Investing successfully grows your nest egg and peace of mind. If you want to maximize your returns consider trading stocks. Although you must have a high risk tolerance the profit potential of investing in stocks can help you tolerate the swings of the market.
Use these 4 tips to trade stocks effectively.
Work on Your Mindset
Stock trading is a game of emotions. Fear, greed and hope dictate the direction of the market. Fearful people sell during a minor correction when they should be hopeful and ride it out. Greedy people hold onto stocks when they should be fearful as markets top. Hopeful people refuse to sell when a stock is spiraling out of control with no signs of recovery.
Study mindset and the market. Look at yourself in the light truth. If you tend to be greedy, fearful or hopeful at the wrong times changing your frame of mind can improve your investing returns immensely. Practice emotional control during market highs, lows or during less intense periods when the market appears to be in a holding pattern. The next big spike or correction is simply waiting to shake out investors who have little emotional discipline.
Increase your investment by adjusting your feelings to the behavior of the market.
Set Profit and Loss Limits for Short Term Investments
Disciplined, successful investors set limits for both profits and losses to preserve their capital. For example, you may consider taking some profits after a stock rises 20% from your buying price. If the stock is acting erratically, showing signs of topping out, take full profits and move out of that stock entirely when you see a 20% profit.
Take the same approach to selling when a stock drops 5% to 8% below your buying price. Although the stock is showing no signs of bottoming out and you need to be patient it may be wiser to preserve your capital and to place the money in a winner.
Having both profit and loss limits in place allows you to fight another day. Successful investors let their winners run and cut their losses quickly to ride out bear markets and to profit during bull markets.
Don’t Touch Long Term Investments until You’re Prepared to Cash in
As with any investment strategy, diversify your portfolio. Invest in a few growth stocks with a short term window in mind but place money in blue chip, slow moving stocks as a long term investment. Unless these long term stocks show a series of red flags within a few weeks or months stay invested in these blue chips.
Investors are almost always hopeful over a period of decades. This means that your blue chip stocks will likely increase in value over the same time period.
Become a Student of the Market
Follow a stock market trends summary on a consistent basis to remain up to date with market happenings. Keeping tabs on both short and long term trends can help you cash in or cut your losses at the optimal times.
