“I was able to sell a portion of my stock. Then I decided to hold the rest. That could prove to be a terrible, terrible, terrible decision. This could be the worst financial decision of my life…could be.

But after lots and lots and lots of discussion and lots of number crunching and lots of thinking about it, I decided to hold on. ….” (Source: Tim.blog | H/T: Mind Café)

That’s Tim Ferris, New York Times bestseller and a successful investor who remains in close proximity to the big shots in the Silicon Valley, including the finest investors and consultants.

The world is staring at one of the biggest recessions in recent times. So, it isn’t just the regular stock investors who are anxious. The institutional and successful investors are holding their breath as well. 

The tug of whether to…

• Hold or exit the market
• Trust this company or not
• Follow others or walk alone
• Leave or sink with the ship
• Buy the dip or remain risk-free

…is confusing stock investors worldwide.

If you’re among them, don’t be too hard on yourself. 

Work to minimize your risks. But, at the same time, depending on your financial standing, be okay with little risks that won’t destroy your portfolio and make you poor.

Get rid of anxiety and trust the tried and tested rule of stock investment: Hold.

Of course, portfolio diversification is another tried-tested rule.

There are many things stock investors can do to combat this economic contraction and keep their portfolio safe.

So, avoid over-stressing yourself. Just like we have overcome every downturn, we will do even this one.

As a stock investor, stick to your long-term game. Focus on getting better at this game. In fact, use this period to amplify your skills. There are many share trading courses out there. Find and enroll in the best online stock trading courses that adequately suit your needs.

Yes, there are challenges ahead and many investors might struggle in different ways. But, at the same time, there are also many opportunities to grow yourself and boost your portfolio. Tap on these opportunities.

This lockdown could be a great opportunity for aspiring and new stock traders. They can utilize this time to add to their skills and knowledge.

If you’re a new stock trader – or want to become one – here are 5 things you should do this lockdown instead of Netflixing and possibly wasting time:

• Start following renowned and successful stock traders and market experts on social media platforms. Add them to your digital circle. Exposing yourself to their content, opinions, and hot-takes will provide you many learning opportunities.
• Enroll in a good online stock trading course. Do some research and pick a good program that ideally fits your proficiency level. Learning through share trading courses make the entire process quite systematic, efficient, and quicker.
• Find a few reliable online platforms that you can follow to get your stock market news and insights. There are many such platforms. Do your research to pick a handful that you understand well and can connect with. These are the sources that will keep you updated with the latest information and safe from the market FUD.
• Learn technical analysis. Just knowing how to trade stock isn’t sufficient. The ultimate goal is to build a high-value portfolio. For this, you need to actively learn the advanced concepts like triple Bollinger bands strategy, RSI compressions, time frame confluence, and more. The right online courses will cover these advanced concepts adequately. In addition, you must watch more videos and read articles around technical analysis. Don’t be just a beginner for too long; take your skills to the next level.
• Start taking care of your physical and psychological health. Stock trading can be emotionally draining. With their money at stake, even a slight movement in the market can cause discomfort to the new stock traders. So, it’s essential for you to be in good health. Start eating right. Exercise at home for at least 20 minutes a day.

These are five things new and aspiring stock traders should do during this lockdown.

Don’t let this period go waste. Turn it into an opportunity for yourself to learn more about stock trading and amp up your skills and knowledge.

You saw a few stock traders, audited their style, adopted their Bollinger bands strategy, and are now trading. 

Would you be just as successful as those who you’re copying?

Likely not.

And it is one of the key things that new stock traders must understand.

If building a high-worth portfolio is as easy as copying a successful stock trader, everyone would be at the top, don’t you think?

There’s a big difference between taking inspiration from others and copying their strategies.

In reality, what may have worked for them might fall flat for you. And there are plenty of reasons why, including the difference in the appetite for risks.

However, one thing that often gets overlooked is the personality of stock traders.

Different traders have different personalities. They have their own style.

When you see a profitable stock trader, it isn’t just their plan, triple Bollinger bands strategy and hard work playing in their favor but also their personality. They play around the truth of who they are.

When you try to copy them, you basically give up your strength to look like someone else. This goes against you, inevitably leading you to losses.

