Q: I have been providing technical stock research to institutional money managers for 20 years. I am very good at reading trends and trend dynamics. While this analysis has helped my clients significantly over the years, I have not been able to translate this analysis into consistent profits in my personal trading. Do you have any general advice for someone in my position?

A: Well, fundamentally you can spot when things are out of alignment, but you need to do the following:

  1. Get your psychology in order so you stop making mistakes.
  2. Identify your risk when you enter a trade.
  3. Understand how to control your reward to risk throughout the course of a trade.
  4. Understand market types. What you do currently won’t work when market conditions change.
  5. Understand position sizing strategies and their importance in meeting your objectives.
  6. Write a thorough business plan to guide your trading.
  7. Develop several good trading systems. Right now, what you think is your system is actually just your “analysis.”

In other words, you have to master a lot more of what we teach.