RE: Wise words21 Sep 2018 22:34
Pokerhot - I guess nothing is black and white in trading and that is why we differ on strategies and beat ourselves up a little with our decision making or lack of it. I disagree on the wording of investor and trader and I'm not alone. We all invest for different timeframes and we all want to make profits. I can see why time constraints or finances limit our ability to trade shares up and down. I can also see that when a stock has another element to it, such as environmental benefits then that can change our attitude to its performance but the vast majority of us want to make a profit and wording and semantics can't disguise that. Nor can the phrase 'paper loss'.
Psychology and cognitive reasoning is crucial in trading and those who invest time in it learn a lot about themselves and become much better traders.
I do understand your point about confidence in the board and the product. I share the optimism that you have but I completely respect hku's frame of mind and I think he demonstrates thinking that will serve him better on his next investment - I'm sure he has learnt a few things. Most trading advice books though have a chapter which looks at the worst thing that can happen to a trader's long term chances of success and that is...experiencing a success on a trade managed badly. It reinforces actions that will prevent profits or lead to massive descaled or undiversified losses...and there are a number of people on here who look set to have this happen to them.
AEG is far from the only share where people are left hanging for the big one. I have one share which has promised for 18 years but I can't imagine any of those lth's will be saying they did it right. They trapped themselves with the fear that it would land the day after they bailed out. I think the only solution would be to focus on the missed opportunities until you are motivated to move on. Your attached article quotes 'as an investor, time is your best friend'. I cannot disagree more and I think it is symptomatic of a part of the industry that wants to soften the reality of profits and losses in share trading in order to attract more people in. In my experience good things tend to happen soon after you do your homework. Patience tested - yes, losses - most certainly, flexibility - without doubt. But time has to be called sometime - that's what we we all decide upon individually.