What to Do When Your Stock Is Crashing
InvestorEducation / Financial Crash Dec 27, 2014 - 12:42 PM GMTBy: DailyWealth
Dr. Steve Sjuggerud writes: Right now, one of my stocks is crashing...
What should I do?
What do you do in that situation? You know you will face this situation sometime with one of your stocks, if you haven't faced it already.
Do you hold on and hope it comes back? That doesn't sound like a serious strategy.
Do you panic and bail out? That doesn't sound like a real strategy, either...
So... what should you do?
Having a stock crash on you is part of investing in stocks... It's a risk you take every day that you're invested in the market.
Here's what you need to do...
When a stock you own is crashing, you need to ask yourself two things:
1) Is the reason I bought it still valid?
If you bought a tiny biotech stock because you thought its drug was going to succeed, but it failed, you need to get out... Don't say, "Well, the company has other things cooking, too" or "Well, I've lost SO MUCH already, how much worse can it get?"
Don't catch yourself saying either of those things. If the reason you bought the stock is no longer valid, get out.
2) What is my "point of maximum pain"?
How much are you willing to lose before crying "uncle"?
You should try to define this point when you enter the trade. That way you've made a rational decision to sell in advance, not an emotional decision right at the moment the stock is down.
The stock I'm down on is the Market Vectors Russia Fund (RSX). I'm looking at it through the lens of these two questions...
The basic reason I bought is, Russian stocks are "stupid-cheap." So if things go from "bad to less bad" in Russia, you can make A LOT of money.
Russian stocks are still cheap. But what about No. 2 above – what is my point of maximum pain here?
In my True Wealth newsletter, I set a "trailing stop" of 25% on this trade. That is my point of maximum pain.
If my Russia fund closes below $21.99, we will sell the next day – no "ifs," "ands," or "buts."
RSX is trading around $23 as I write this – so it's getting close to its trailing stop. I will sell if that happens.
The important thing here is, I have a plan. I'm not holding and hoping. I'm not panicking and selling.
I have an exit strategy.
What do you when your stock is crashing? Do you:
• Hold and hope?
• Panic and sell?
• Have an exit strategy?
Which sounds the smartest to you?
Make sure you have an exit strategy in place... Someday, you will be glad you do – guaranteed...
Good investing,
Steve
P.S. As I've mentioned throughout the week, I strongly urge you to check out the work of my friend and colleague Dr. Richard Smith. Richard's TradeStops service is what I personally use to set and track my trailing stops. And for a limited time, you can try his service completely FREE for six months. You can get the full details on this special offer right here.
http://www.dailywealth.com/2908/what-to-do-when-your-stock-is-crashing
This article was originally published at dailygainsletter.com
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