My site is not for real-time trading and it not designed for readers to copy or duplicate my trades exactly as posted.
Real-time trading is not the objective of FullyInformed.com Every investor is different in both sentiment and goals. It is important for every investor to learn to develop strategies that suit their style of investing, risk level and meet their financial investment goals and objectives.
I started without any knowledge about investing and over years developed strategies with the aim to consistently provide me with profit and income and allow me to compound my capital. I do not believe investors should rely on others to make the decisions for them but instead should become “experts” at understanding the assets they are invested in and managing their own trades and strategies. Through this management they will be able to develop winning trades on a consistent basis, learn to handle the volatility and risk that comes with investing in risky assets and pass on their knowledge to others as well.
Doing real-time trading on twitter or chats or Facebook can in no way replace the knowledge that an individual investor gains from learning to trade properly, through developing strategies that they can consistently profit from.
That was and still is the goal of fullyinformed.com – to create a web repository of strategies and knowledge that any investor can learn from and apply, as well as alter for their style of investing. In this way my hope is others will eventually become stronger investors, capable of handling their own investments.
I try to keep my trades as current as possible but sometimes my postings can be delayed a few days as I am answering emails, assisting other investors and working on new strategies and ideas.
I built this site to share my strategies, talk about my ideas and to establish a forum for investors to present their strategies, questions and comments. In 2012 I added a paid members section for those investors interested in delving deeper into option, stock strategies, seek assistance, follow my trades and mentoring. You can also join my twitter feed or sign up for a daily email.
Years ago in the 1970’s when I started investing, it was a very difficult time. 1974 saw a vicious bear market where the indexes fell almost 50%. Investors fled the stocks markets and volume dried up. That same year Business week had declared equities as dead. But they were wrong and stocks survived and indeed prospered. Since then I have gone through many bear markets and corrections but my portfolios have continued to grow.
If by sharing my trades, strategies I am using and my ideas, I can get readers thinking about their own personal finance, then I believe I have helped.
As well I hope that through my site readers see the possibilities of the various strategies I use and can design their own or tweak mine to suit their own level of comfort in investing. Hopefully through sharing my strategies, other investors will consider them and try to apply them to their favorite stocks or ETFs. I highly recommend paper trading to establish consistent returns and determine strategy suitability.
Paper trade to learn strategies and to see proof of consistent returns. Read all kinds of investing books, articles and journals. Remain suspect of quick profits and unrealistic returns. The investing world is a volatile place. It has always been such and with global trading, it is bound to only become more volatile and risky.
Years ago I had software that provided real-time charting which members could follow and also I tried a private members only trading twitter feed. What I found was members were just trying to duplicate the trades and not actually learning. Members also complained that there was still a time lag from when they saw my entry to when they made their own entry. Often this time lag was their own hesitation which is common. For the SPY ETF trades in particular this often meant if they delayed even slightly, they missed the entry and exit by a minute or sometimes a bit longer. Many investors tend to be “skittish” when it comes to their own capital, so even if they see my entry, often they hesitate, or if the trade goes the wrong way after entering, many jump out taking losses rather than learning when it is best to stay in and work the trade back to a profit.
For many investors, when they enter a trade they are already counting their profits which often leads to mistakes and losses. That’s not how to invest. Investing and trading are not simply copying what is being done without learning. It takes experience and patience. I found “real-time” for investors meant they basically just tried to duplicate what I was doing but not learning the mechanics to become better investors.
Therefore I take the approach of the proverb, “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.”
With that being the focus I am able to teach other investors what I know and have learned. I have time to answer emails and questions, tutor, develop more investing tools like the put selling tool, best bets tool, etc. I have time to test out new strategies, discuss and post strategies and show how those strategies can be used to grow a portfolio while also learning how to protect capital being risked all with real examples. The response from members has been overwhelming positive and many investors have been with me for well over 10 years because of this tutoring style.
So remember, trade at your own risk. What you read on my website are my ideas, trades and strategies. They are not recommendations or suggestions. I am not a financial adviser and have no accredited titles or training. I am an individual investor who has learned from personal experience in investing and trading. Stocks are considered risky assets for a reason. Investors can and do lose substantial amounts of capital investing in stocks, commodities, bonds, currencies and more. Consider a conservative approach and never invest all your capital in one aspect of investing or even one investment. Consider my rule of 30% cash, 30% fixed income (laddered bonds, GICs, CIDs, etc), 40% stocks or related instruments such as ETFs, Mutual Funds, Commodities spread among a variety of sectors and never in just one or two equities.
Always remember, investing is risky but through learning how to handle and control that risk, investors can become successful.
I thought this post from my Yahoo Options Forum years ago outlines perfectly the purpose and goal of FullyInformed.com:
Teddi is a breath of fresh air over the other “learn & earn” sites. She diligently describes her rational for her trades and shares, in depth, her plans for managing her trades. Subscription sites probably have a place for some investors, but over the years my largest return from any of them has been high disappointment. The “teach the person to fish” model works very well here. I’m holding onto the pole I’m using.
Name: Mel (Yahoo Options Forum) June 2 2014
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