Your worst Ever trade!

Mr Marri

So what is?

My worst trade ever; Anglo . First real kicking i ever took and I only sold when I ran out of money, and I was very lucky I did, run out of money that is.

What it taught me; I know nothing about trading and so do 99.999% of people, experts included.

Raskolnikov

We had a thread like this last year - http://boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055757512

My best investment of 2009 has turned out to be my biggest mistake of 2010.

Bought General Growth Properties at $0.30 when it was in bankruptcy. Sold up earlier this year and made 10 times my money. Incredibly stupid mistake as the share price has gone up another 600% since. I am still furious with myself, I should have made 60 times my money but I got too cautious.

pog it

Raskolnikov wrote: »

We had a thread like this last year - http://boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055757512

My best investment of 2009 has turned out to be my biggest mistake of 2010.

Bought General Growth Properties at $0.30 when it was in bankruptcy. Sold up earlier this year and made 10 times my money. Incredibly stupid mistake as the share price has gone up another 600% since. I am still furious with myself, I should have made 60 times my money but I got too cautious.

Well would you not agree that if you lost money on a trade that would be worse than this case where you just earned 10 times instead of 60 times your money? You were still Up some regardless of how far up that was.

Dardania

I bought Irish Life & Permanent when they were at €1.60 about 2 years ago, they're trading at €1.49 now - should have sold when they were up at €3.50 odd a year ago...

christeb

Vestas (VWS.CO) - bought at 596, trading at 210. Hangin' in there....

Mr Marri

Dardania wrote: »

I bought Irish Life & Permanent when they were at €1.60 about 2 years ago, they're trading at €1.49 now - should have sold when they were up at €3.50 odd a year ago...

Ha! I can top that I bought ILP at 343............I really should find another hobby.

Dardania

Mr Marri wrote: »

Ha! I can top that I bought ILP at 343............I really should find another hobby.

Ouch...you should really stay away from banks!

Mr Marri

Dardania wrote: »

Ouch...you should really stay away from banks!

I hear ya!

But in my defence I have completely changed my trading style since I bought this turkey!

And I would sum up my new trading princple as
" Never buy at todays price"

So I now only trade via orders and am happy to leave order in place for months/years at a time

Raskolnikov

pog it wrote: »

Well would you not agree that if you lost money on a trade that would be worse than this case where you just earned 10 times instead of 60 times your money? You were still Up some regardless of how far up that was.

If you buy a stock that goes to zero (believe me, I have), then the most you lose is 100% of the your investment. Because I sold too soon, I lost 50 times what I could have made

gonedrinking

Practically all my trades to be honest, everything I touch turns to sh1t.

displaced dub

2 Fu*k ups BOI down about 1500.00

And Amazon, bought @ $117 dollar was $1.50 against the euro, sold at $107.00 and the dollar at $1.25, they looked like they were heading south of the $100.00 mark that day after been up at $160 ish, they are not that far off it again. My only defense is the figures coming out of the states at that time were pointing towards a double dip.

AP_MAN

gonedrinking wrote: »

Practically all my trades to be honest, everything I touch turns to sh1t.

same here, I don't know what ever when ever I touch turns in to real sh1t. Now I almost lost 35K

gonedrinking

AP_MAN wrote: »

same here, I don't know what ever when ever I touch turns in to real sh1t. Now I almost lost 35K

My problem is that I always go for solid, well performing companies. I've slowly realised that there is no money to be made from these companies. Shmucks like me can't make any money from them when all the big players have info regarding these companies before me and they also have software/trading platforms to get better prices on them. From now on I'm going to see if I can make money buying companies that have recently had bad news that caused their share price to plunge. The market almost always over reacts to bad news, companies then inevitably bounce back, so I am going to see if I can make money from them, we'll see.

Dardania

Mr Marri wrote: »

I hear ya!

But in my defence I have completely changed my trading style since I bought this turkey!

And I would sum up my new trading princple as
" Never buy at todays price"

So I now only trade via orders and am happy to leave order in place for months/years at a time

That sounds like a good idea, which I'm toying with myself...I reckon I should decide on my sale price before buying anything

displaced dub

gonedrinking wrote: »

My problem is that I always go for solid, well performing companies. I've slowly realised that there is no money to be made from these companies. Shmucks like me can't make any money from them when all the big players have info regarding these companies before me and they also have software/trading platforms to get better prices on them. From now on I'm going to see if I can make money buying companies that have recently had bad news that caused their share price to plunge. The market almost always over reacts to bad news, companies then inevitably bounce back, so I am going to see if I can make money from them, we'll see.

Yourself and Dardania are going to loose even more money with this strategy believe me, sure you might aswel lof onto paddypower.com and place a bet on Liverpool winning the league this year.

With that logic you could both end up with another Anglo on your hands.

Dardania

displaced dub wrote: »

Yourself and Dardania are going to loose even more money with this strategy believe me, sure you might aswel lof onto paddypower.com and place a bet on Liverpool winning the league this year.

With that logic you could both end up with another Anglo on your hands.

don't want that! What do you do differently...?

Mr Marri

Dardania wrote: »

That sounds like a good idea, which I'm toying with myself...I reckon I should decide on my sale price before buying anything

I certainly hope so and it seems to be working out well at the mo. Patients isn't an easy thing to have.

kippy

Raskolnikov wrote: »

If you buy a stock that goes to zero (believe me, I have), then the most you lose is 100% of the your investment. Because I sold too soon, I lost 50 times what I could have made

Coulda, woulda, shoulda...........
Seriously,
thats not a "worst" ever trade.

mickman

some of the ideas on this forum are crazy

Mr Marri

mickman wrote: »

some of the ideas on this forum are crazy

Which ones!

anyway i think being crazy if a prerequest to get involved in this stuff.

