Great day today so far - Used the World Famous MSlob Whack-A-Mole on Starters.
Added to SE
Added GLBE to Scout Team
Added CFLT to Scout Team
Portfolio Roster is Now:
A) STARTERS
MNDY
BILL
DDOG
ZS
UPST
B) The Bench
S
SE
C) Scout Team
8.) MQ
9.) GLBE
All the Best,
Portfolio Roster is Now:
A) STARTERS
1) MNDY
2) BILL
3) DDOG
4) ZS
5) UPST
Ok, I have a little cash, I guess I will add it to your starters.
Haha you honor me.
MoneySlob
Hi MSlob:
I suspect that a number of investors on The Mongoose picked up your strategy and ran with it. People who understood and used the strategy saved profits and made money - they owe you their thanks.
The Markets - just like competitive basketball games, have a series of runs. The Bull team has been on something of a run for a week or so and the Bears will respond - the only variable is timing and extent. I am hopeful that the Bears will at least be so gracious as to provide me an opportunity to add back the STARTER shares I trimmed today. We’ll see I suppose.
All the Best,
I understand TB strategy. Can someone explain what whack-a-mole strategy is?
PS. My funds are distributed across both taxable and non taxable, with taxable accounts accounting for 80% of net.
Sometimes a daily pattern develops where the gains form a “hump” circa midday a
and then drop. It’s not always midday but if you see the recurring pattern then by selling the day’s gains you collect cash that otherwise evaporates. I mainly do it when I need a cash position.
Champ gives me way to much credit. LOL
His TB method is far more profitable.
Cheers,
MoneySlob
Yesterday would not have been a good day. A hump started but then the gains stayed up there, too close to call. Winner day either way.
My hump is based on what my iPhone Stocks App shows for my positions.
Hi gnazare:
Just me, but I wouldn’t use a lot of what you might read about here in a taxable account. Having said that, the Whack-A-Mole strategy is just another club in your investing golf bag. I don’t play much golf anymore but I used to play almost daily. That ended with a match against my best friend (insert fictitious plug name here) back in the early fall 2005.
My friend was one of the absolute best athletes I have ever know and looked anything but. On the short side and pudgy with sloppy hair that was always whipping around in the wind - and now that I think about it, he sort of reminds me of this guy:
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&…
But only in looks - whatever sport he played, he played very well. Anyway…back on that fall day in 2005 I was actually beating him by a couple of strokes going into the last hole: 18th Par 4. No way I lose that. No way. So just before I Tee he says something like this: “I think I’m going to drive with my putter and I am going to beat your drive by 10 yards.” The conversation continued:
Me: Get the heck out of here with that poo! (Being a family board I have substituted slightly different words here)
Greg: No - I’m going to drive with my putter and beat you by 10 yards.
Me: I got a spot that says no way in hades that happens.
Greg: Not only that - but when it happens you are going to get all rattled and I am going to win by 2 strokes today.
Me: (Thinking - I’m up by 2, last hole, a relatively easy Par 4) OK…you’re on for a spot. ($100)
Me: (Thinking again - This is gonna be funny but I think I’ll put a little extra into this drive) And so I did. Or at least I tried to. Wound up with a decent drive - nothing special, just off to the left.
Greg: Take out his putter and drives right down the middle of the fairway and sure enough takes me by more than 10 yards.
Long story short - I put the next one into a sand trap, chipped it out across the green and into another sand trap. Finally got on the green with my next shot and then three putted. Lost by 2 strokes. Paid the $100.
Now…you might be asking yourself what in the world this might have to do with the Whack-A-Mole strategy. Quite a bit actually.
Investing is lot like golf in that there are many different strategies just like there are many different clubs in your golf bag. Which investing club you use depends a great deal on how confident you are in it and what you are trying to achieve. For example, a LTBH might only use two of his investing clubs: The Buy club and the Sell Club. A more nuanced and accomplished investor might use the Options clubs, and perhaps even the occasional need arises for the Short Club. See what I am getting at here?
