18/08/2020
Ever had a stock market loss? It's worse than heartbreak.
The stock market can make you a millionaire over time. It can turn you to a beggar overnight. If Rocky Balboa was to describe the market, this is how he would put it.
''The market ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It’s a mean and nasty place…and it will beat to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let the market… it’s about how hard you can get hit, get up, and still keep moving forward.''
To make sure that you continue to stay in the game and win is all about risk management or we call it - damage control. Investors and traders taking a loss will come in many pains; an ant bite, a wasp sting, a heartbreak, or a venomous snakebite and you don't want to end up with that as it will decimate your portfolio and your spirit.
Most players in the market enjoy reaping profits during a bull run with heavy equity exposures, but when a major correction takes place or volatility takes place, the amateurs are left nowhere to run but burn to the ground and never return. It's because they are not trained to face the situation and become disciplined.
Successful players are trained and gain XP with time. They must learn how to cut their losses short. This means selling a stock when it's down from your purchase price. The fact is, no one likes to sell for anything for a loss. It's an admission that you made a mistake and a slap on your ego. But if you can set your ego aside and the emotions, you can take a small loss and still be fit enough, both financially and mentally, to invest the next day.
When you look at the returns a stock requires to breakeven after a dip, the percentages highlight the damage a loss can do to your portfolio. The returns needed to recover from a loss becomes exponential and gets more disheartening with the fact that the market tends to drop faster and move up slowly. Therefore cutting losses ASAP prevents you from suffering a devastating blow that you may not recover from.
Share this among your friends so they will learn to manage their losses effectively.
@ Colombo, Sri Lanka