Have you or anybody you have ever met made money as a trader in the stock market?

Question

please tell me about it.

Answer 1

What would you like to know?

It's pretty straightforward. Either depend on luck or depend on education. If you depend on luck, eventually it'll run out.

So that leaves education. Unfortunately, most people are not taught how to properly invest, so bad advice ends up getting dispensed from person to person to person until start believing those things as truths, when all that happened was, someone who didn't know what they were doing told you what they knew!

If you wanted to learn how to fly, would you just ask a group of coworkers what to do? No! You'd ask pilots and trainers.

That said, I'll be glad to answer anything you'd like to ask. The key for me was education. It became readily apparent that it's very easy to make money in the stock market if you know a few things.

1) A successful strategy/rules (it only takes one) - there are literally hundreds of ways that work. You only need one. Here's where education's important. Through education, you can learn these strategies and learn signals of things that are happening.

2) Discipline to follow your rules and to not trade based on emotion

3) A willingness to be wrong and to admit when the market turns against you. No strategy works 100% of the time. The most successful of traders still have bad trades. The key to this is the next point.

4) Money management. Having a proper investment strategy also involves money/risk management. Knowing that you could be wrong at any time, it would be foolish to risk 100% of your money on any trade, right? Yet people do just that. Most successful traders will tell you they only risk up to 1-2% on any trade max.

5) Know your entries and exits ahead of time. When crude oil broke below support at $70, I had my target and my stop already figured out. Whatever the market did after that did not bother me.

6) You need support. There will be times where you may hit a patch of losses. Having a good support will help you get back on track sooner.

Anyways, that should get you started. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Hope that helps!

Answer 2

Yes, - I've been in the market probably since before you were born (1983).

Keys for me (your mileage may vary) - dollar cost average - it means put money into the market in gradual increments, not all in one fell swoop.

Case in point, if you decided to buy Merck 3 months ago it was at $43. Then one day, a VIOXX ruling came out, stock dropped to $37. It hasn't recovered yet. Many "sold" as it dropped - me, I bought at $38.

Understand that you try to buy in the trough and sell when it hits "your" target -

Another case in point - Ford Motor going down the drain - when it hit $7, I knew that based on the valuation the factories were worth more than that if the company dissolved. So I bought a bunch - and decided that I would sell at $9, and put my sell order in at that strike price (actually at $9.05). Lo and behold, a couple of days ago, Ford perked up to $9.10, my few thousand shares got sold automatically (I had an order good 'til cancelled). The next day the shoe dropped and the stock went back to $7. something - I don't care, maybe I could make more, but I knew how much I wanted to make.

Don't take stock tips - by the time you hear about it all of the gain has already been run up.

Don't buy on a craze - I never bought google, so I didn't make a kazillion dollars, but I just didn't feel comfortable with how the stock was balloonning - besides, I used to daytrade MSTR (microstrategy) and was holding lots of shares when it dropped 128 point in one day - yup!

If you decide on an industry, pick the cream of the crop, not some lowly outlyer that is "cheaper" per share - there is a reason for that, and many of those stocks are thinly traded, which makes it hard to dump them. I would stay away from penny stocks (stocks that sell for less than $5 / share) - too easy to lose a high % of your money easily.

Right now, I like GM (bought a bunch around $25), Merck, no longer like Ford (I think they have too deep of problems), Caterpillar (growth in third world countries), P&G (everyone's gotta eat), Altria (smoking will never be wiped out, besides they own Kraft until they spin it off) - but I did buy Altria @ 25 when everyone thought it had died.

Answer 3

Yes I began investing in the Stock market during the 1987 market crash..I was twelve and I had some money. I believe the DOW jones at that time was at like 760 (now it like 11000) nasdaq was like 200 then. I bought companies via the " Dividend reinvestment Plan or Drip" , then when I started working, I bought more and more, as I get better paying jobs, I bought more..some of the stocks I bought were Atmos energy, jnj, microsoft (damn it I only bought 100 shares in the late 90's!!!!!), toys r us (bought for under $1.50 a share in the late 80's)..the thing with stocks are, do your own research ! dont invest on a stock because someone told you too or they have a great feeling about the stock.

Answer 4

Absolutely, but it takes a lot of homework. Do your research, find out who the management of the company is, do they have a good track record. Buy things that you believe in like Warren Buffett. Set a target to sell and get out at that price.

Do not put all of your money in 1 fund. Buy a handful.

Currently, technology and Pharma is starting to look good. A good way about investing is no-load index funds via Vanguard.

Good Luck!!!

Answer 5

Sure, I've made money. Also lost money too!

I was lucky enough to avoid the tech bust of 2000-2001...plus I got a lot of bargains after the crash! The key is to know when to hold 'em and know when to fold 'em....and don't be afraid to admit that you made a mistake and get out before the damage gets worse.

Answer 6

I shorted in the days of the tech stock drop. Short term trade with companies that had a poor P.E. ratio

Answer 7

My luck was pretty good, part timer, made some extra money, got back into cash for a while when it got funky, back in again now, same old favorites, HD CAT MOT came back strong for me now.

Answer 8

I earn my living from the stock market so it is important to make money. :)

The key is moving from sector to sector and trading with discipline.

Here are some websites I visit frequently ......

http://winners-and-losers.com/ (a great place to get trading ideas)

http://biotech-news.org/

http://oil-profits.org/

Answer 9

Certainly.

Answer 10

Made it.. lost some..made more... aaaaaaaaah life is good !