Ask Mike:
Do I really have to follow you, trade for trade, to do well?

Question:

Hello Mike,

I have been a subscriber to all of your portfolios and tools for more than a year. First of all, I want you to know that I have not followed 100% of your trades. Some of the trades I have followed have made me money and some have not. I am on the fence about just blindly following you. I am not as disciplined as you and I don't have enough time to make every trade you make.

But, I am tired of not making nearly as good returns as you are making. I guess I am asking why I can't just pick some of your suggested stocks and make decent returns? Do I really have to follow you explicitly to make good returns with TurnerTrends?

What do you advise?

Janice from Melbourne, FL

Mike's Response:

Hi Janice,

First, there is a simple answer:

If you want to match my returns from a specific portfolio, you must do three things:

1. Invest at least as much money as I invest.
2. Buy exactly what I buy and exactly when I make the trade and exactly at my limit order pricing.
3. Buy exactly the same number of shares that I buy.

If you do these three things, you will make exactly the same return that I make, assuming that your broker is charging you the same for trading fees that mine charges me. My trading fees range between $5 and $9.95 per trade.

You alluded to the fact that you don't have enough time to make all the trades that I make exactly when I make them. I understand. That is the very reason why there is a service called, 'Autotrading', where your broker will make all the trades for you to match me trade-for-trade.. We do not provide autotrading, but several brokers provide that service, including our broker of choice, OptionsHouse.

If you don't want to follow one or more of my portfolios, then your next best strategy would be to follow my 10 Must Follow Rules for Consistent Profits in the Stock Market and use my Stock Investing Tool to pick your stocks and set your stop losses.

If, on the other hand, you just randomly buy one of my picks or you use my Stock Investing Tool to pick entry points, but don't follow my calculated stop loss settings, then the odds of you losing money is high. For consistent profits in the stock market, you must follow, at a minimum, my 10 Rules. To do otherwise will leave you vulnerable to losing money perhaps a lot of money.

Making money in the stock market is not chance or luck it is a science based on proven rules. It requires discipline to follow 100% of those rules 100% of the time.

Thanks for calling, Janice. I always enjoy talking to subscribers.

Mike