Understanding your personality and figuring out what kind of stock trader you are is essential. Once you know that, you can triple down on your strengths and improve the chances of you winning.

So, what’s your style? What are you comfortable with?

Do you like taking risks?

Are you intuitive?

Can you sit for hours every day and read the market trends?

Can you network with other stock traders and leverage their market expertise?

Do you need to hire a consultant or can you do all by yourself?

These are some key questions regarding your personality that you must answer before outlining your stock trading plans and strategies.

Do not copy other stock traders. Realize your own strength and comfort, and then play along accordingly. You’re more likely to win on your own unique strength vs. trying to become like someone else.

Let’s be honest: as a stock trader, even if you’re experienced, you make an awful lot of mistakes. If you are to build an indomitable and high-return portfolio, it’s essential that you eliminate these mistakes. A New Year is a great opportunity for this.

Here are 9 mistakes you must avoid to be a better stock trader in 2020:

• Trading emotionally to recover losses. Often you will end up losing even more. Trade rationally. Never let the emotions get the best of your thoughtful strategy.

• Following the unreliable news resources. They spread FUD and trigger FOMO. Be very, very careful about the individuals and news sources you get your market updates from.

• Not actively learning every day. The stock market is dynamic that changes every hour. You must invest a massive amount of time to learn the basic and advanced concepts so as to understand the market movements in a much more analytical way. If you’re new at it, enroll yourself in the stock market course for beginners. If you’ve been in the game for some time, enroll yourself in stock market courses that focus on technical analysis.

• Relying on your stock market consultant blindly. It’s good to have an expert by your side to navigate you in the right direction. However, it’s essential to do your own analysis and make your own calls instead of blindly relying on others.

• Listening to stock traders who have no clue about the market whatsoever.

• Not networking with stock traders who have a solid portfolio and a great track record of making correct trading calls.

• Working with short-term, money-centric goals. The path to building a high-worth portfolio is long, which demands a long-term plan and smart smaller goals.

• Not diversifying your portfolio. Although it’s a very common rule that you shouldn’t put all your eggs in one basket, it’s surprising that so many people still don’t follow it.

• Not having enough liquidity. Many beginners, in particular, spend all their income and savings in stock. It’s a mistake. You must be adequately liquid to meet emergency needs.

These are nine mistakes you must give up in 2020 to become a better stock market trader. Tap on the new opportunities and a clean slate that New Year brings us all. Become better at stock trading.

A stock trader or investor?

Here are 7 stock market memes that will make you laugh hard and teach you a few lessons that your stock market training couldn’t:

1. What so many new stock traders want to do…

The idea of being a day trader is quite exciting. But it’s also far from easy. 

Day trading is much more than just “buy low, sell high”. 

Usually, the new traders, day-trading with no thorough planning and strategy, end up with big losses.

2. *Surprise* Not everybody is a stock trader or investor

Stock trading is difficult. It’s not an easy money scheme – an appeal and narrative that attracts thousands of new players every day.

Trading requires a ridiculous amount of work on a daily basis.

If you want to make a million in a month, you’re in the wrong field.

3. It’s risky… very risky

Unless you have enough wealth that you can afford to lose – or if you have extensive market knowledge – you’re better off staying from the market. 

Even if you have gone through the best online trading training and have the right consultants by your side, there’s always the risk of losing money.

4. Stock trading is an addiction for many

Yes, Hollywood may paint the picture a bit exaggeratingly. But, in reality, many stock traders are hooked to the game. And this isn’t all about money.

When you understand the stock market closely and all its dynamics, behind the veil of risks and losses, trading is quite fun.

You can be one of them. You just have to love the process and not chase money.

5. Don’t be one of them

Being a successful stock trader isn’t about the money you made in your last trade. It’s about the kind of portfolio you have managed to build over the months and years. 

So, just because you’re making profits from your trades, don’t change your social media bio to “stock trader”.

6. Are you missing similar opportunities right now?

Many stock traders invest in companies based on those companies’ current performance.

That’s a good strategy when you’re a trader. For the investors though, factoring the prospect of the company and its anticipated future growth is very important.

Investors missed the chance to invest in Amazon stocks in the late 1990s. Don’t miss the opportunities this time.

