-source.info  myhostzone.info  numisblog.com
peoplesearchfinder.info  pr-articles.info  realeas.com   refinancing-guides.info  spyware-remove.info
telelot.info  the-law.info   toppaid.info  travel-deals.info  travelcorrect.com  wedding-guide-site.com
your-blog.info  your-credit.info

Coin Collecting At FindaBook.com
Search For Books On Coin Collecting

Cleaning Old Coins - What's Important
Thank you for being interested in our work. We hope to be of service with the following guidelines. Like many people you probably have or had some old coins in your possession. If you do have some you probably think that these old coins don?t have any value maybe you just keep the m for sentimental reasons or just because they are old. In most cases you would be wrong. The best way for you to know what these coins are worth would be to take them to a coin dealer. But be advised, you should never attempt to clean those coins before you take them for valuing.

Buying Coins at Local Estate Sales: A Shopping Guide For Collectors of Estate Sale Coins
What Is An Estate Sale An estate sale is generally a liquidation of physical assets from a home

Canadian Coin Prices - Evaluate Your Coins
I trust that you will take a few moments to read this article. If this is the case then lets get started.

Collecting Rare Old Coins
---------- Getting your coin collection on the go isnt as tricky as you might consider and there are a quantity of avenues you can follow. Almost all of it depends nevertheless on why you desire to become a coin collector. If youre doing it just as a peaceful pastime then you have no problem and can get started pretty much off the bat.

American Eagle Gold Coins: Why These Gold Bullion Coins Are a Worthy Investment
There's never been a better time to buy American Eagle Gold Coins An economic recession is almost assured

Buy Silver Coins With Confidence: A Guide To Selecting Reputable Silver Bullion Dealers
With the price of silver exploding in recent years, there seems to be no lack of silver bullion dealers advertising their services online Trying to find a reputable dealer can be a bit confusing for the novice silver coins investor

Favorite Gold Coins To Collect For Investment
Why Gold American Eagle Coins are Popular among Collectors

Coins Minted In Gold, Silver And Platinum As Investments In Metal
Coin collecting goes back over many centuries. It is man's inborn nature to collect something. And coins are one of the most popular collectable objects. The collection of coins, whether by professionals or amateurs, is called Numismatics. This article is a list with the most popular coins made from precious metals. People always collect coins, especially ones which are minted from precious metals like gold, silver and in later years from platinum. The early technology of coin-making was very primitive for many centuries. And many sorts of coins had very varied shapes.

Knowing Your Coin Collection Value
Back in the olden days, people hoarded coins for the sole reason of the value they can get from them Centuries later, people transformed that mindless activity into an elite art called coin collecting

Historical Silver Dollar Value Trends Reveal Coins Destined for Bullish Futures
Analysis of U.S. Peace silver dollars (minted 1921-1935) indicate only a few dates of this artistically acclaimed coin series are good bets to enjoy strong price advancements in the future. This conclusion is based on proven performance over a period of many years.

Coin Collecting Becomes More Popular as Gold Tops $1,000 an Ounce
As the price of gold skyrockets and the economy falls into a recession, more people are taking up the hobby of collecting coins. And all the while, sites like CoinPeople.com and OmniCoin.com are reaping the benefits.

New Jewish Coins Use Old Wisdom To Aid In Life Balancing
SoulCoin offers timeless wisdom through unique coins. SoulCoin has just released The Humility and Joy Coin Set, two 1.5 inch brass coins based on a well-known parable of Jewish wisdom. The coins help people balance their approach to life so that they can focus on achieving their goals in a positive, satisfying, yet humble way.

Gold Coins and Gold Bullion Remain a Safe Place For Your Money
The Bull and The Bear are continuing to bang heads Wall Street and even Main Street USA, and I am sure even your street is in shambles

Coin Collecting Supply Company "Wizard Coin Supply" Launches New Website
New site will provide a comprehensive catalog of coin collecting supplies and educational resources for coin collectors.