I sold my full UYG position, which I entered on March 19, 2009 at 2.71 per share.
Apparently, I’m developing quite a knack for selling too soon. UYG closed the day up about 30 cents from the point I sold in the morning, which was a pretty big move to miss. Not that I’m complaining about a winning trade, but I definitely want to take note of transactions like this to hopefully learn something and do a little better the next time.
After commissions, and a dividend payment, my realized gain on this trade was 16.4%.
Gains, Sell, UYG
Bought 140 shares of FAS at 6.68, with a stop loss at 6.32.
I took a shot at FAS this morning, but I picked the wrong dip to buy. It dropped to about 6.00 a little while after I bought, and that would have been a good entry point. I entered at the wrong time, but I’m happy I set a stop-loss and stuck with it.
Realized a loss of $63.00, for a return of -6.69%.
Buy, FAS, Losses, Sell
*Note – This is an old trade that I’m posting for tracking purposes. Follow me on Twitter or StockTwits to keep track of my most recent trades, as close to real-time as possible.
Finally emptied my UYG position. This is another example of a trade that I let get away from me for way too long. I stuck with it, and kept averaging down. Things were painful for a while, but I was finally saved in the end by a nice Financial sector recovery. This trade worked out, but it wasn’t a smart way to go about it and I won’t soon forget the pain I was feeling on this one. Hopefully that is a lesson learned for good.
Realized a gain of $1,825.95, for a return of 31.42%
Gains, Sell, UYG
*Note – This is an old trade that I’m posting for tracking purposes. Follow me on Twitter or StockTwits to keep track of my most recent trades, as close to real-time as possible.
Exited my FAS position. I got a little scared and felt like I had to take profits after being down so much on this one. That of course illustrates the problem of letting a bad trade run for so long and not going in with a stop-loss order. Lesson (hopefully) learned.
Realized a gain of $44.92, for a return of 1.93%.
FAS, Gains, Sell
I sold off my Citigroup speculation this morning at 1.45 per share. After we didn’t see any improvement or positive news over the weekend I decided it was time to let this one go.
I still expect to see a short-cover rally (there are 182 millions shares short according to shortsqueeze.com), but there is probably plenty more downside before that will happen.
Realized a loss of -$134.02, for a return of -15.73%.
C, Sell
I sold my full position in the Financial Select Sector ETF (XLF) . I realized this ETF moves almost exactly like the UYG, which I have a much larger position in. I still think we are reaching a bottom in the Financials, so I thought I could benefit more from that rebound by moving this money to the FAS (FINANCIAL BULL 3X) ETF.
Realized a loss of -$392.02, for a return of -20.56%.
Sell, XLF
As I wrote in my previous post (Bought 300 Shares of BAC at 5.60), I set a stop loss order on my BAC shares at 5.32.
Unfortunately, this trade didn’t work out for me and I was stopped out around 2:55, at 5.32 per share (see the red arrow on the chart). This stop saved me from the low of the day (5.11), and also happened to be the price that BAC closed at.
Perhaps my stop was a bit too tight, though I didn’t really think it was at the time I set it.
One problem I have to figure out how to deal with is the small size of my account and the difficulty of making trades that don’t risk more than 2% of my total capital. I’m probably going to have to trade even smaller numbers of shares in order to allow for a little more downside risk. Of course, BAC has been highly volatile so it may not be the right stock for me to learn how to trade anyway. I’ll review some charts tonight and see if I find anything I’m interested in buying tomorrow. If not, I’m happy to let my UYG position ride for a little while longer. I still think that is due for a nice recovery.
Realized a loss of $98.02, for a return of -5.81%.
BAC, Losses, Sell
I got scared and got out of my BAC trade much too quickly.
I actually got a margin maintenance call after I bought this. Apparently I wasn’t paying close enough attention to my ‘buying power’ and over extended myself. I could have held on for more gains of course, but I really just wanted to get out with a small profit while I could and avoid having to add more cash to my account to cover the margin.
Realized a gain of $27.59, for a return of 1.69%.
BAC, Gains, Sell
Cutting more losers…I was completely wrong when I bought this one. I paid 6.57 per share.
Realized a loss of -$177.51, for a return of -17.89%.
BCS, Losses, Sell
Another dumb buy, taking my losses on this one before it gets worse. I bought my 200 shares at an average price of 10.99 per share.
Realized a loss of -$372.02, for a return of -16.87%.
GE, Losses, Sell