Essentially we are all telling ourselves we can predict the future, and we don't even need a crystal ball .

displaced dub

Dardania wrote: »

don't want that! What do you do differently...?

I try to not catch falling knives first.... if your logic of buying on the way down where would you have bought into BOI and AIB in the last 12 months... at maybe 3.25? 3.00? 2.75? 2.00? 1.00? 0.60 cent? etc

Why dont you look at some ETF's

Dardania

displaced dub wrote: »

I try to not catch falling knives first.... if your logic of buying on the way down where would you have bought into BOI and AIB in the last 12 months... at maybe 3.25? 3.00? 2.75? 2.00? 1.00? 0.60 cent? etc

Why dont you look at some ETF's

Christ I wouldn't have bought them, anytime in the last few years...not with their exposure to bad debt!

I was thinking about ETFs a few months ago, but never followed it up. What do you think of something like this:

http://www.ise.ie/app/etfEtcDetails.asp?xid=26940

I reckon it would be a slow burner, but relatively safe

pocketdooz

gonedrinking wrote: »

My problem is that I always go for solid, well performing companies. I've slowly realised that there is no money to be made from these companies. Shmucks like me can't make any money from them when all the big players have info regarding these companies before me and they also have software/trading platforms to get better prices on them. From now on I'm going to see if I can make money buying companies that have recently had bad news that caused their share price to plunge. The market almost always over reacts to bad news, companies then inevitably bounce back, so I am going to see if I can make money from them, we'll see.

This is up there with one of the most ridiculous posts of the the past few years on this forum and that really is saying alot, believe me.

In fact, I struggle to think of a more stupid post possible, expect maybe the one about buying Irish bank shares with your children's savings or your inheritence.

I've posted the names of at least 15 large cap, solid well performing companies on this forum in the last 21 months, most of which are up 40/50, up to 100% or more, pay dividends and are market leaders, lowly levered and generate tons of cash. €10,000 invested in those stocks in early 2009 would now be worth between €18,000 and €20,000 with relatively low volatility and good diversification among industries, economies and end markets.

But people are still searching for the quick buck, trying to make 50% in a month, catching falling knives and not doing any research. Not many people are willing to learn, when there is so much information out there that can help you. That's what makes people "shmucks" when it comes to investing - it has nothing to do with information asymetry, it's to do with people not having the discipline to ask questions and actually learn.


.

daveirl

This post has been deleted.

gonedrinking

To be honest I just buy shares for fun, I don't invest more than I can afford to lose. I like to try different strategies, its all part of the learning process. I don't have time to read books on investing so I'll never be able to properly analyse a company.

mickman

gonedrinking wrote: »

To be honest I just buy shares for fun, I don't invest more than I can afford to lose. I like to try different strategies, its all part of the learning process. I don't have time to read books on investing so I'll never be able to properly analyse a company.

buy shares for fun?? silly boy

gonedrinking

mickman wrote: »

buy shares for fun?? silly boy

Some people spend their money on drink, others spend their money on paintings, or gadgets or holidays abroad. I buy shares. Sue me!

mickman

gonedrinking wrote: »

Some people spend their money on drink, others spend their money on paintings, or gadgets or holidays abroad. I buy shares. Sue me!

so you dont drink or go on holidays?

gonedrinking

Don't drink often, maybe once a month. Never go on holidays, travelling doesn't interest me.

Kersh

AGI Therapeutics, bought 13000 shares @ .15c. They been at .04 since

pocketdooz

gonedrinking wrote: »

Don't drink often, maybe once a month. Never go on holidays, travelling doesn't interest me.

shouldn't your screen name be 'heresober' then ??
.

displaced dub

gonedrinking wrote: »

Don't drink often, maybe once a month. Never go on holidays, travelling doesn't interest me.

But loosing money does interest you??

gonedrinking

I don't lose all of my money, maybe 20 percent or so on each trade, and sure if I spent my money on drink or big screen tvs I'd be losing all of it. Anyway I don't know why I'm getting a hard time here, it's because of guys like me that allow the rest of you to make money. Making money on shares is all about finding someone dumber than yourself, as the saying goes.

mickman

gonedrinking wrote: »

I don't lose all of my money, maybe 20 percent or so on each trade, and sure if I spent my money on drink or big screen tvs I'd be losing all of it. Anyway I don't know why I'm getting a hard time here, it's because of guys like me that allow the rest of you to make money. Making money on shares is all about finding someone dumber than yourself, as the saying goes.

so you lose 20 % on each trade. 5 trades in total so and your gone

if you bought a big screen tv at least you would have something to show for it!

gonedrinking

if I started with 100 euro after the fifth trade I would have 32.76 euros.....yeah I did the maths just to prove you wrong

displaced dub

gonedrinking wrote: »

if I started with 100 euro after the fifth trade I would have 32.76 euros.....yeah I did the maths just to prove you wrong

Did you include fees and commission in your total?

gonedrinking

no my example was for illustrative purposes only, I would never be trading a 100 euro, more like about 500 euro and my fees would be about 20 euro a trade

mickman

gonedrinking wrote: »

if I started with 100 euro after the fifth trade I would have 32.76 euros.....yeah I did the maths just to prove you wrong

maybe you should concentrate on your trading rather than posting here !