Timing Your Entries - When to Buy Stocks
We were perhaps a little ambitious with this title! We have a section in our Trading Plan in which we detail how we'll enter the market once a stock has met our selection criteria, but we really can't claim to teach you how to always buy stocks at the low of the day. We decided long ago that trying to time the market was an exercise in frustration and disappointment, so our own Trading Plan calls for buying stocks at the morning open. One other reason for this strategy is that this is the only method that can be successfully back-tested - buying stocks at the open (or close) has a clear historical price, but assuming for instance that we would've bought at the low of the day would be unrealistic and misleading.
Timing your entries
With this in mind, let's consider the process. We have a stock which has qualified as a purchase according to our Trading Plan. This stock has been entered on our Daily Gameplan, together with the quantity as determined by the Position Sizing Formula, and the target price. Then it's just a question of monitoring the movement of the stock price until it reaches your target price. We make it a rule never to 'chase' a stock - we selected a target price in the cool of the night, and we don't want to get caught up in the excitement and buy high in the heat of the day! If that means not making a purchase, that's OK - you must remember that every day brings many new candidates, like a never-ending buffet!
How to buy stocks
As to exactly how to buy stocks, the placing of the order can be done through a full service broker or online through a discount broker. Both types of account are easy to open, and you can find details for both on the internet with such ease that it's not worth going into details here. If you would like to place your first trade but feel you would like us to walk you through step-by-step, send for the FREE report on our homepage.
The last point worth making is that there are different types of order possibilities, depending on which market you're trading. So, as an example, a GTC order means 'Good Till Cancelled' - this order, once placed, will remain on the broker's books until it's either filled or cancelled. This is just one example, but there are several others - please take the time to familiarize yourself with the order types available in your market, to avoid any nasty surprises.
As to exactly how to buy stocks, the placing of the order can be done through a full service broker or online through a discount broker. Both types of account are easy to open, and you can find details for both on the internet with such ease that it's not worth going into details here. If you would like to place your first trade but feel you would like us to walk you through step-by-step, send for the FREE report on our homepage.
The last point worth making is that there are different types of order possibilities, depending on which market you're trading. So, as an example, a GTC order means 'Good Till Cancelled' - this order, once placed, will remain on the broker's books until it's either filled or cancelled. This is just one example, but there are several others - please take the time to familiarize yourself with the order types available in your market, to avoid any nasty surprises.
Copyright © 2011 Mick Brooks