Investment Strategies - Why Logic Is Important
One of the things I have noticed during the 20 years I have spent either actively investing in various strategies, or trialing them, is that the ones which make logical sense usually are the ones which work best in real life.
Lets face it, you could spend 2 life times trialing all the investment strategies people offer you. There are so many out there and I am sure most of them have some merit. What I have found though (and this in no way passes judgment on the merits of any investment strategy) is that if I really think logically about many of the investment strategies which have come my way, there are often holes in them... big ones at that too.
Most strategies presented to you will make sense. They have to or you would disregard them as nonsense. This is not what I am talking about though. The concern discussed in this article is logical completeness. If a strategy does not cover all possible scenarios you may come across, it will not take long before you find one of those scenarios. And when you do find a scenario which is not covered by your strategy, all of a sudden you need to make decisions outside the strategy. You will probably be left scratching your head or guessing.
When I am in this situation, where I have to make a decision outside a strategy I am trading because the strategy does not offer me guidance, I believe I am gambling. This is not good. I may make the right decision, but then again, I may lose my money. In all good investment strategies, you should not have to do this. You should simply plan the trade, and then trade the plan. There should not be room for guess work.
This guess work also breaks down the functioning of a trading strategy. If you are guessing parts of it, or making decisions outside the guidance of the strategy, how can you be sure that the strategy is driving your results or your other decisions are? If you can not be sure of this, how can you have confidence in your strategy?
So if you have a new strategy which looks promising, apply your logic to it first. Try to understand all the trading scenarios you may face and ensure the strategy stands up to all of them and deals with them. This simple piece of advice could save you thousands.
And once you have covered off every situation you can think of, always remember to execute a preliminary trading exercise without putting money down. Spend a few months running the strategy in spreadsheets before you trade with money. You'll be amazed at the real life situations which come your way which you'd never have dreamed of. And you will thank your stars you resolved these issues when you had nothing on the line. - 23221
Lets face it, you could spend 2 life times trialing all the investment strategies people offer you. There are so many out there and I am sure most of them have some merit. What I have found though (and this in no way passes judgment on the merits of any investment strategy) is that if I really think logically about many of the investment strategies which have come my way, there are often holes in them... big ones at that too.
Most strategies presented to you will make sense. They have to or you would disregard them as nonsense. This is not what I am talking about though. The concern discussed in this article is logical completeness. If a strategy does not cover all possible scenarios you may come across, it will not take long before you find one of those scenarios. And when you do find a scenario which is not covered by your strategy, all of a sudden you need to make decisions outside the strategy. You will probably be left scratching your head or guessing.
When I am in this situation, where I have to make a decision outside a strategy I am trading because the strategy does not offer me guidance, I believe I am gambling. This is not good. I may make the right decision, but then again, I may lose my money. In all good investment strategies, you should not have to do this. You should simply plan the trade, and then trade the plan. There should not be room for guess work.
This guess work also breaks down the functioning of a trading strategy. If you are guessing parts of it, or making decisions outside the guidance of the strategy, how can you be sure that the strategy is driving your results or your other decisions are? If you can not be sure of this, how can you have confidence in your strategy?
So if you have a new strategy which looks promising, apply your logic to it first. Try to understand all the trading scenarios you may face and ensure the strategy stands up to all of them and deals with them. This simple piece of advice could save you thousands.
And once you have covered off every situation you can think of, always remember to execute a preliminary trading exercise without putting money down. Spend a few months running the strategy in spreadsheets before you trade with money. You'll be amazed at the real life situations which come your way which you'd never have dreamed of. And you will thank your stars you resolved these issues when you had nothing on the line. - 23221
About the Author:
After decades of successful investing, Gnifrus Urquart enjoys discussing his favorite investment strategies and giving general investment advice
posted by X - Men @ 7:26 AM
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