Fear and Confidence

Saturday, 1st May 2010 11:18 - by Boredmum

What a week that was! We experienced the biggest one day fall in the FTSE in the past 6 months. Greece has been downgraded to ‘Junk’ category for debt and there are fears that we will possibly see similar problems in some other countries - namely Spain, Portugal and Ireland. Well, when the news really hit with regards to Greece and I was looking at a sea of red across my portfolio, I panicked. For me, it is usually a once a week thing to check the ‘Sell’ value of my portfolio. I normally do it at the weekends when the markets are closed to judge my progress. In mid-week, I grabbed my calculator and started doing my sums. I needed to see how far this had affected me and exactly where I stood if the fall was to continue. The difference was negligible; 3 times I checked it in the fear that I had mis-calculated somewhere. My portfolio, although mainly all red on the day, was actually holding up quite well. I then looked at my stocks individually. If the drop continues, then what do I want to cut that may drift on sentiment? I was waiting for news on so many shares that I didn’t want to let any go. My two largest concerns this week were Leni Gas and Oil (TIDM code: LGO) and BPC Ltd. (TIDM code: BPC). At this point I am unsure of the exact factors that caused the drop in sp, but believe the current disaster in the Gulf of Mexico may be a factor. It may not be and, certainly with LGO, I can’t shake off the feeling that there is more to it. So, for this week anyhow I am holding up quite well - all considered. A trading friend this week said the people who survive in trading long-term are those that have a good mix of both confidence and fear. He is totally correct; it pays to have fear in this game and not to ignore it. Confidence alone can lead to someone’s downfall.