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Mistakes |
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Mistakes |
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| AUTHOR:
rnutt |
RANK:
Top Quartile  |
DATE:
Aug 25, 2006 |
PAST
RANK:  |
We spend a lot of time on these boards bragging about successes, but mistakes are more important. That's where we really learn. So what have been your biggest mistakes as an investor? There is no need to mention specific stocks.
One of my weaknesses as an investor is chasing performance. Although I consider myself to be in the value camp, I am swept into the momentum side more often then I'd like. Without a doubt, momentum investing makes people a lot of money,just not me. I don't have the time or knowledge to read charts, especially intraday. Added to this, I tend to get greedy. My sell discipline is not sharp enough to make money this way consistently.
So the lesson that I'm trying to learn is twofold. First, know what style works best for you. Secondly, stick to your knitting. |
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| AUTHOR:
luvnpeas |
RANK:
Top Quartile |
DATE:
Aug 25, 2006 |
PAST
RANK:  |
The biggest mistakes are the scam companies. The ones run by liars. Enron, of course (I avoided that one), but I think that's unusal. Most of the dishonest companies are tiny, and thus not worth the expense of all the legal action that is required to expose them. Examples: USWF, USCI, CTUM, TDST and probably PRVH (which I still hold).
Otherwise, most of my mistakes are just the flip side of some successes: timing. Getting lucky on buy/sell decisions. |
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| AUTHOR:
apreuss |
RANK:
--- |
DATE:
Aug 25, 2006 |
PAST
RANK:   |
My mistakes are more technical, and not so much concerned with choosing stocks. I ve been working for some time on making my accts less active, due to time constraints. That process is still in the makes, and its outcome miscellanous as best
I hate to modify my strategy, as I m happy with it, and changing that (into less time consuming, like almost zero time consuming) is extremely dangerous and difficult.
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| AUTHOR:
mayvau |
RANK:
Top Quartile |
DATE:
Aug 25, 2006 |
PAST
RANK:  |
| Finova, Global Capital and Ceyoniq. I purchased way too much of all three and got clobbered....took years to recover from those. No matter how good a company is I rarely own more than 6% of a total porfolio in any one stock...and most are 2-3% range. Entrust and CET Services were disasters...but small disasters. |
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| AUTHOR:
rnutt |
RANK:
Top Quartile |
DATE:
Aug 30, 2006 |
| PAST
RANK: |
| Another mistake that I made as a novice investor was confusing screening with actual research. |
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| AUTHOR:
apreuss |
RANK:
--- |
DATE:
Aug 31, 2006 |
| PAST
RANK: |
Too time consuming everything. Have virtually no time. My own screening takes a lot of time.
For real life, I switched back to Wild s alphaking, and screen from his suggestions. Mostly, not always, but mostly we have same TA (result wise, I mean , favored patterns, not procedural, as he somehow automized it while I m still working very very slow) . ONly , mine takes hundred years,and with his site I just click.
timing I do then on my own.
For marketocracy, I do my own stuff, but follow only in one acct , not in three or four anymore. I have to do it not to loose my own ability. |
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| AUTHOR:
boogamil |
RANK:
Top Quartile |
DATE:
Aug 31, 2006 |
| PAST
RANK: |
By biggest issues are intertwined; having a sell price and falling in love with a company. Over the years I've had to discipline myself to stick to what I think the stock is worth and pulling the chute. It still kills me to watch a company run away after I've unloaded some or all of my position, but it has helped me more often then not.
Also, rnutt has a great point; I invest in what I can understand. I'm a dumb guy, so I like my rocks, trees, cigarette companies and bullet manufacturers. I can't comprehend most tech products, so I miss a lot of opportunities; good and bad. |
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| AUTHOR:
dchabino |
RANK:
Top Return |
DATE:
Aug 31, 2006 |
PAST
RANK:  |
| If you look at my recent performance, you can see there is a drastic change from my past performance (for the worst). I've been trying to analyze this closely. Was it just dumb luck before? Is my methodology just such that I need mroe patience to catch back up? I remember in my first year here that my initial fund plummeted about 20%, only to shoot up 65% in the follow year, when the market was way down. So, I'm still trying to figure out my mistakes, assuming I have made them and that my performance will come back if I change nothing. That's the most difficulty I have is trying to figure out whether I need patience or I'm just wrong. These methods have served me well for the last 6 years (actually longer outside of Marketocracy). So, I'm sitting tight, but trying to keep an open mind. |
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| AUTHOR:
toroandbruin |
RANK:
Top Quartile |
DATE:
Sep 06, 2006 |
| PAST
RANK: |
| When it comes to microcaps, my biggest mistake has been in assuming that just because a company has solid fundamentals, is growing at an increasing rate and has undervalued stock the stock will go up. Not so. What counts is the public's perception of the company more than the company itself. If a stock has remained flat for the past 4 years it will probably remain flat for the forseeable future. However if someone at Motley Fool (or a similar respected writer) does an article on what a great undiscovered company this is, then the stock can skyrocket. |
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| AUTHOR:
toroandbruin |
RANK:
Top Quartile |
DATE:
Sep 06, 2006 |
| PAST
RANK: |
| I have a question for luvnpeas. How do you identify a scam company? Or is that impossible until it collapses? If a company has cooked the books and colluded with the independent auditor to hide the fact, are there any clues at all that one can spot? |
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