When the stock market is going up and all your stocks and mutual funds are making money you feel like a genius. It is too bad that some folks don't remember what happened in 2000. Of course, right now we are in one of those genius phases.

Your broker and financial planner are encouraging you to buy, buy, buy. And I can't fault that at this time. You remember back in 2000 how many times they told you to buy, buy, buy while the market was going down, down, down. Are we in another of those periods now that are leading up to a humongous crash? Hey, I don't predict, but I do listen to the voice of the market.

The great Wall Street mantra is "buy a good stock and put it away". Did you keep WorldCom and Global Crossing? Even if these were exceptions because of fraud a smart investor would not have lost any money. In fact he could have made a nice profit. But Al, they went under! Yes, I know, but the smart money still made out because they sold near the top.

As a former exchange member and floor trader I was not right every time I bought something and I especially did not like giving back nice profits that had accumulated. You don't have to be psychic to know when to sell and don't think you are going to be able to pick the top. A really smart trader waits for a stock or fund to start up and then jumps on it with both feet. When it starts down he jumps off looking for another equity that is going up. The wise trader knows he can't buy the bottom and sell the top. What he wants is a big bite out of the middle.

When you make a sandwich most of the meat is in the center and a professional trader does the same with his trading. He wants to take a bite out of the middle of the move. You can do this too by looking for stocks, mutual funds or Exchange Traded Funds that have a nice upward pattern. As I said before buying is not the secret. Then what is?

You must learn to sell - for two reasons. First to protect your equity after your initial purchase and second to keep from giving back profits you have made as the equity advances. The great Wall Street secret is an exit strategy: knowing when to sell. Unless you learn to sell you will not be successful in the market. Brokerage companies do not want you to sell and rarely issue sell signals. You must decide how much you are willing to risk before you buy.

The simplest way is with a percentage stop loss order of 5%, 7%, 10%, 12%, whatever you can live with. Instruct your broker to place a trialing stop or you can change it yourself every week. Do not lower a stop.

Selling is the great secret you will never hear from your broker.

Al Thomas

Albert W. Thomas has spent most of his life in the field of finance. In 1965 he founded an insurance holding company, Security Dynamics Investment Corporation, after having been an agent and General Agent for several life insurance companies. In 1970 he became cofounder and president of Real Life Estate, Inc., that marketed a unique real estate and life insurance package.

After he became interested in commodities he bought a seat for his personal trading on the Chicago Open Board of Trade, which is now known as the MidAmerica Commodity Exchange. Later he became a full time trader and also acted as a commodity broker for a few select clients. By fellow floor traders Al is considered to be an excellent technical analyst much of which is outlined in his book IF IT DOESN'T GO UP, DON'T BUY IT! It became a best seller on Amazon.

In 1981 he sold his membership on the Exchange and with his wife, Carolyn, lived full time aboard their 41' ketch, the Aumakua (which means guardian angel in Hawaiian). They sailed in Florida and the Bahamas for two years.

He founded World Trading Group in 1984 that grew to the seventh largest introducing commodity brokerage firm in the U.S. with 35 offices from coast to coast, Alaska and Canada. It was sold in 1992.

Al is a graduate of Northwestern University with a B.S. degree in Commerce and is a member of MENSA. He is now president of Williamsburg Investment Company that syndicates his weekly financial column since 1999 to more than 300 newspapers and writes a financial market letter called Over My Shoulder that is quoted in Barron’s and many other publications. A 3-month trial subscription is available on his web site. He is a regular guest on several financial radio talk shows.

His favorite pastime is fishing.

Mr. Thomas is available for speaking engagements. Please call 321-453-5300 for more information.