As a newbie to the stock market in the mid-90’s heyday bull market, it was easy to make money. Virtually, any stock I bought rose and it was easy to get deluded into thinking how wonderful an investor I was.  I subscribed to newsletters written by some of the stock market gurus, and picked from their list of recommended stocks those that I thought looked promising …. and, life was good!

March of 2000 proved to be the beginning of my education in the ‘University of Hard Knocks’.  Over the next many months, I saw my portfolio (heavily weighted in tech stocks) suffer a 75% decline, all while the so-called gurus kept insisting that the decline was a transient pull-back, and the great bull market would begin to roar again.  I finally realized that even so-called gurus did not hold all the ‘right’ answers (opinions, yes, answers, no).

I then realized that no one was going to care enough to take care of my money more than I was, and that, if I were not to suffer such a setback again, I would have to ‘roll up my sleeves’ and learn to trade for myself.  Well, after reading many books on investing, attending many conferences and seminars, and ‘paying my dues’ in the market, I am much wiser than I once was and more adept at interpreting the fundamental and technical nuances of the market.  These pages hold some of the secrets to investing and trading well, and are my gift to those who now walk the path that I once did.  While the principles described in these pages can be applied to many investing/trading instruments, I will describe by way of examples only stocks and options (which are the instruments that I am most familiar with).  For those more accomplished who might be reading this, please know that I know there are many ways to make money in the stock market; some are more involved than others (What I present here is my view of what I believe would help the newbie trader rise most quickly up the ‘steep learning curve’ to being a better trader in the markets.)

As for me, I know that a good student of the market never stops learning, and, as I discover more insights, I will add to these pages.  I welcome feedback from those who are wiser, and would like to share their own thoughts that could benefit newbies.  Over the next many weeks, I will be adding to these pages, so stay tuned, and keep visiting.

Happy Trading

JonLuc