Sunday, September 09, 2012

Some you win...

The only way you can implement a proper trading strategy in the markets is to be fully comfortable in both the method of selecting entries and exits, as well the notion that you can accept and embrace risking your capital.

I'm also a believer in the 'price precedes news' camp. Of course, it is not 100% fool proof, but in an awful lot of cases, prices (and especially trends) tend to start moving prior to any news being released in the public domain. On those occasions where this doesn't work, we use strict risk control to minimise our losses.

Having this approach means that you concentrate on what generates profits - the price movement in the instrument or equity that you have a position.

A case in example is the recent move up in Italian stocks, of which I hold some positions. There have been many great looking setups and entry signals generated in the last two or weeks. Some people may have taken the view that, given the current Euro situation, that this was a crazy move to take.

However, there were simply too many setups to ignore. As I trader and a trend follower, I HAD to take these set ups. My job is to make money, not to trade on other peoples opinions or commonly held beliefs. If I was proven wrong, so what? I knew my risk, and I was prepared to embrace the possibility that I could lose on those positions.

As it is, the positive noises coming out of the ECB gave a boost to the markets and to my positions. If you don't want to embrace risk, then you shouldn't be trading.

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