Learning from our mistakes
"Be greedy when everyone is fearful, be fearful when everyone is greedy" -Warren Buffet
We did exactly the opposite.
The first time my friends and I entered the stock market, we came with little more than our bravado. So naturally, we dove in head first, armed with a few pretty pennies. We set out to earn money from the philippine stock exchange. This was about Feb of 2007.
When we bought in, it was a time to be fearful - (while all were greedy)
It started with us trooping to the Philippine Stock Exchange in Makati and opening an account with IGC Securities. A few days prior to this, I recall seeing the Philippine Stock Exchange being featured on the front page for reaching all time highs. (3200 at that time, i think) On the very day we opened the account, our own President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo was on the floor to ring the bell and have her picture taken. These were signs of a greedy and overconfident investor sentiment.
We should have bought when it was a time to be greedy - (while all were fearful)
Later on I learned that when stocks are on the front page for being high, they don't normally stay there long. Sure enough, a few days after we went in, we saw a major dip. The first few worries about the sub-prime lending fiasco started showing themselves. People got spooked. The stock market took a nose dive. Fortunately, we were smart enough to wait it out. The stocks we bought recovered soon enough and we were eventually able to resell them at profit.
Since then, more lessons came. That's a euphemism for, "we made more mistakes". But we did learn from them and we're looking to make something out of those few pretty pennies we started out with almost a year ago this 2008. Hopefully, by the end of the year we will not just be smart stock traders, but stock traders with deeper pockets.
We did exactly the opposite.
The first time my friends and I entered the stock market, we came with little more than our bravado. So naturally, we dove in head first, armed with a few pretty pennies. We set out to earn money from the philippine stock exchange. This was about Feb of 2007.
When we bought in, it was a time to be fearful - (while all were greedy)
It started with us trooping to the Philippine Stock Exchange in Makati and opening an account with IGC Securities. A few days prior to this, I recall seeing the Philippine Stock Exchange being featured on the front page for reaching all time highs. (3200 at that time, i think) On the very day we opened the account, our own President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo was on the floor to ring the bell and have her picture taken. These were signs of a greedy and overconfident investor sentiment.
We should have bought when it was a time to be greedy - (while all were fearful)
Later on I learned that when stocks are on the front page for being high, they don't normally stay there long. Sure enough, a few days after we went in, we saw a major dip. The first few worries about the sub-prime lending fiasco started showing themselves. People got spooked. The stock market took a nose dive. Fortunately, we were smart enough to wait it out. The stocks we bought recovered soon enough and we were eventually able to resell them at profit.
Since then, more lessons came. That's a euphemism for, "we made more mistakes". But we did learn from them and we're looking to make something out of those few pretty pennies we started out with almost a year ago this 2008. Hopefully, by the end of the year we will not just be smart stock traders, but stock traders with deeper pockets.
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