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%.

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Sold Full UYG Position at 3.18 Per Share

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%

This post originally appeared at: Clear Trades. Follow me on Twitter

Sold 2600 Shares of UYG at 2.94

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%.

This post originally appeared at: Clear Trades. Follow me on Twitter

Sold 470 Shares of FAS at 5.07

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%.

This post originally appeared at: Clear Trades. Follow me on Twitter

Sold 400 Shares of BAC at 4.164

I went long BAC (Bank of America) on Feb 4th, buying 500 shares at 5.20 and later in the day 200 shares at 4.90.

Of course it would have been great if I had sold on Friday or Monday when the stock was trading in the high 6s and even touched the low 7s. I guess maybe I got greedy, or maybe I didn’t have a good plan going in, or maybe I bet too much on the bank bailout speech on Tuesday. I probably messed up on all 3 of those points. In the future, I’m going to be more careful to put in stop loss orders when I’ve seen such a large gain.

I’ve been growing more uncomfortable with my large Financial Sector exposure, and since I have a profit in BAC I decided it was time to sell.

Realized a gain of $437.97, for a return of 12.19%.

This post originally appeared at: Clear Trades. Follow me on Twitter

Sold 700 Shares of BAC at 5.77

Sold my total long position in DIG, 50 shares at 29.00.

DIG was still looking pretty good, but I wanted to put the money elsewhere and I had a small gain so I took it.

Realized gain of $37.99, for a return of 2.70%.

This post originally appeared at: Clear Trades. Follow me on Twitter

Sold 50 Shares of DIG at 29.00

Covered my short of WFC, 100 shares at 18.67.

I’m not sure why I covered this so quickly. I guess I got scared. I missed a few dollars of downside the following day. This one was a mistake and I should have seen it coming. Lesson learned- be more patient and allow for more of a loss before getting out. I think the pressure on my BAC shares at the time scared me a bit and I didn’t want to end up with another financial loser.

Realized gain of $4.18, for a return of 0.22%.

This post originally appeared at: Clear Trades. Follow me on Twitter

Covered 100 Shares of WFC at 18.67

Covered my short of 160 shares of BAC at 5.588.

I was too fearful with this one and should have been more patient. I missed out on almost two more dollars of downside, but at least I got out with a gain.

Realized a gain of $72.71, for a 7.4% return.

Not bad for one day, but this should have been a lot better.

This post originally appeared at: Clear Trades. Follow me on Twitter

Covered 160 Shares of BAC at 5.588