{"id":108883,"date":"2017-07-12T10:21:02","date_gmt":"2017-07-12T14:21:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/countingpips.com\/?p=108883"},"modified":"2017-07-12T07:21:28","modified_gmt":"2017-07-12T11:21:28","slug":"stay-razor-sharp-with-3-simple-investing-moves","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.investmacro.com\/forex\/2017\/07\/stay-razor-sharp-with-3-simple-investing-moves\/","title":{"rendered":"Stay Razor Sharp With 3 Simple Investing Moves"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"inves-3802129545\" class=\"inves-below-title-posts inves-entity-placement\"><div id =\"posts_date_custom\"><div align=\"left\">July 12, 2017<\/div><hr style=\"border: none; border-bottom: 3px solid black;\">\r\n<\/div><\/div><p>By <a href=\"http:\/\/WallStreetDaily.com\/\"><u>WallStreetDaily.com<\/u><\/a> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"attachment-home-th size-home-th wp-post-image\" style=\"display: block; margin-bottom: 5px; clear: both;\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/wallstreetdailywebsite\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/0717_volatility2_feature.jpg\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 580px) 100vw, 580px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/wallstreetdailywebsite\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/0717_volatility2_feature.jpg 580w, https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/wallstreetdailywebsite\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/0717_volatility2_feature-300x155.jpg 300w\" alt=\"Man holding razor\" width=\"580\" height=\"300\" \/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Tensions rise as volatility flattens.<\/li>\n<li>Now is the perfect time to strike.<\/li>\n<li>3-part blueprint for staying sharp.<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/pro.agorafinancial.com\/m\/710535\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Also recommended: 6 steps to isolating winners\u2026<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<p><!--END Hero Title and bullet point--><\/p>\n<p><!--Lead--><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"float: left; max-width: 85px;\" src=\"https:\/\/duip7hn7nchpo.cloudfront.net\/editor-circle-louis-basenese.jpg\" alt=\"Louis Basenese\" \/>The only thing that worries investors more than a volatile market is a calm one.<\/p>\n<p>Well, as I mentioned yesterday, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wallstreetdaily.com\/2017\/07\/11\/will-volatility-continue-flatline\/\"><strong>volatility<\/strong><\/a> has flat-lined.<\/p>\n<p>This year, the S&amp;P 500 has gained about 9% but has yet to register a daily move in either direction of more than 2%.<\/p>\n<p>The longer a market goes without action, the higher investor anxiety will get.<\/p>\n<p>Yes, valuations are high at this late stage of the current bull market. And the political risks to the market are many.<\/p><div id=\"inves-3164350574\" class=\"inves-in-content inves-entity-placement\"><hr style=\"border: 1px solid #ddd;\">\r\n<div id=\"inpost_ads_header\">\r\n<p style=\"font-size:10px; float:left; color:#666;\">Free Reports:<\/p><\/div>\r\n<div id=\"inpost_ads\"> \r\n<p style=\"font-size:15px; float:left;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/goo.gl\/1ApBOV\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/investmacro.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/graph_techs_PD.png\" align=\"left\" width=\"80\"  height=\"55\"\/><\/a>\r\n\t     <a href=\"https:\/\/goo.gl\/1ApBOV\"><b><u>Get Our Free Metatrader 4 Indicators<\/u><\/b><\/a> - Put Our Free MetaTrader 4 Custom Indicators on your charts when you join our Weekly Newsletter<\/p><br><br>\r\n<br>\r\n<br>\r\n<p style=\"font-size:15px; float:left;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/goo.gl\/f3RrHX\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/investmacro.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/cot_pie_80.png\" align=\"left\" width=\"80\"  height=\"55\"\/><\/a>\r\n\t    <a href=\"https:\/\/goo.gl\/f3RrHX\"><b><u>Get our Weekly Commitment of Traders Reports<\/u><\/b><\/a> - See where the biggest traders (Hedge Funds and Commercial Hedgers) are positioned in the futures markets on a weekly basis.<\/p><br><br>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<hr style=\"border: 1px solid #ddd;\">\r\n<br><\/div>\n<p>But we\u2019re not ready to call a top in stocks.<\/p>\n<p>And with buyers stepping in on every dip\u2026 I wouldn\u2019t short the market at large, either.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s senior analyst Jonathan Rodriguez with three simple, strategic moves to make right now\u2026<\/p>\n<p>Ahead of the tape,<\/p>\n<p>Louis Basenese<br \/>\nChief Investment Strategist, <em>Wall Street Daily<\/em><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2 class=\"centered headline\">How to Stay Sharp in a Dull Market<\/h2>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"float: left; max-width: 85px;\" src=\"https:\/\/duip7hn7nchpo.cloudfront.net\/editor-circle-jonathan-rodriguez.jpg\" alt=\"Jonathan Rodriguez\" \/><\/p>\n<p>With stocks in their least volatile period seasonally (June to August), now is the perfect time to gear your portfolio up for the second half of the year \u2014 when things really get moving.<\/p>\n<p>Here are three strategic moves you can make today\u2026<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"subhead\">1) Fatten up Your Watch List<\/h2>\n<p>Louis Pasteur famously once said, \u201cChance favors the prepared mind.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I couldn\u2019t agree more.<\/p>\n<p>The better prepared you are for what the market hands you, your chances of bagging big gains on stocks increase.<\/p>\n<p>As such, an investor should always have a list of well-researched stocks ready to go when an opportunity presents itself.<\/p>\n<p>This goes for long-term buy-and-hold investors and short-term traders alike.