It’s about peace and perspective. Daily is frenetic. Keeping up with those moving markets, let alone the analysing and decision making it all becomes a relentless and arduous task. Yes, some can do it and I’ve been there, but I now enjoy the relative serenity of following markets on a weekly basis. Interestingly I’ve found it more profitable and enjoyable. Now that’s a real bonus. Come up for air, take a break, go easy on yourself.

Focusing once a week on Fridays closing price is the task. Between, golf games, bridge hands, catching a wave, rebuilding that car that’s been sitting on you garage for the last 10 years, (taking up valuable space according to your partner), or simply pursuing one of your favourite hobbies. All of a sudden you have time and that’s precious.

But I hear you say what about the intra week disaster. A fallacy that rarely happens and in 17 years of running portfolios I can remember a few instances where it has happened, and it’s managed like any other trade. That’s a fact and those events are built into results. Market drops can occur over hourly, daily or weekly time frames. Daily doesn’t have dobs on disaster. No matter what time frame we trade we have to deal with them. Covid was a crunch, the GFC was a slow erosion. Markets fall regularly and as traders we all have to have a plan to deal with them in every shape and form, they come in. Those that don’t have a plan are the ones in trouble, no matter what time frame you trade.

The numbers don’t lie. Let me put it to you this way. I play a numbers game of odds. I also send out Daily Alerts. These are alerts to tell my members that I am aware that stop levels or reversal levels are under threat during the week. They are not ‘calls to action’ merely acknowledgments to you that this week they go on the watchlist and we check the ultimate confirmation against Fridays close. If triggered, they are executed on Monday. If not, and the majority aren’t, somewhere upwards of 70%, then if we take the daily signal, we are likely to be wrong come Fridays close. We got whipsawed and that’s costly and frustrating. It has been the result of daily noise.

Then back to the other 30%. Yes, they are triggered and that’s a weekly signal. On the very odd occasion there may be one stock that does get seriously wacked and doesn’t come back well that’s a rarity and at very low odds and that reality is built into our results. No system is perfect, so we play the statistical odds of one thing happening over another. That’s what Stockradar is about. Just like we have to deal with market corrections, they are a fact. Stock corrections are no different. They happen. So, our emotionally driven thoughts tend to focus us unnecessarily on the lower odd’s disastrous exception rather the wonderful profits that playing the positive odds deliver. If you are to trade weekly, you don’t take daily signals just like if you trade daily you don’t take hourly signals.

The fact is most traders are used to watching the daily stuff, getting caught up in the freneticism of it and haven’t taken the time to step back, relax and just try to use a weekly time frame. It’s all the same. Rules, plans, money management and discipline – just at a slower pace. That suits my primarily SMSF members. It’s important for them to care for their money and make it grow within the bounds of reason, safety and enjoyment.

You don’t have to do the weekly ‘thing’ but here’s but here’s some thoughts.

If I have more time to think, absorb and process I am highly likely to make better decisions and implement my trade plan more responsibly, effectively and in the end profitably. And that’s a key word for traders.

Trading for money is about enjoying the ride and not being stressed, under pressure, home late, drinking more and all those things we need to do to ‘get thorough the day’.

Dump the worry, enact the joy, fill the coffers, and enjoy life.
Take a break from the daily stress and enjoy a siesta!

More Reading – The Weekly Wonder