Another year has gone by and we are still going strong. Perhaps not the most active trading year due to the difficult market conditions but still profitable.
The market is unchanged yet we are profitable but not as much as in 2010 but good enough considering the volatility. Anything else other than a loss is fine with us. We know you cannot expect to make money all the time and even traders that are break-even in 2011 should be satisfied. That beats a lot of fund managers, especially those who have lost around 50%. It is important to have the right expectations in trading.
We like to wait for the market to make up it's mind so we can trade with the market instead of trying to predict the market. Prediction is not something you can build a trading career on. You need to be consistent and by waiting for evidence you can increase the odds of success.
The SP-500 is still in a consolidation pattern and has not yet broken out or broken down failing to give us the evidence we are waiting for. Right now the SP-500 is in a big triangle contained by 2 trend lines. Long term members know that patience pays off especially looking at current losses for those who did not have the patience to wait for evidence.
The increased volatility in the market meant for many trades that their stop-losses were hit and they were forced to exit with a loss only to see price bounce shortly after. There is no reason to have a killer year and then give it back the year after. Accept that you cannot trade all the time and position yourself in strong stocks in strong sectors at the right times. This is the recipe for long term trading success.
Use the quiet times to further educate yourself. In this ever changing market is it important to keep learning and adapting. Check out our Stock Market Education Section!