<\/p>\n<p>For me, a good stock list has five to ten stocks from different market sectors. I also note the price I\u2019m willing to pay for them and determine a near-term price target (usually one year).<\/p>\n<p>Now, long-term investors don\u2019t really need a price target. But if you\u2019re planning on holding a stock for less than two years, having an upside target can help you to build an appropriate reward-to-risk ratio.<\/p>\n<p>This ratio is simply a trade\u2019s net profit divided by total exposure.<\/p>\n<p>At a minimum, most traders are looking for a 2:1 return on capital. The most aggressive traders are often trading setups of 4:1 or more.<\/p>\n<p>For a price target, you could easily use Wall Street\u2019s consensus one-year price target (which can be found on sites like Yahoo or Google Finance). You could also craft one using your own valuation model, or use an <a href=\"http:\/\/www.buyupside.com\/calculators\/pricetarget.php\"><strong>online calculator<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Any way you slice it, armed with a watch list ahead of time, you\u2019ll know exactly what to buy \u2014 and when it\u2019s time to pull the trigger.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"subhead\">2) Mind Your Stop Losses<\/h2>\n<p>The second most important thing to do in a calm period is to adjust your stop losses.<\/p>\n<p>After all, the best way to make money is not to lose it in the first place.<\/p>\n<p>Most buy-and-hold investors use trailing stops, which automatically trail a stock by a percentage (like 25% or 35%).<\/p>\n<p>And generally speaking, you shouldn\u2019t need to adjust them unless a stock becomes more volatile than usual.<\/p>\n<p>But if you\u2019re sitting on a sizeable profit and you\u2019ve got a hard stop (which is a manually set limit price) on a stock, you might consider raising your stop to lock in your gains.<\/p>\n<p>This is especially true during long periods of low volatility, as they tend to be followed by large moves in stocks.<\/p>\n<p>Louis Basenese uses strict stop losses at our flagship publication, <em>True Alpha. <\/em>To learn more about this research service \u2014 along with a list of new currencies now available to trade \u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/pro.agorafinancial.com\/m\/710534\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>click here.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"subhead\">3) Consider Options to Increase Alpha<\/h2>\n<p>Options are one of the best tools available to investors to pull outsized gains out of the market, yet they are widely misunderstood \u2014 and, as a result, misused.<\/p>\n<p>When used correctly, however, they don\u2019t only magnify gains over regular stock returns but actually are safer instruments than stocks.<\/p>\n<p>As you may know, volatility is one of the biggest factors in the pricing of options. And when volatility is low, options get cheaper.<\/p>\n<p>So let\u2019s say you\u2019re sitting on a stock that\u2019s doubled in price over the last five years. Furthermore, you think shares have a bit more room to run but you want to take some profit off the table.<\/p>\n<p>Consider selling your shares and using some of the proceeds to purchase a deep-in-the-money call option.<\/p>\n<p>This strategy is called <a href=\"https:\/\/pro.agorafinancial.com\/m\/710545\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>stock replacement<\/strong><\/a>, and it allows you capture a stock\u2019s upside at a fraction of the cost to owning shares.<\/p>\n<p>Bottom line: Don\u2019t let this dull market lull you into sleeping on stocks. Let your winners ride and use the time \u2014 and these strategies \u2014 to prepare yourself for when stocks really start moving again.<\/p>\n<p>On the hunt,<\/p>\n<p>Jonathan Rodriguez<br \/>\nSenior Analyst, <i>Wall Street Daily <\/i><\/p>\n<p>The post <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wallstreetdaily.com\/2017\/07\/12\/stay-razor-sharp-3-simple-investing-moves\/\" rel=\"nofollow\">Stay Razor Sharp With 3 Simple Investing Moves<\/a> appeared first on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wallstreetdaily.com\" rel=\"nofollow\">Wall Street Daily<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By WallStreetDaily.com Tensions rise as volatility flattens. Now is the perfect time to strike. 3-part blueprint for staying sharp. Also recommended: 6 steps to isolating winners\u2026 The only thing that worries investors more than a volatile market is a calm one. Well, as I mentioned yesterday, volatility has flat-lined. This year, the S&amp;P 500 has [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-108883","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","no-post-thumbnail"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.investmacro.com\/forex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108883","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.investmacro.com\/forex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.investmacro.com\/forex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.investmacro.com\/forex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.investmacro.com\/forex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=108883"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.investmacro.com\/forex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108883\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":108890,"href":"https:\/\/www.investmacro.com\/forex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108883\/revisions\/108890"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.investmacro.com\/forex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=108883"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.investmacro.com\/forex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=108883"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.investmacro.com\/forex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=108883"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}