Bad, Bad Trade...

How not to trade? Oh, let me show you! I’m very good at it! On Monday, I got back into MasterCard (Ticker: MA) at $130.07 and promptly sold at $130.66 a few minutes later. And of course, the stock rockets up and up! Why did I execute such a dumb trade? I keep asking myself that same question… I didn’t have a clear exit strategy. I didn’t know if this was a short-term or long-term trade. Trading without an exit strategy and / or conviction will wipe you out.

Ok, I made a few trades today… In my retirement account, I sold Shire PLC (Ticker: SHPGY) today at $78.32, generating a net return of 4% in one week. A good company, but it’s had a great run. I added to my J. Crew (Ticker: JCG) position at $53.80 and now have a full position in this stock. This one is a long-term investment and I’m going to let it ride.