The stock market has been on a steady incline since the
third quarter of this year, mostly attributed to the country's economic growth.
I hold before some shares from Ayala Land which took a dip a month after a
bought it in 2009. I had to wait for a year or so before it bounced back and I
sold it immediately at almost the same price when I bought them. In my mind, it
is best to break even than to lose.
I used to be very active in the stock market despite my
measly investments. I owned few blocks from a popular network, a manufacturing
company and a beverage company. Then, the stock market somehow lost its luster
and so was my interest. I mean, who would want to trade when you see red and an
arrow down sign day in and out?
Recently, I’ve been seeing some good news (read: gainers
outnumber the losers) in the stock market and I am slowly getting convinced
it's time to go back to trading. Admittedly, I am not much of a risk taker so I
limit my investments to only what I can afford to lose. I am not someone who
will risk my children’s savings.
Anyway, so I checked if my account with an online
trading/broker is still active (thankfully, it still is!) and began browsing.
But the bad news is since I have not traded for a couple of months, I have
somehow unlearned how to do it.
Just like a soldier going to war, one needs to arm herself
before heading somewhere unfamiliar (or in my case, forgotten). I decided to
try some stock market simulator first so I can do some practice trading. The
great thing with stock market simulator is that you deal with real stocks of
real company on a real trading scenario. (Jeez, I think I’ve never used the
word ‘real’ that often). Somehow it will refresh my memory with the stock
terms, understand the procedure again and help rebuild my confidence in
trading.
I am on my 2nd week now on the simulator and I am
getting the hang of it. Let’ see, maybe next month I can begin trading again.