Since Admin is still running my #31 as a feature, and I never expected it to last this long, let it be known that Ol’ Muck is a trader in PM’s and not an investment advisor. This is known as CYA to all involved.
Also, be advised that as of today, Ol’ Muck chopped his PM position by 50% to take profits. The initial positions have made better than 30% profits in a very short time and while still on an uptrend, really hot profits usually mean someone is about to pee in the soup and make it not so much fun.
So just to make me and my sweetie happy (as she looks over my shoulder at some of the trades I make and bitches at me if I don’t take profits!!) I captured about as much profit on the trade as I wanted and remain long for a bit on 50% of it (JIC – just in case).. If a reaction starts today or within the next few days, then I watch it very closely and dump the rest or renew the long trade depending on whether the reaction is major or minor.
“God” can tell you when that is because I don’t predict.
End
Thank you Muck for the CYA advise. I personally know of two people in my town that were in the “day trading” of PM’s, of which both lost everything they had, because they got on the wrong side of the trade.
One is now a gas jockey at Costco, the other is a Wally World greeter.
Day trading is definitely not for everyone, and check your emotions at the door if you decide to do it.
You really have to know what you are doing when you are playing with ETF’s and your own money.
Good trading Muck!!
I know very little to nothing about trading. However, one idea I read about once was called “Turtle Trading.”
Another acquaintance on another blog talked about “trading the trend.”
Are either (or both) of these trading techniques similar to what you describe?
Would the Turtle Tading book be a good place to start if a person wanted to learn about trading?
General comment: I am not a “day trader”. Day traders don’t have a life and while most PM trading is gamble of sorts (as you have to watch out for the Federal Reserve buying and selling to pressure stock prices when they feel “required” to. I don’t even want to go there.
The Trading System I perfected many years ago is a trend trading program which I marketed via a website called Market Trend Trader. It got to be too much work for me, so I just folded it up and now just trade for my own accounts.
Boil it down and I’m a trend trader – but shorter than most. Faber once said, “Buy when everyone else is in panic and selling, sell when everyone else is bullish and buying.” Good advise.
@Tim: Never heard of “Turtle trading”. The only book on trading that I ever found to be useful was one by Alexander Elder , M.D… Look him up and buy his book “The New Trading for a Living”. Forget doing it for a living (i.e. don’t quit your day job).
Then couple the book with about 10 years of closely watching the PM markets (or whatever sector of the market you’re interested in trading) and you might get a clue on how markets behave.
Dr. Elder’s book, while not complete by any means, set me on the path to perfecting my Market Trend Trader software.
@Fiatman60: I never trade ETF’s as you are then trusting someone else’s judgement on what’s good to hold and what’s not. Market index, segment (or whole market ) ETF’s are different as they buy them all and just sit there and if the index goes up so does your money. The opposite is also true, of course.
I beat the indexes every time, but then I do the homework on the stocks (PM’s primarily) so insure they have solid fundamentals going for them too.I also never short markets.. In a short position, you can lose all your money if you don’t cover the short fast enough if the price reverses and you have to watch it damn near every minute. Too much work for me.
Long positions, you can pre-determine how much profit you wish to make on a specific trade, start small and if the trend is with you, add to the position on the way up. NEVER try to go long at the bottom and NEVER try to sell at the top. Buy after an uptrend is established and sell when your profit goal has been made or the trend expires in a greater than 10% correction.
That’s $20,000 worth of advise right there.. Enjoy..
Again, although at one time I was a registered investment advisor (when I worked overseas and had a ground eye view on the foreign markets around me where ever I happened to be), I am NOT AN INVESTMENT ADVISOR at this time but if there’s enough interest in it, I’ll be glad to run some Muck’s Minutes on the subject.
Muck
Every day trader I ever knew lost their ass before it was all said and done.
Muck, glad you have a system and it is working for you.
The only PM’s I find worthy are the ones you can hold in your hand.
@Bea: Read my comment above… I am NOT a day trader… To damn much work. I’ve got a real life too —- day traders don’t!
@ Muck –
To follow up on your comment above: I’d be interested in learning more from you about trading and your system.
I understand all the normal caveats. Just letting you know, I’m one vote in the “Aye” column.