Sharing what Alvin (a seminar graduate) shared in another discussion thread "Discussing Specific Stocks".
alvin wrote:Happy new year to all!
Below is a post I shared on my blog relating my trading/investment experience and results for 2010:
Review of 2010
I made a mistake when I set my trading goals for 2010 which I acknowledged eventually. I was too eager to seek monetary rewards from the market. The market has no obligation to give money to anyone. We can only take as much as the market is willing to give. The mistake that I made was to set monetary targets for trading. Just like what coconut has shared in his comment then, “to set a goal in trading is not to set it in monetary (winnings) form, like i said, you will be out of business. the goal has to be related to oneself progress, the understanding of ourselves and of the market.” Now I cannot agree more. This should be the way. Trading is forever a journey. It does not have a destination. The market is elusive and intriguing. It takes one step at a time to understand more about the market. But most importantly, you also take step by step to understand about yourself. Enjoy the journey, and keep improving oneself and that is what is most important. It is not about whether you have hit your desired profit targets. If you continue to focus on doing the right things, money will come.
Is trading for you?
This year I have learned investing from Dennis and he always discourage people not to trade but invest. I think he is coming from the point that “trade only if it is your passion. Otherwise, invest”. Investing do not require as much dedication as to trading. Trading is not passive income as it involves your time and energy to monitor the market. Investing is passive income. You just need to buy undervalued assets and wait for the assets to appreciate over time. The purpose of trading would be to enjoy the process as you are passionate about it. It is like a hobby, you do it even when you are not being paid. You should approach trading with that kind of love for it. As mentioned above, it is about knowing yourself better, a self-discovery process. The money gained or lost only aims to tell you whether your perspective of the market is correct and if you have taken the correct action. It is not about money per se.
Construction and deconstruction
Tom Yuen shared a very interesting concept during the interview with him. He said most traders go through a construction period and then a deconstruction period. I could easily relate as I go through such cycles just like the market. I went through a construction period, learning and learning more things. Then when results did not turn out as well as it should be, I went through a deconstruction period. To elaborate, for the first half of the year, I was trading Forex, Singapore and Hong Kong shares. Then I realised the results were not desirable and decided to scale back on my activities, taking one step at a time. Hence, I decided to just focus on Singapore shares.
Stocks trading results in 2010
I made too many mistakes in the first half of 2010. Firstly, I set a monetary target for trading and this made me anxious for immediate profits from the market. I increased the position size without having the right mindset and correct use of the trading system. This resulted in continuous losses along the way. But on a positive light, it is cheaper to make mistakes now than in the future, as the capital involved is smaller. The turning point for me to finally get the problem was after I attended Keane’s gathering in 30 Jul 10. I was disciplined applying the system but I was not persistent with particular stocks. It gave me great confidence after the discovery and backtesting. I must also give credit to the market for giving me the opportunities. As I realised, we can only take what the market is willing to give, but we must position ourselves favourably to be able to take it in the first place. Due to the large gain in Dec 10, I was able to cover numerous losses in the first half of 2010, and end with a small profit of $1,570.23.
* Jan 10 – S$599.34
* Feb 10 -(S$335.14)
* Mar 10 – S$733.17
* Apr 10 – (S$1,620.28)
* May 10 – (S$1,809.99)
* Jun 10 – (S$153.84)
* Jul 10 – Nil
* Aug 10 – (S$1,270)
* Sep 10 – S$422
* Oct 10 – S$920
* Nov 10 – (S$598)
* Dec 10 – S$4,443
* Total = $1,330.23
Forex trading results 2010
Below are the forex trading results. I have stopped forex trading from Aug 10 onwards. I just want to concentrate on stocks as I find I could understand it better.
* Jan 10 – (US$73.60)
* Feb 10 – US$2.15
* Mar 10 – (US$96.60)
* Apr 10 – (US$543)
* May 10 – US$1,297.56
* Jun 10 – (US$188.70)
* Jul 10 – (US$427.43)
* Total = (US$29.62)
Share Builder Plan for STI ETF
Contributed $400 monthly between Jan to Mar 10. Subsequently, I increased it to $500 from Apr to Jul 10. Finally, I increased it to $600 from Aug till Dec 10. I liquidated 3,000 shares of STI ETF at S$2.81 on Feb 10. I currently have about 2,000 shares with an average price of $3. Market closed today at $3.28.
Investing
In Aug 10, I attended Dennis’s seminars and learned practical fundamental analysis from him. I was able to see the profits after the seminar and again, thanks to the market. Below is an overview of stocks that I hold:
I also bought 70 ounces of silver from UOB at S$28.43 in end Sep, which I was lucky as the silver prices broke out of year high and end S$39.86 currently. This give me a paper profit of 40.2%.
If you realised, I am practising 3 kinds of strategies – 1) value investing 2) positional trading, and 3) dollar cost averaging. And the amount of capital allocated is according to the sequence starting with the most capital. Right now, I will keep to this until I discover more about myself and the market. 千里之行，始于足下 – a thousand miles journey begins with each footstep. Learning how to grow money and wealth is a journey for me. It is both a journey of learning about the world as well as a discovery of myself. I am taking one step at a time, with the belief that every step will bring me closer to where I want to be. It is equally important to stay positive and enjoy every step of the journey. Would you want to walk this journey with me?
Disclaimer: The above is just my personal portfolio with the purpose of sharing. It is not a recommendation or an invitation to buy stocks mentioned in this post.
