Hey Marty,

I just wanted to say thank you. I had an amazing year last year, thought I knew something…got kicked in the teeth earlier this year and learned how much I don’t know. Fortunately I didn’t lose my initial seed money, but am down on the year.

I joined another program for about 6 months which I think taught me a few things, one of the main things I learned is keeping a log of every trade, so I’ve been doing that since April.

I’ve followed you on Twitter for a while and decided to join your program. This week has been the best week I’ve had in a LONG time. My entire portfolio is up 6.25% this week, largely by following the guidance on your reports. And with raising stops to the LOD, 65% of that gain is secured. I know what stocks are doing well, but my problem is finding the right buy point. I’ve been on the wrong side of $UPST most times I’ve been in it, until this week! 🙌🏻

I still have a lot to learn! Any books you would suggest I read? I’ve read HTMMIS, both Minervini books, Super Trader, How I made $2m in the stock market, Pit Bull, The Successful Investor, How to Trade in Stocks and Oliver Kell’s book. Probably re-reading HTMMIS would serve me well too.

I am really glad to hear that you are doing better making money in the stock market.  Many portfolio managers are down double digits this year because of the rotation that is taking place is not compatible with their trading style. The trend traders have been taught a valuable lesson in 2021 that we must take profits when we have them. Otherwise, the profits will turn into losses as money rotates out of our stocks quickly.

We all owe William O'Neil a debt of gratitude as he taught a successful system. Of course we must modify that system to meet our needs. His books are must reads for anyone trying to make money in stocks. My favorite books besides his are "One Up on Wall Street" by Peter Lynch, and I believe that is a MUST READ for all investors. Also, you mentioned Nicholas Darvas "How I made $2,000,000 in the Stock Market" is one of the audiobooks I listen to most driving around town.  "Getting Started in Technical Analysis" by Jack Schwager is one of my favorites as well.  I try to keep things simple and not use too many indicators. The price and volume are the two most important criteria for making money in stocks.

You mention "the right buy point" and if we buy properly it will take care of most problems. If we buy wrong then we are forced to sell for a small loss. I provide buy points for stocks on the watch list every night, and it is critical that we do not buy extended stocks. Buying a stock at its proper buy point is all about risk management and/or risk/reward. Every dollar we place on a stock is at risk. We want the best possible reward without taking too much risk.

I am a big believer in "logging" each trade and doing a post analysis of your trades. Why did you buy XYZ stock at a certain point? What were the expectations? What was your mindset at the time? We usually buy because of greed and sell because of fear. Why did you sell XYZ stock at a certain point? Was it fear of losing more money? Or did you use rules to get yourself in and out of stocks. We all make mistakes, and if we write them down on paper it is less likely we keep making the same mistakes over and over again. If we eliminate our bad habits/mistakes then we become more effective traders.

I also believe we must rate our stocks at least every week, and sometimes daily.  We must "weed our garden" and get rid of lagging stocks.  I did that often during the correction as fewer and fewer stocks were holding up to the selling pressure.

If we use our rules and sell at 5% loss and take profits starting at 10% gains we will do well buying at a proper buy point over time.

Thank you for your kind words! Look for the watch list every night.

Regards,

Marty