You Buy and Price Falls, You Sell and Price Rises !

One say's "I bought "XYZ Company" at Rs.2200 and immediately after I bought the stock price dropped to Rs.2000." I feel sad. Another comes with a different version "I sold "XYZ Company" at Rs.2000 and it went up to Rs.2400 same evening" I made an imaginary loss of Rs.400 per share.

Solution:

You can buy more shares @ Rs.2000 and reduce your overall buying cost. This has to be done only if believe in the fundamentals,management and the future prospects of the company.

To do this you need to keep money ready.whatever money you have and want to invest,split it into two parts. Then keep 50% cash aside, only invest with other 50%.So if need to buy more of any stock when the price falls you have ready cash.

Also now if you have 200 shares of XYZ Company 100 @ Rs.2200 and 100 @ Rs.2000.Then the price goes up to Rs.2400. Sell only 100 of the shares.Then if the price further shot up, you have some shares to sell And participate in the rally to make money.

Next, You sold the share and the price went up. The solution to this is never sell all the shares at one time. Sell only 50% of your shares.So if he price goes up later you still have the other 50% to sell and make profit.

The golden Rule is to first do your own analysis of the stock before investing and buy on tips.

Also invest only in companies which declare dividends every year. To be sure that you are not investing in loss making companies.

Every Market expert advise to do your stock analysis before investing in the stock market. But nobody tells you how.

GOLDEN RULES FOR TRADING

GOLDEN RULES FOR TRADING

• Divide your Risk Capital in 10 Equal Parts.

As part of the Successful money management, it is always advised to divide your Risk Capital (which you can afford to lose) into 10 equal Parts and at any given time none of your Single Trade should have more than 3 parts of your capital in it even if you are in a winning position. At the same time always keep some spare money for any Buying Opportunity, which may come any time.

• Trade ONLY in active & high Volume Stocks/ Futures.

Many Traders get stuck with stocks for want of liquidity. Always rely upon Stocks which have reasonably high volume over a period of time. High Volume are always advised for easy Entry, Exit and Stop Loss. In low volume stocks the spread is too high and chance of Stop Loss limit getting failed is too high as there would be no Buyer or seller at your Stop Loss Level.

• Come Prepared with a Trading Plan

Successful traders always keep their Trading Plans ready before entering into any transactions. One must prepare a Watch List or Probable candidates for Day's trading and remain focused on the movement of those stocks only. For example a Stock 'X' is on verge of a Bullish Breakout from any pattern or stock 'Y' has declined substantially after an initial sharp upmove or stock 'Z' is close to an important support level. Successful trader would concentrate on the movement of those stocks only and enter the trade as soon as stock 'X' gives the anticipated breakout or stock 'Y' starts an upmove or stock 'Z' breaks the support level to initiate a trade for quick gains.

• Never Over Trade

This is the most common mistake committed by Traders, particularly after a Streak of winning Trades. This mistake Generally not only wipes off all the profits, but puts traders in heavy losses. In order to remain in market while making consistent Profits, under no circumstances, traders should go beyond their Risk Capital.

• Trade in 2 to 4 Stocks at a time with strict Stop Loss.

In a Bull move, most of the stocks move up and similarly in any Bear Move, most of the stock moves southwards. As a Trader you know this fact but can you Buy 20 Stocks and try to make profit in all the 20 stocks just because all are moving up or vice versa in a Down trend? What will happen if market reverses without any indication on any bad news? Would you be able to monitor all your trades in such situation? Smart and Successful trader would trade in 2 to 4 stocks with strict Stop Loss and keep a strict vigil to avoid any misfortune in case of any eventuality.

 

• Sell Short as often as you go Long.
  

More than 90% of common investors/ Traders are 'Bulls' by nature. Because they love to see prices going up only. Stocks are bought by anybody/ corporate/ financial institutions/ Mutual Funds to make profit on rise. They have large holdings and mentally they wish and pray for the market to rise only. But facts are different. History shows that Bull Phases have shorter duration that Bear phases. So every stock that moves up will retrace back to 38%-50%-66%. Since 90% investors are Bulls by heart they normally do not book profit at higher levels to re-enter later at lower levels instead they prefer to increase their portfolio at lower levels. Successful Traders know how to capitalize such correction. They are always prepared to go 'Short' as often as they trade on 'Long' side.

• Don't Trade if you are not Clear. 

Many Traders, because of their daily habits trade even when there are no signals to buy or short. Normally such situation arrives after a sharp rise or decline when stocks are adjusting their values. While some stocks attempt to move up, few may be taking breather before next move. Such situation are often confusing. There is no harm in taking rest for a day or two or short period if the trend is choppy, unclear or doubtful, instead of putting your money at higher risk.

