Lessons on Stock Market Investing, Vol. V

One year after my last post in this series, I’m writing again to celebrate another milestone in my financial life — my third anniversary as a direct stock market investor via COL Financial!

So far, things have been doing great. The market is bullish once again after several months of being bearish. During those gloomy months, I intentionally didn’t check on my port. The few times I did, I just bought more stocks so I could average down those that were in the red at the time, SSI included. And what do you know? SSI finally recovered last month. It went as high as PHP4.33 per share against my average price of PHP3.88. Thinking that the trend would die down soon, I sold my SSI shares immediately when it got to 4.07, which gave me a gain of around 4.8%. Now, why did I not wait for it go higher? I have to admit I got emotional. It’s been more than a year since I had SSI on the red, with losses reaching as high as 43% at one point. Having seen it turning to green recently was an overwhelming feeling. I just felt I needed to sell it right away for fear that its price would go down again and I would have to wait for a long time before it could recover. At least I still made money from it. The decision also prevented me from selling at a loss when I felt like it.

Decisions, decisions, decisions. When you’re a direct stock market investor, decisions have to be made. I realized that it would be best if you move on fast after selling a stock. Do not dwell on the what-ifs and instead, enjoy and appreciate the benefits of that decision. The same applies when buying a stock. As much as possible, try not to have what they call “a buyer’s remorse.” Stick to what you have decided on and before you know it, you’re ready again to make another smart decision.

Continue with the strategy that works for you. In my case, I have stocks that I keep adding shares to but don’t touch and those that I add shares to and trade whenever there’s an opportunity to do so. This plan of action makes me money and allows me to buy stocks when the market is bearish, so it’s win-win. This also means that right now, I’m part long-term investor and part short-term investor. And I’m fine with it.

Some stocks require your full attention from time to time. Not all stocks are created equal. There are those that require your TLC and those that are low-maintenance. For those that require TLC, I make sure to give it to them. You see, some stocks move up and down fast and for you to maximize your earning potentials, you have to watch them closely. TEL, for instance, sometimes behaves like that. One time when I got its price down to PHP1700+ via cost averaging, it went up to PHP1,900+ in just a few weeks. I didn’t hesitate to sell my TEL shares when it happened and I earned money from doing so. Then I waited for its price to go down again before buying new shares of the stock. Aside from the big dividends TEL gives, what I like about it is that its highly volatile. High dividend rate and high volatility are two factors that make TEL a high-risk stock capable of giving us high returns, in my opinion. I just have to closely monitor its price movement and overall company performance whenever I want to trade it.

Economic and political issues affect the stock market. And so do terrorist acts. I know it’s already a given but its more felt these days, what with the Marawi crisis the government is trying to end as soon as possible. If this continues longer, there will be serious consequences to our economy and the Philippine stock market won’t be spared from it. We can only hope and pray for things to get better soon.

Here’s to more gains and less losses in the stock market this year and beyond! Happy stock market investing, friends! 🙂

You might want to check out my previous posts in this series:

Lessons on Stock Market Investing, Vol. IV
Lessons on Stock Market Investing, Vol. III
Lessons on Stock Market Investing, Vol. II
Lessons on Stock Market Investing, Vol. I

May you choose happiness always,

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9 Replies to “Lessons on Stock Market Investing, Vol. V”

  1. Love reading your stock investing updates sis. I’m holding UITF’s at the moment and planning on opening COL for me and the kids. Im thinking of getting mutual funds via COL (hehe wala kasing sales load). My to-do pagnakauwi again this year or next.

    1. Thanks, Lui! Go, investing directly in the stock market is challenging and fun at the same time. 🙂

  2. I’ve had to sell some stocks too in order to augment our budget, it’s a good thing that they were already green so it didn’t hurt as much.

    The moment we get our finances ironed out, I’m going back to investing in stocks.

    1. Sa totoo, sis, hanggang ngayon di ko gets ang techncial analysis, puro gut-feel at fundamental analysis lang ako. So far, okay naman, nadadaan sa dasal! 🙂

  3. Nice move with the SSI. I have the same feeling with exchange traded fund (ETF) in Canada. I sold a more volatile ETF with higher management expense ratio to get rid of pressure/stress.

    Is it possible to make an order (sell) in a set price with GTC on COL? So traders doesn’t have to monitor the movement or make emotional decision (sell low or too early).

    1. Thanks! Yes, I heard COL has a feature similar to what you’re saying but I haven’t tried it yet.

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