LII's EOD Trading Journal

Those who are prepared to accept there is no such thing as a free lunch, holy grail or guaranteed quick buck have probably attained a state of mind in which they can realistically expect - with proper application - to make a sensible living from trading the (US) stock markets.

I have tried the 'Mr Charts' style of news breakout trading, dabbled in Nas level 2, flirted with Elliott et al and been amazed by watching Grey1 trade. I have both made and lost money day trading but find the possible rewards are not worth the risk to health or family life.

While day trading I have never lost sight of the attractions of position trading. One can on a daily (even weekly or monthly) basis identify good trades, place the selected trades in the market (I use IB) and manage those trades in less than 1 hour per day / week / month. The possible absolute returns are not as great as day trading but I can make 50% - 80% per annum and, as I have reasonable capital, that will do nicely for me thank you.

Accordingly I have left the frenetic world of intraday trading far behind me. If I never visit it again it will be too soon.

I shall here record my daily trades so that, over time, others may see profits being made and, I hope, be encouraged to follow suit and 'get a life'.

Good trading and a better life to you all.

LII

I have left the frenetic world of intraday trading far behind me

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I agree that EOD trading is more attractive for many reasons and I have also taken to doing this but for different reasons to yourself (except in certain circumstances where I still take a couple of day trades). The issue that concerned me when making this decision was that US Stocks are especially prone to news events that can occur out of normal hours. So I switched to currency trading because sudden news events outside market hours just don't have the same impact, in terms of volatility, as do stocks and futures. Even accounting for news events, (the times of which are generally known in advance), they usually end up as being noise in the overall scheme of things.

As long as I have a good measure of the volatility in the time frame I trade and position accordingly then EOD trading has not been any more risky for me than when I was trading intra-day.


Paul

Paul

I'm afraid I've never been able to get to grips with currencies so I leave them alone.

I agree that sudden news events (of a general kind) can potentially be damaging to a stock portfolio. World Trade Centre atrocities and the like cannot be anticipated but if risk is kept under strict control that damage can be kept within acceptable bounds.

Damage from stock specific news (upgrades / downgrades / lawsuits etc) can, I think, be minimised by careful stock selection and trade management.

Stocks I may buy tomorrow, if triggered and conditions remain OK, are CAM and DKS.

PLEASE REMEMBER THESE, AND OTHER STOCKS I MENTION IN THIS JOURNAL ARE ONLY STOCKS I MAY BUY FOR MY OWN PORTFOLIO. THEY ARE NOT RECOMMENDATIONS AND MUST NOT BE TAKEN AS SUCH. IF YOU DO YOU WILL PROBABLY LOSE MONEY.

I HAVE DELIBERATELY NOT SPECIFIED WHERE MY ENTRY POINT IS OR WHERE MY STOPS WILL BE PLACED. I HAVE NOT SAID WHAT MY POITION SIZE IS. THESE MATTERS ARE OF THE HIGHEST IMPORTANCE IN TRADING SUCCESSFULLY.

I am not asking you to reveal your setup but may I put my guess forward? You obviously don't have to confirm or deny.

CAM Long @ $82.10
DKS Long @ $65.14

CAM Long entry 4/9/7 @ $82.10 today's close $86.03
DKS Long entry 4/9/7 @ $65.14 today's close $67.27

Good trades, can you say how you determine position size ?


Paul

Trader333 said:

Good trades, can you say how you determine position size ?

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Nothing particularly complex - fairly normal fixed % risk pos sizing - (a) establish risk for trade (b) apply that to the %age of capital at risk (my personal comfort level is between .5% & 1% on full margin) (c) adjust the resulting position size if volatility is abnormally high or low.

I ought to say these 2 positions are still open & could easily go down the pan. This is not the best of markets but the abiding principle is while the reasons for taking the trade in the first place continue to exist let the profits run .....

Wise words from Grey1 a trader for whom I have utmost respect at http://www.trade2win.com/boards/showpost.php?p=355704&postcount=852 :-

THE SECRET OF BECOMMING WEALTHY IS NOT DAY TRADING ,,, GET INTO INVESTMENT .. LEARN FUNDAMENTAL ANALYSIS ,, ONLY TRADE PORTION OF UR $$ ON DAY TRADING .. USE DAY TRADING FOR POCKET MONEY

Nothing particularly interesting for me today so I'll look again over the weekend for next week.

CAM Long entry 4/9/7 @ $82.10 today's close $87.29
DKS Long entry 4/9/7 @ $65.14 today's close $66.80

Again, nothing particularly interesting today and I have to be away for the next couple of weeks or so after which I can get back to this thread. I'm sorry there hasn't been much action so far - hope it will perk up as the market stabilises.

A moment to update these 2 trades.

CAM Long entry 4/9/7 @ $82.10 closed 18/8/7 $86.66 - Closed profit per share $4.56
DKS Long entry 4/9/7 @ $65.14 today's close $71.68 - open profit per share $6.54

Still away for the next week or so after which I can get back to this thread. Sorry I haven't been able to post as things happen and there isn't much point in doing so after the event.

DKS Long entry 4/9/7 @ $65.14 's closed 26/9/7 $68.37 - Closed profit per share $3.23