The Whack-A-Mole strategy is simply another club in an investors tool bag and is a pretty precise instrument if you know when and how to apply it. Which brings me to why I used it yesterday - and that too is pretty simple:
The market had been on a pretty nice run for a number of days with the portfolio rallying from a Mid-March low. I like the land for taking a little profit off the top in anticipation that the run had been rather long and we were due for the Bears to take their run. So I trimmed using the WAM strategy to prepare for re-entry of STARTERS only at a discounted Bear run price.
This is of course Timing the Market in a lot of folks opinion and they would be right. Only not entirely: The market is comprised of a series of runs, just like in basketball and the recovery in my portfolio has been so extreme over such a short period of time that I took a shot at booking some profit. And today it worked - the Bears are making their run and I have put all the money I trimmed yesterday back into the STARTERS at discounted prices. It’s not rocket science - just the courage and inclination to do it. It was nothing but PDL that the market rewarded yesterdays WAM activity so quickly.
Now…let’s say I was wrong in my efforts - what was the worst that could have happened? Well…I still had core positions in the STARTERS - just a little less so. Had the market continued marching higher - I was still “in” and would have the additional cash for when it eventually didn’t. And the market always don’ts for a while after it does for a while.
The only thing I could ever beat Greg at was tennis because I was quicker than him but I don’t remember ever getting that $100 back.
If I were a newer investor I would stay far far away from this stuff. I tend to violate most of the investing rules of LTBH folks and it’s just not possible to violate all those rules and survive in investing longer term…right?
All the Best,
I play 5 days a week and I can see maybe a six iron but a putter? lol.
Didn’t want clutter the board before but I’ve been seeing this often and I have to ask, what’s the TB method?
Fade Me - living the dream in Thailand. It’s ridiculously cheap and great quality of life.
Hi Fade Me:
The wife and I had a trip to Thailand scheduled just before the pandemic hit. We were going with a friend of the All-Too-Lovely who had purchased a condo and who had asked my wife to help wit the design work. Obviously all that blew up and I haven’t made Thailand yet. The thing I keep thinking about is that olde lady with the 4 Michelins who works out of a hole-in-the-wall serving the dish that got her those stars: Drunken Noodles. Now that sounds exactly like my sort of dish.
Greg is a Mormon and they had a temple/church/place - whatever they call it and Greg had the key to the gym. Bas***d would call and wake me up around 1 AM or so and we’d meet and play for hours. I eeked out a win every 4 games or so: First to 21, Make-it Take-it, Win by Two. Glory Days!
TBs = Trading Blocks. Once you have full allocations for your portfolio roster you just take advantage of the general ebb and flow of the market sort of like this: If a Starter goes down better than 3% I add additional shares up to and equalling at least 10% with a cap at 15%. In a day or so when it goes back up you sell the trading block for extra points. Sort of like Free Throws. If it doesn’t go back up in a couple of days you just hold the extra shares until it does. Works well enough but no one should ever do it unless they really track their companies.
All the Best,
I appreciate all the wisdom shared here. Thanks you both.
gnazare - trying to learn to play golf and using various clubs in Texas.
TBs = Trading Blocks. Once you have full allocations for your portfolio roster you just take advantage of the general ebb and flow of the market sort of like this: If a Starter goes down better than 3% I add additional shares up to and equalling at least 10% with a cap at 15%. In a day or so when it goes back up you sell the trading block for extra points. Sort of like Free Throws. If it doesn’t go back up in a couple of days you just hold the extra shares until it does. Works well enough but no one should ever do it unless they really track their companies.
I’ve reading here long enough and was going to ask the same question. Somewhere I missed it. Too often I am asleep for the trading day, at least now the US moved to Day Light Savings time I usually am up for the first 30 mins.
FadeMe, what part of Thailand are you? I live in Singapore and use to travel to Thailand quite often. I spent 6 months in Chang Mai before for work back in 2009. Now that travel is starting to open up going to start planning again.