• Don't expect Profit on Every Trade.

If you consider you are a smart trader who can make profit on every trade, you are 100% wrong. Always be flexible and accept the fact as soon as you realize that you are on wrong side of the trade. Simply get out of the trade without changing your strategy during the market; it may cause you double losses.

• Withdraw portion of your profits.

The business of Trading is excellent as long as you are making profits. Unlike other business your losses can be unlimited and rapid if market does not move as per your expectations. While in other businesses you may have other remedial measures available but in trading it is you only who has to control it. Traders have large egos particularly after series of successful trades and their tendency to enlarge commitments in overconfidence may cause major financial set back. There fore it is must that trader must take a portion of the profit and put it in separate account. This is absolutely must for long term stability in the market.

Demat Account

Demat Account Definition

Demat refers to a dematerialised account.

Though the company is under obligation to offer the securities in both physical and demat mode, you have the choice to receive the securities in either mode.

If you wish to have securities in demat mode, you need to indicate the name of the depository and also of the depository participant with whom you have depository account in your application.

It is, however desirable that you hold securities in demat form as physical securities carry the risk of being fake, forged or stolen.

Just as you have to open an account with a bank if you want to save your money, make cheque payments etc, Nowadays, you need to open a demat account if you want to buy or sell stocks.

HOW TO OPEN A DEMAT ACCOUNT ?

Opening an individual Demat account is a two-step process: You approach a DP and fill up the Demat account-opening booklet. The Web sites of the NSDL and the CDSL list the approved DPs. You will then receive an account number and a DP ID number for the account. Quote both the numbers in all future correspondence with your DPs.

So it is just like a bank account where actual money is replaced by shares. You have to approach the DPs (remember, they are like bank branches), to open your demat account. Let's say your portfolio of shares looks like this: 150 of Infosys, 50 of Wipro, 200 of HLL and 100 of ACC. All these will show in your demat account. So you don't have to possess any physical certificates showing that you own these shares. They are all held electronically in your account. As you buy and sell the shares, they are adjusted in your account. Just like a bank passbook or statement, the DP will provide you with periodic statements of holdings and transactions.

Is a demat account a must? Nowadays, practically all trades have to be settled in dematerialised form. Although the market regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), has allowed trades of upto 500 shares to be settled in physical form, nobody wants physical shares any more.

So a demat account is a must for trading and investing.

Most banks are also DP participants, as are many brokers.

You can choose your very own DP.

To get a list, visit the NSDL and CDSL websites and see who the registered DPs are.

A broker is separate from a DP. A broker is a member of the stock exchange, who buys and sells shares on his behalf and on behalf of his clients.

A DP will just give you an account to hold those shares.

You do not have to take the same DP that your broker takes. You can choose your own.

DEMAT ACCOUNT OPENING COST AND OTHER CHARGES

The cost of opening and holding a Demat account. There are four major charges usually levied on a Demat account: Account opening fee, annual maintenance fee, custodian fee and transaction fee. All the charges vary from DP to DP.

Depending on the DP, there may or may not be an opening account fee. Private banks, such as ICICI Bank, HDFC bank and UTI bank, do not have it. However, players such as Karvy Consultants and the State Bank of India charge it. But most players levy this when you re-open a Demat account, though the Stock Holding Corporation offers a lifetime account opening fee, which allows you to hold on to your Demat account over a long period. This fee is refundable.

Annual maintenance fee: This is also known as folio maintenance charges, and is generally levied in advance.

Custodian fee: This fee is charged monthly and depends on the number of securities (international securities identification numbers – ISIN) held in the account. It generally ranges between Rs. 0.5 to Rs. 1 per ISIN per month.

DPs will not charge custody fee for ISIN on which the companies have paid one-time custody charges to the depository.

Transaction fee: The transaction fee is charged for crediting/debiting securities to and from the account on a monthly basis. While some DPs, such as SBI, charge a flat fee per transaction, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank peg the fee to he transaction value, subject to a minimum amount.

The fee also differs based on the kind of transaction (buying or selling). Some DPs charge only for debiting the securities while others charge for both. The DPs also charge if your instruction to buy/sell fails or is rejected.

In addition, service tax is also charged by the DPs.

IPO – Initial Public Offering

IPO – Initial Public Offering

Public issues can be classified into Initial Public offerings and further public offerings. In a public offering, the issuer makes an offer for new investors to enter its shareholding family. The issuer company makes detailed disclosures as per the DIP guidelines in its offer document and offers it for subscription. Initial Public Offering (IPO ) is when an unlisted company makes either a fresh issue of securities or an offer for sale of its existing securities or both for the first time to the public. This paves way for listing and trading of the issuer’s securities. 

