Never Lose Money

Never lose money in the stock market again. Yeah, I know. Don't buy any stock, but that is not what I meant. There is a clear and easy way to protect your capital ? what you have now and what you might decide to buy in the future. And don't count on your broker to tell you this.

As you are aware we have been in a bear market since the beginning of 2000. That is a long time and if you have held your stocks and mutual funds for all this time you have some pretty terrible losses. Losses you did not have to take if you had a knowledgeable broker or financial planner. Financial planners don't know any more than brokers so you can't count on them to save your money from being flushed along with everyone else. It is a shame that brokers and planners are not taught how to protect your capital.

When a broker is hired he is given 2 manuals to study. One is on SEC (Securities and Exchange) regulations so he will not break any rules so his company will not be fined for misconduct. The other is on how to open new accounts - how to get you to send money. There is no training on how to trade ? buy low and sell high. His training manual consists on how to do "research". Research is knowing all about a company to determine if it is well run and they are making money or have the ability to make money some time in the near future.

You can obtain complete reports of everything you want to know and even more from Morningstar. They will bury you in information. This kind of "research" is worthless. Why? Because if you can find it out then everyone in the world knows it and it is reflected in the current price. The one thing you want to know is if you buy it will it go up.

The average broker has about 300 accounts and unless you have lots of money he will not pay much attention to you. As new brokers get a large number of accounts they give away the small accounts (those with less than $50,000) to the new, less experienced brokers so they can concentrate on the big boys with big bucks.

That is why you, and only you, must learn how to protect your investments. In a bear market the one who loses the least is the winner and the way to do it is with Stop Loss Orders. If you bought a stock or mutual fund you must immediately decide how much you will risk if it should go down instead of up. Usually 10% is a good rule of thumb. If you paid $40 per share you should sell it immediately of it goes down below $36. Don't ask your broker because he has been taught to Buy and Hold and that philosophy will break you. As your stock goes up you must raise your stop (never lower it) so it trails 10% behind the closing price posted very Friday in the newspaper. There are literally hundreds of thousands of people today who wish they had done this during the past 2 years.

If you were one of them it is not too late to start now so your retirement account will be there when you need it.

Al Thomas

Author of "If It Doesn't Go Up, Don't Buy It!"

Never lose money in the stock market again.

http://www.mutualfundmagic.com

---

Hot Stock Trader: How to Pick Momentum Stocks with Ease and Simplicity

Most stock traders know that momentum trading can be a... Read More

The 10 Commandments

Wall Street has been preaching for years and years to... Read More

Discover the Biggest Trading & Investing Online Mistake

Any online investor / trader seeks an excellent off or... Read More

What is the Most Important Indicator of All?

Most stock market traders have a favorite technical indicator.The one... Read More

Investment Capital Gains

Have you bought any mutual funds this year or late... Read More

Making Outsized Returns in the Stock Market - Using the Dow Theory

The Dow TheoryCharles H. Dow... Read More

True Investment Road Maps

If you don't know where you are going any road... Read More

Keep Your Profits

It looks like we have now entered a new bull... Read More

Trading Stocks ?Never Forget About A Past Trade

We all know that emotions control every decision that an... Read More

Look Out The Window

Quick, look out the window. It's raining. No, the sun's... Read More

The 1% Solution

You probably know the story of Sherlock Holmes and the... Read More

Stock Market Diversification

In one of my previous articles (Investing in the stock... Read More

Long Term Investing

In his wonderful book, 'Multiple Streams of Income', best selling... Read More

Dollar Cost Averaging

Dollar cost averaging is one of the most popular ideas... Read More

You Don?t HAVE To Be Trading

As a novice trader, you'll often feel the need to... Read More

Time Out

Are you paying any attention to your retirement savings? Do... Read More

Hedge Fund Advertising

Have you seen all those big full page ads for... Read More

Trading For A Living

How many times have you said to yourself, "I'd like... Read More

Ignore Stock Market Talking Heads

You should ignore analysts on TV, the radio, the newspaper... Read More

Overseas Investing: Going Against the Mainstream

TOO OFTEN, INVESTORS SIMPLY CHOOSE TO follow the crowd. This... Read More

Buying Mutual Funds

It looks like the market is ready to start up... Read More

Investing Basics - Stocks, Mutual Funds, Real Estate & Online Investing

Have you ever thought of investing? Do you have a... Read More

Online Trading Strategy: Collecting Cash when Stocks Go UP - It PAYS to Know More than Others

When it comes to stock market trading it PAYS to... Read More

Bottoms Ups

If you have talked to a stock broker or financial... Read More

How to Make Big Money Safely in Stock Market

(1) Stock Market is Tough Place to Make Any Money... Read More

Oil Stocks As A Long Term Investment

The demand for world oil is increasing while world reserves... Read More

Trading vs Investing

I often hear from people, "I don't trade. I invest.... Read More

Stock Options Trading Strategies - Lean

Professional stock options traders use the term lean to refer... Read More

When Should I Sell?

People are always asking me when should I sell my... Read More

Dispelling Illusions of the Stock Market

How can you dispel an illusion unless you look directly... Read More

Stock Trading Secrets?

How often have you come across an advertisement or e-mail... Read More

Long-Term Investment In Todays Market?

The stock market is very unstable at this time going... Read More

A Stock Market Investment Strategy

I feel that an investment strategy in the stock market... Read More