So, last night, around 4 a.m. or so, I wake up thinking, “I have so much to do before British Airways delivers me to Spain next Monday.” As well, the other issue banging around in my head, not allowing me to sleep fitfully, is my computer; it got really sick from a virus last week and, sadly, it is fatal. It is only a matter of time before she is gone. Not to sound cold about this, but I have prepared for this eventuality with a new girl in training and she is the one I am working with this morning. Although, it will take some time for her to get up to full speed, she will be ready on Monday to board that plane with me …
We are all waiting for the next installment of “As Europe Turns,” so while we wait, here are a couple of questions from my faithful readers.
I just read that you use the VantagePoint software package. I purchased VantagePoint a month ago (Futures and ETF modules) but have had a lot of difficulty finding traders’ examples of how they use it to enter trades. Would you mind explaining briefly how you have VP configured and what you look for in a setup?
Trading is such an intimate thing. Each of us devises our own strategy, and within that strategy we slip in our own idiosyncrasies. Given this, I have found over the years that advising others really is not my thing, but that does not mean others have the same considerations. In fact, my friend, I would advise you to check out some of the stellar VP users on TraderPlanet who have shared their strategies in various formats, including video. Mind you, these folks are successful traders who have deep understandings of VantagePoint as a tool. Just click on the education tab and do a search for VantagePoint. If you need more assistance to get more stuff, talk with the helpful folks at Market technologies and they will get you what you want …
What is a minimum volume to provide an ample amount of liquidity, if you are trading 300 shares at a time?
The question above is a bit more difficult to answer. Variables, variables, variables are what come to mind. How can I possibly give an explicit answer? So much depends on the stock, the value of the stock, and the price action around the stock, and the latter has to do with the “hotness” of the stock. However, generally speaking, the more volume the better, as you already understand, I am sure, but I say it because it is a reality some traders don’t understand.
Here is a way to look at this. BAC is a stock that trades hundreds of millions of shares per day, and to get in and out is easy. Now penny stocks (really a penny or two) can also trade hundreds of millions of shares per day, but sometimes it can be difficult to offload enough to make a profit. The difference is the quality of BAC vs. the quality of the penny stock, the value (and potential value) of BAC vs. the penny stock, and how “hot” the stock is. Currently BAC is hot, so you get good price action.
Look at AAPL, which is hot, expensive, high quality, and it most always has good price action. Trading 300 shares for a profit seems easy enough even when trading near its 3-month average of 12 million shares per day, but when it gets really hot and hits 40 million shares per day, you can play it more loosely with more leeway for gain. See, I told you this answer would not be easy. I would need much more space to define it more deeply, but I think you get it, don’t you?
Trade in the day – Invest in your life …
