Stock Preacher

In the USA active traders clearly understand that the Internal Revenue requires them to file a Schedule D-1 with their tax returns on both long and short term Capital Gains and Capital Losses + details that including the following;

1. date bought
2. the date sold
3. the cost or other basis
4. the sales price, the gain/loss.

So, if you are not aware of this need to keep accurate records, it is a requirement. If you are aware it is a reminder. It is a very easy process now with portfolio management software available from several publishers.

On top of keeping records for taxes it is very important and necessary to keep careful records of your trades. Again, the services are available online in several formats, what you use is personal and up to you, but it is a must because sloppy record keeping augurs difficulty and failure in the long run.
Remember, discipline and planning among other attributes are key for success.

These 10 attributes are at the heart of the Trader.

They are all important, incorporate them to make improvements in trading ability..

1. Courage – Trading demands the ability to buck the crowd, Courage can help you achieve the victory you seek. If a trade setup happens and you must battle the pain of a losing with the pleasure of wining and make money, you must have courage to pull the trigger.

2. Intuition – Intuition is the by-product of the analysis performed by our subconscious. Traders with a strong intuition built on a strong trading strategy put themselves in an ideal position to achieve success in the market. Intuition is a key tool in a trader psyche.

3. Vision – As a trader to have to be able to assimilate a lot of information with the goal of connecting the dots. This is not easy and understanding trading does not happen in a vacuum. So being able to think for yourself and not rely on temptation from media talking heads and pundits for ideas can put present positive benefits to the forward thinker. Winning comes from understanding things now and what could change it for the better or the worse and help to keep objective in sight when things unfold in a fast/volatile market.

4. Discipline – For me my education and time in the US Marine Corps helped to develop this quality, a quality that I admit is always being tested. Discipline is more than just taking on a trade when you are supposed to, it is doing research and making a plan the night before trading, working out regularly, eating right, keeping a trading journal, and keeping fit. To not have discipline in your life makes it very difficult to have discipline as a trader.

5. Decisiveness – This is a leadership trait too, because often success comes down to the response at the Moment of Truth. Having the resolve and confidence to act on analysis is imperative to achieving successful long term results. Trading is not a place to become comfortable, why, because changes can happen quickly that can alter the circumstance that prompted the trade’s entry and thus puts the trader at risk for greater volatility.

6. Patience – The market can transform a cool, calm, collected person into irrational, impulsive, and disoriented speculator. Recognizing when things are not going smoothly is a step to becoming a more patient trader, but a trader must have the patience to wait for harmonic rhythm. Losing positions invariably do traders in. The same competitive drive we use to drive success can hasten failure.

7. Confidence – Trading required the belief that the work will be successful. This confidence one’s trading skills give on the ability to make a decision to get out of a position knowing that things are not working out. This conviction is a quality of leaders and traders alike

8. Focus – Traders have a lot of information that comes at them fast and furious and can be very challenging. So, focus is necessary to keep things in perspective and understand the goals.

9. Being Alive/Flexible – The markets are alive and constantly in a state of flux, so the successful trader must be too not a static entity, nor should the people who trade them be. One must be open minded and stay ahead of the curve. Today there is so much new technology, rules, and legislation that impact price movement and your ability to conduct your business efficiently . There is a lot of modern financial engineering in the markets, so traders must stay tuned in to the new and innovative ways to generate positive returns.

10. Learn/Improve – Trading is a competitive game, so, keeping up and continuing education is key to understanding the evolving components noted above. It is wise to dedicate time to reading articles about the relevant industry news and aggregate the views from the experts to help with decisions.

Life is all about trials/errors and solving problems, so put together a system for staying on top of the game, because when you research and prepare you help to eliminate problems. The first rule in problem solving: eliminate the problem.

To become better traders and investors, one must be attentive to what one is doing, have a plan and follow it, analyze mistakes and avoid repeating them.

Seem like a lot of work? It really is not, trading and investing is a business unto itself even if we are not doing it full time. It is has to do with money so it is worth the effort to pay attention to what one is doing with it.

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