Credit: Shutterstock photoWhy do some people succeed spectacularly in the market while others fail? The market is the same for one person as it is the next.
So why the dramatic difference in performance? Could it be that self-doubt and a lack of confidence are holding you back?
As many know all too well, there's an emotional component to trading and investing. And this can pose a big obstacle to trading success.
Let's face it, the number one reason that keeps people from doing anything, is the fear of 'what if it doesn't work'.
But imagine if every trading decision you were about to make had the highest probability of success. It's not a fantasy. In fact, it's how many pros consistently beat the market. And it's how you too can transform your portfolio.
Missed Opportunities
The debilitating cycle of indecision can wreak havoc on your trading.
How many times have you found a stock you like, did your research on it, and were ready to pull the trigger, only to talk yourself out of it at the last minute? And then days or weeks later, you come to find that stock has shot up, and you're now kicking yourself for not being in it.
After having that happen to you one too many times, you vow to not let that happen again on your next pick. You still have the same unease as before, but you decide to get in anyway. Only this time, the stock immediately starts going down, and you instantly regret your decision.
Of course, with that recent loss fresh in your mind, you decide to be more diligent. But you wind up talking yourself out of your next trade, only to find that stock has gone up just as you had expected, and you're, once again, not in it.
This cycle can repeat itself far too often, creating scores of missed opportunities, making people hate the market.
So where does that come from? That self-doubt stems from a lack of confidence in your strategy.
But there's a solution, And with the help of computers, it's a lot easier than you might think.
Trading With Confidence
Success in trading comes down to two things:
1) Knowing what works, and
2) Doing what works
If your stock picking strategy has proven to pick winners -- in good markets, bad markets, and everything in between, then you know your strategy works. And with a computer-tested strategy, you'd have number 1 covered.
Then, when it comes time to placing your trade, you won't struggle with the decision of 'should I or shouldn't I', because you know your strategy has put the odds of success in your favor.
It's the knowing , that creates the confidence in doing . If you know your strategy works, you would not hesitate to place your trade. The unease would disappear. The self-doubt would be replaced with excitement. Your confidence would soar. And you'd now have number 2 covered.
As the saying goes, "a good strategy works best when you use it". And the more you use it, the more confident you'll become, making you that much more likely to keep using it. And that is the recipe for success.
More . . .
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A Simple Way to Make Better Trading Decisions
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Time-Tested Methods
Nowadays, the most successful traders use computerized models to know what strategies work.
Traders create algorithms (strategies) using various criteria to select stocks. Through backtesting, they are able to see how their strategies would have performed in the past so they'll have a better idea as to what their probability of success will be now and in the future.
Past performance is no guarantee of future results. But what else do you have to go by?
Think about it. If you saw that a stock picking strategy did nothing but lose money, year after year, stock after stock, over and over again, there's no way you'd want to use that strategy to pick stocks with. Why? Because it has proven to pick bad stocks.
On the other hand, if you had a strategy that did great year after year, trade after trade, over and over again, you'd of course want to use that strategy to pick stocks with. Why? Because it has proven to pick winning stocks. And while it could start picking losers all of a sudden (now that you're using it, right?), it may also continue to pick winning stocks, just like it had been doing over and over before.
Of course, a winning strategy won't preclude you from ever having another losing trade. On the contrary, even the best strategies 'only' have win ratios of 60%, 70% or even 80% -- not 100%.
But if your strategy picks winners far more often than losers, you can feel confident that the next stock it picks will have a high probability of making money. And you'll have the confidence to take it.
He Who Hesitates Is Lost
Once you know all the ins and outs of a strategy, you never have to second guess yourself.
And why would you? If you have a proven strategy that has outperformed in both bull and bear markets alike, you can feel confident that the best research has already been done to put those stocks on your buy list (or sell list) in the first place.
Because the 50-100 hours of testing that went into creating that strategy, is unlikely to be outdone by reading one extra news story, or looking at one more chart, or stressing over something in the market.
And that's the point. Imagine devoting 100 hours of your best thinking to EVERY stock you thought about buying. You'd feel pretty confident about that pick. And that's what a thoroughly tested strategy can provide -- the best time-tested analysis applied to every stock that comes through, each and every time.
And it also strips away the human bias that hurts so many traders out there. No more stressful emotions and no more indecisive 'hemming and hawing'.
Peace of mind. And a more profitable portfolio.
Emotion-Free Trading Today
We've created such an approach with our new strategy that incorporates the best Zacks Rank stocks, the top Zacks Ranked Industries, and a special combination of various Growth, Value, and Momentum style inputs that have shown extreme profit potential.
We call this secret formulation the Zacks Black Box Trader.
Best of all, there is no human bias to this computer driven and operated strategy. Just a straightforward, quantitative model that has tested off-the-charts with an average annual return more than double the S&P and with less risk while doing so.
Black Box applies the best time-tested analysis to every stock that comes through. And it automatically does this each and every time so you don't have to. Every Monday, you'll be signaled which stocks to buy (and which to sell) with the highest probability of success. Remarkably, it only takes a total of 5-10 minutes trading each week to enjoy the gains.
Black Box's newest batch of high-power stocks will post this Monday, August 1 at 10:05 am ET. You can be among the first to see them -- and get in position for the greatest possible upside. Recent Black Box trades made gains of +19.04%, +20.94%, even +35.23%.
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• why the market is soaring to all-time highs
• just how high it's likely to climb in the coming months and
• 3 specific trades I believe have extreme profit potential through the end of 2016. (The stock market is looking good in general, but these trades look even better to me!)
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Thanks and good trading,
Kevin
Zacks VP Kevin Matras is our stock screening expert. He developed many of Zacks' most powerful market-beating strategies and created the exclusive Black Box Trader.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
