Friday, December 3, 2010

what i learnt after getting my fingers burnt in penny stocks

Being a new investor and hearing a huge hype about people making thousands of dollars overnight, i thought i was too smart and could make millions in a few days. I started off with about $5000. Invested some in Citibank (C) and remaining in penny stocks. The penny stocks were so volatile that I was always worried what was about to happen. One morning i used to see one stock suddenly up 50% and in 2 hours down 30%. Even though i tried to sell several stocks at higher rates, most the times I was unsuccessful. then i started concentrating on 1-2 penny stocks and after what i thought was the right opportunity, i put all remaining money in 1 stock. Next day stock went down 40%, i thought i will come back up soon only to see in 1 week, the stock loosing more than 85% of its value! I finally got rid of the stock and now focus only on high quality, fundamentally good stocks and its been going much better and a much better peace of mind since then!

so for all the new investors or early investors, my sincere advice to you is:

1) Initially only trade on good / high quality / well know stocks
2) Do not get greedy - always diversify your money in several stocks
3) Buy for long term as much possible if you are not an expert - this is one of the most common mistakes by new investors
4) Do good research before buying a stock. Think as if you are buying that company and not the stock.
5) Do not rush, there are always very good opportunities!

1 comment:

  1. You have summarised the must dos of penny stocks investment. Just to add your list I think it is also very important to have an entry and exit strategy and keep a check of your emotions.

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