4 Steps to Repair Your Portfolio

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We all have a personal learning preference. Some of us like to learn through seeing, others by listening, while some prefer a practical hands-on approach. But no matter what suits you, there’s one format just about everyone enjoys — and that’s storytelling.

Now, if you’ve been following me for a while, you’ll probably know that I often tell a few stories. I do this to help you relate to the information. And the better your connection, the more likely it stays with you.

Let me give you an example… A member called Warwick emailed me a while back. He’d been trading for 30 years without success, and his loses over that time were around $2 million. Now, that’s a lot of negative feedback — many people would have quit years ago.

But not Warwick… You see, Warwick has been a member of my service since the beginning. At the time of his email, Warwick had a $600,000 portfolio. But unlike earlier years, there were no big punts on speculative plays. And to top it off, his account was showing a healthy profit.

It’s always pleasing to see someone make money. But what’s even better is hearing they’re trading effectively. This tells me I’ve been successful in transferring my experience.

So what turned it around for Warwick? How did he go from decades of losses to trading profitably?

Well, Warwick cites four reasons for his success:

1. Trading with the trend (not against it)
2. Having many relatively small trades (instead of a few big bets)
3. Cutting losses early (rather than riding them to the bottom); and
4. Giving his winners room to run.

If you’ve been listing to my stories for a while, you’ll already familiar with these principles. They often feature in my weekly mentoring reports and videos. Of all the things I can tell you, these are amongst the most important.

You know, I sometimes think that trading is mostly common sense. Strategies like spreading risk, running profits and cutting losses seem obvious. They’ve become second nature to me. But it wasn’t always like this… My first attempt at trading was at age 15. My strategy, if you could call it that, was to buy speculative mining stocks. There was little analysis — it was essentially gambling.

Naturally, it was a disaster. I don’t think I had a single winning trade. A few stocks would surge higher. But I wouldn’t sell. I’d eventually ride them all the way back down. This was the opposite of good trading. I’d bet 100% of capital on each trade. I gave no thought to risk, and I never had an exit plan — maybe you’ve done the same.

I began learning to trade properly in 1991. My job at Bankers Trust put me alongside some of the best traders in the land. I was lucky. Few people get such an opportunity. The key was learning the four principles of trading: buy into strength, spread risk, cut losses, and give profits room to run.

Hopefully my videos help put your trading on a better footing. I want you to avoid the years of struggle people like Warwick experience. That’s what my stories are all about. I’ll talk more about the four principles in future videos. I believe they’re the basis of successful trading. Making them your own could be the best thing you do.

So that’s all for this week. If you liked this video, or even if you didn’t, scroll down and leave me a comment, or maybe a thumbs up. Also, if you’re watching this anywhere other than my website motiontrader.com.au then head over and have a look.

So until next time, I’m Jason McIntosh, and let’s find some trends this week.