IPO is New shares Offered to the public in the Primary Market .The first time the company is traded on the stock exchange. A prospectus is issued to read about its risk before investing. IPO is A company's first sale of stock to the public. Securities offered in an IPO are often, but not always, those of young, small companies seeking outside equity capital and a public market for their stock. Investors purchasing stock in IPOs generally must be prepared to accept very large risks for the possibility of large gains. Sometimes, Just before the IPO is launched, Existing share Holders get a very liberal bonus issues as a reward for their faith in risking money when the project was new 

How to apply to a public issue ?

When a company floats a public issue or IPO, it prints forms for application to be filled by the investors. Public issues are open for a few days only. As per law, any public issue should be kept open for a minimum of 3days and a maximum of 21 days. For issues, which are underwritten by financial institutions, the offer should be kept open for a minimum of 3 days and a maximum of 21 days. For issues, which are underwritten by all India financial institutions, the offer should be kept open for a maximum of 10 days. Generally, issues are kept open for only 3 to 4 days. The duly complete application from, accompanied by cash, cheque, DD or stock invest should be deposited before the closing date as per the instruction on the from. IPO's by investment companies (closed end funds) usually contain underwriting fees which represent a load to buyers. 

Before applying for any IPO , analyse the following factors:

1. Who are the Promoters ? What is their credibility and track record ?

2. What is the company manufacturing or providing services - Product, its potential

3. Does the Company have any Technology tie-up ? if yes , What is the reputation of the collaborators

4. What has been the past performance of the Company offering the IPO ?

5. What is the Project cost, What are the means of financing and profitability projections ?

6. What are the Risk factors involved ?

7. Who has appraised the Project ? In India Projects apprised by IDBI and ICICI have more credibility than small Merchant Bankers 

How to make payments for IPOs:

The payment terms of any IPO or Public issue is fixed by the company keeping in view its fund requirements and the statutory regulations. In general, companies stipulate that either the entire money should be paid along with the application or 50 percent of the entire amount be paid along with the application and rest on allotment. However, if the funds requirements is staggered, the company may ask for the money in calls, that is, the company demands for the money after allotment as and when the cash flow demands. As per the statutory requirements, for public issue large than Rs. 250 crore, the money is to be collected as under:

25 per cent on application

25 per cent on allotment

50 per cent in two or more calls 

Battle between Bulls and Bears

                 While making a buy/sell decision of a specific stock, if you have ever got a chance to see the stock chart, there is a lesser probability that you haven’t come across “support” and “resistance” levels of the stock. What are support and resistance levels and how are these significant for stocks and for entire index in general is what we would see here!!

                 Almost every stock has both a level of support and a level of resistance and usually it trades in this range bouncing between these levels. In very simpler words, Support level is the price where a falling stock finds its support and will not go down beyond this. Similarly, resistance level is the price level which a rising stocks finds difficult to overcome or cross. The definition here implicitly indicates its importance in buy/sell decision.  Let’s understand in detail how??
 


For buyers: consider a share continuously moving down over a period of time and you find the fall in the price as a buying opportunity. To decide your entry price, support level is there to help you. Since the stock is unlikely to go below this level, you can opt to buy at this level without fearing any risk of further downfall and aiming to take an opportunity to buy.
For sellers:consider a share continuously moving up and your aim is to have maximum profit margin and take a profitable exit. Thus to decide upon an exit price, Resistance level is what you should look for. Since the stock is more likely to “bounce” off this level rather than breaking through it, you can sell your stock for better returns.
In generic terms, for a stock trading between support and resistance levels, the strategy of a trader should to buy a stock at support and sell at resistance. For traders involved in SHORT SELLING short at resistance and then cover the short at support.

                                As a part of  technical analysis there is no denying the fact that support and resistance can help you benchmark your decisions but it is very important not to assume that these levels will not breach at all.
 

It is likely that a declining stock breaches a support level and continues dropping until it finds another support level. This is called breakdown and usually occurs when number of Buyers willing to step in to buy exceeds the supply available from sellers willing to sell. On the similar note, a rising stock may also breach the resistance level and continue rising till it finds another resistance level.  This occurs when the supply available from sellers willing to sell is greater then the demand from buyers willing to step in to buy. This is as simple as the concept of “demand and supply”. But next time you make a buy/sell decision, do take few minutes to have a look at these levels to enjoy its crunch.