Knowledge Centre

Turnover and Volume Filters

This stock trading question comes from Colin H. who asks: “In the two books of yours I’ve read you suggest the use of both turnover and volume filters. Whilst I like the idea I don’t have an empirical method for determining parameter values. For example, a turnover filter set to an average of $500,000 over […]

Placing Orders

This stock trading question comes from Ben B. who asks: “My broker doesn’t allow me to place orders for the opening or closing auction. What should I do?” It sounds like you may be using a CFD provider. Many CFD providers are not members of the ASX and therefore cannot access that facility. You can […]

Risk versus Returns

This stock trading question comes from Peter H. who asks: “My main challenge is to minimise the risk of a major loss of capital while still aiming to achieve a rate of return that is typical of the returns on equities rather than the returns on bonds or term deposits.” There are two drivers of […]

How Much Money do I need to Start Trading?

This stock trading question about how much money is needed to start trading comes from Mike C. whose #1 challenge is… “What is a good size account to start with?” In other words, how much money do I need to start trading? It’s a common and important question. Too often new traders overlook the impact […]

Controlling Your Excitement

This week’s stock trading question comes from Asif R. whose #1 challenge in this instance was controlling the excitement. “It was a great day for people who were holding TOL stocks which included me…it really was exciting, or shall I say, too exciting, at least for me. Have you written or talked about how to […]

How to Choose a Stock Broker

“I do all my own research and read your materials plus others, so is the best option to trade with a broker or online?” This stock trading question comes from Steven F. Let’s just get one small technicality out of the way; regardless of who you trade through it is a broker. Whether that be […]

Margin Calls

“When I get a margin call I’m not sure which positions I should close” This stock trading question comes from Andrew A. Hmmm… The first thing is that it sounds like you’re getting a few margins calls, and if that’s the case you’re trading with too much exposure and too much leverage. That rarely works […]

Follow Your Strategy

This stock trading question comes from Gregg O. whose #1 challenge is… “My challenge is following my strategy and taking a buy signal in the ASX after a large fall in the US the prior night” A very good question. We’ve been programmed to expect Australia will follow on from any move in the US […]

How to Manage Winning Trades

This stock trading question about winning trades comes from Jacob G. whose #1 challenge is… “My challenge is managing winning trades and knowing when to close a winning position…” This is a very common question, mainly because there are various psychological issues at play. The fear of giving back existing profits is probably the most […]

Mathematical Edge for Comfort and Trading Success

This stock trading question from Anton B. may not appear to relate to mathematical edge but let’s take a look. Anton says his #1 challenge is… “As my account size has grown and I am subsequently taking larger positions my levels of fear and the swings in my account have also increased.” In many instances […]