Look around and find the Amazon of 2019 and 2020.

7. Portfolio diversification is essential 

It’s boring advice. Moreover, the market hasn’t seen major crashes in recent times that undermine this rule’s relevance. This is why so many new stock investors take this advice rather lightly. 

But strategically, to eliminate risks, build a sustainable portfolio and survive crashes, diversifying your portfolio is essential. 

Share more stock market memes on Twitter with Bharat Jhunjhunwala at @BharatJ82. 

Yes, you buy and sell stocks… And your social media bio does say you’re a stock trader. But then, are you really?

There’s a big difference between being a stock trader and being a serious stock trader. The former, almost imminently, is expected to end with big losses, while the latter works with a thorough plan that enables her/him to build a high-worth portfolio.

So, what kind of stock trader are you – serious one or just a casual one?

Here are three signs you’re NOT a serious stock trader:

1.You don’t dedicate an amount of time to it every day

A large population of stock traders is in the game part-time. That isn’t wrong or a problem in itself. The problem is when, in the name of ‘part-time’, they don’t commit sufficient amount of time in trading regularly. If you’re one of them, you aren’t exactly a serious trader. To be a profitable trader, it’s essential that you take out a significant amount of time every day to commit to trading – to buy/sell, analyze the market trends, talk to industry people, and consume relevant content.

2.You don’t have a well-defined goal 

This is a big mistake of the new players. They start trading with short-term, money-centric intent. They just want to trade to make money. This overall vagueness derails their trades and pace. You must know exactly what you want to achieve; how much money you want to make; where you see your portfolio in the next 6 and 20 months from now. When you know “how much”, you will automatically get to plan how you’re going to achieve that. 

3.You aren’t actively learning and growing 

You’re never perfect. There’s always a room to improve yourself, as well as your plans and strategies. If you aren’t actively investing in learning and growing yourself, you’re creating a recipe for losses and unsustainability. As a serious stock trader, you must enroll self in a good share market trading course. You must learn from online trading courses and expert articles about technical analysis. You must learn from the market movements, as well as from your own losses and mistakes.

These are three signs that you aren’t exactly a serious stock trader. If you see these signs, it’s important that you fix them in order to make better trades and build for yourself a high-worth portfolio. 

No matter how good of a stock trader you were and how great your strategy was, this was inevitably coming. After all, a loss is a part of the game. You will lose money in stock trading. Moreover, small losses are often essential to pave you the way towards greater returns.

However, that said, recovering from big stock trading losses could be tough; more so for the beginners who still struggle to trade without emotions.

Recommended Read: Are Your Emotions Limiting You As a Stock Trader?

To help you with it, here are five simple tips on how to recover like a pro from big stock trading losses:

1. STOP. 

Meaning, do not act emotionally and trade to recover your losses. Stop yourself from taking further actions.

After big losses, many traders try to recover their lost amount quickly. Don’t be one of them!

In haste, you will only end up making more mistakes, further hurting your portfolio.

2. Accept the loss 

If it’s really a “big” loss, it could be difficult to come to terms with that reality that you lost such a big amount of money.

Of course, this is easier said than done but you must allow yourself enough time to embrace the loss.

3. What went wrong?

Losing is undesirable. But one of the best things about losing is the learning part. You learn a lot.

So, after losing money in your trades, spend some time taking out the lessons for future reference. What did you do wrong here? What went bad? How this loss could have been avoided?

Answer such key questions in retrospection to extract learning value for them.

4. Adjust your plan

You don’t have to adjust your long-term goal, but you definitely have to make some changes in your short-term plan that incorporates this big loss. 

So, give your plan a hard look and readjust it to really bring you back on the right track.

5. Take some time off 

After such big losses, it’s usually desirable to take some time off stock trading and help yourself recover mentally.

This is more important today than ever when traders are evidently showing signs of burnout.

So, if possible, take some time off.

And during that off-time, invest in yourself to grow. Go on a wellness holiday, enroll self in online trading courses, spend more time with the family, and fix your diet.

Especially going through a good share market trading course can help you a lot in plenty of ways, from helping you understand the market better to assisting you in making a better strategy this time.

These are five simple tips on how you can recover from a big stock trading loss like a pro.