To be successful in the markets you need to know:
– what to buy (equity selection);
– When to buy it and when to pass on it (risk management);
– When to exit (time management).
The most essential part of equity selection is finding/creating a trading system with positive expectancy. Look for the catalyst/catalysts than has/have the potential to start a big move in the desired direction. There are two catalysts I focus on – earnings related and sector related. I pay attention to price, because it measures the only factor than really moves markets – confidence. It always says more than any other source of information. Reaction to news is more important to news itself.
Risk management has two basic elements: defining risk/reward ratio for every position I consider to get involved in and position sizing (how much to buy, what % of capital to put on risk).
Time management involves taking into account the opportunity cost. How long to stay in a position?
I wish you much success!