The story of the Greek investor

"How I learned investing and made a lot of money..."

Aug 07, 2024

The letter below was written by a friend of mine, after I asked him to sit and write down his emotions and memories on his investing journey. This happened shortly after he capitalised on a massive investment success, just this summer.

The letter is written in Greek. Please do me a favour and forward it to any Greek-speaking investors that you think could benefit from this man’s journey, his experiences — and what he learned from them.

Here is the actual letter he wrote in Greek. Below is a rough translation in English.

Friends of Philoinvestor,

I have known Philo for about 20-25 years. Philo today in his life deals professionally with what he always wanted to do since he was a teenager, he wanted to work in financial markets. He is one of the few young people I have met who had a clear idea of what he wanted to do with his life and he achieved it.

Most young people today are not sure of anything. Today they are engaged in something that they may give up after a while and then remember that they want to do something else. I consider Philo to be one of the lucky ones because he made his hobby a profession. As passionate as he was then to study, learn and be informed about markets, he still is today. Philo and I talk from time to time and I always enjoy hearing what he has to say. He has acquired so much knowledge that every time I talk to him I learn something new.

Philo is aware of some of my investment moves. Some time ago after a big success in the stock market he urged me to write my thoughts, the emotions I felt, the way I managed them, how I rejected information I received daily (from the press, from amateurs etc.) and the way I finally did it. I was able to make big returns in the recent bull market and sell for a total profit of about 350%.

I found Philo’s recommendation very good because it is an opportunity for investors to hear a true story from an ordinary investor who managed to return a significant amount in the stock market. A story meant to inspire them to start their own path to success. To be successful of course they will have to spend time, read, practice, follow markets daily, create their own trading systems and rules for buying and selling, learn the basic rules of the markets and most importantly….. learn to control their emotions.

How I discovered the stock market - 1999

I started dealing with the stock market at a relatively young age and completely by accident. If I remember correctly it was March/April 1999, right before the big boom. A colleague of mine who followed the stock market told me she heard bank stocks were going to go up, and recommended I bought some. I told her I didn't have any money and she said I could take out a loan to buy stocks and when they went up I would sell them, pay off the loan and keep the profits.

If someone told me today to buy shares with debt I would call him crazy because today I know the risks of the stock market. But then, 25 years ago, I didn't even think that this move might involve risks. I didn't have another loan, so I decided to follow her suggestion.

What came next, as far as the 1999 boom is concerned, you already know. Some of you lived it and some of you heard of it. In the following months after buying the shares, an incredible ascent began that left me with crazy profits, like everyone who owned shares. We all thought we were going to be rich and never have to work again in our lives. Suddenly we were all stock and stock market experts. Instead of working we were all with a newspaper in hand or watching stock prices on the computer or talking on the phone with other stock "experts".

But stock markets have a unique way of tearing down huge egos. The boom and the big hype ended, if I remember correctly, in September 1999 and the fall began. It proved once again that you should always respect the stock market and not be discouraged by it, you should remain humble towards it. The overconfidence and euphoria we all had started to subside and in its place we started to feel emotions like fear and hope.

Few understood what was happening. 99% of investors thought the party would go on forever and the markets would start going up again. Fortunately for me at some stage, from the excessive profits I made, I thought it would be good to sell some shares and pay off the loan I had taken out and that's what I did. I consider this move of mine very important for me continuing to follow and invest in markets.

I also distinctly remember that a real estate agent showed me a used 3-room apartment in Nicosia to buy, which cost 35,000 Cypriot pounds (about 55-60 thousand euros). I then owned Woolworth shares, which were worth exactly that. I told him I don't want to sell the shares now. When their price goes up and I sell them, I will buy the apartment and I will have money left over. Greed and ignorance at its best! The drop continued and I lost everything, and didn't even buy the apartment.

I proceeded the following year to buy an apartment but of course by taking out a €50,000 loan which I would have to repay in 15 years. I had to pay for my greed every month by paying the instalment of the loan for the next 15 years! It goes without saying that this experience was also important for my development going forward.

I was trapped in my beliefs and was stuck with my shares. Every day their value decreased and I just hoped that someday they would rise again. Fear and hope are emotions that I felt, and which play an important role in making an investment decision.

But the problem, as a Wall Street saying goes is that "we hope when we should fear and we fear when we should hope."

I continued to follow the stock market and make a few trades over the next 2 years, until I lost almost everything. The trend in the market was clearly down and I just couldn't understand it at the time.

What was left of the massive drop that followed the sharp rise of 1999 are well known. Many lost their property and were destroyed. Very few gained. The whole world was disappointed and blamed the politicians and the state for not protecting them. They were stuck holding their stocks, and lost 90-95% of their value. Frustrated, they stopped participating in markets altogether.

Instead of being disappointed I saw the experience of 1999 positively

As for me, I was one of the lucky ones because I didn't lose any money. Despite my disappointment at losing all those gains, I sat and thought on the whole situation. I ended up learning a great lesson and admitted that I knew nothing about stocks. But I understood that one can earn a lot of money in markets. And I decided that if I'm going to continue to work, to invest, and to have any chance of success, I need to understand how this incredible creation of the capitalist system works.

Introduction to Technical Analysis

An acquaintance told me that in order to understand how stocks move I need to learn "technical analysis" and recommended some books. I decided to buy the books and got down to reading. I started to get the meaning and realised that stocks don't move randomly but in trends. I also realised that constant education, learning, getting updated and following prices are essential elements to succeed in the stock market.

Every time I finished reading a book I would go and buy another, and at the same time I would watch the stocks and technical indicators, see how they behaved and make virtual trades using technical indicators, MAs, oscillators etc. I would print the charts and draw my lines and try to find different patterns/formations.

I had saved these blueprints in a file and found them again today, as I am writing this, 20 years later. It's unbelievable what memories it brought back. I am reminded of where I started to be able to have the successes I have today.

I found capital to invest – year 2003

I absolutely had to find money to invest. It was the year 2003 if I remember correctly and I had decided to sell a piece of land I had, taking advantage of the strong real estate market at that time and the good price they offered me. I finally had money to invest.

This time I had to grasp the opportunity I missed in 1999. I was determined to apply what I learned from the books I read. It was not easy because apart from the knowledge, I also had to be disciplined and patient and not be greedy when the time comes to sell.

Analysing the behaviour of the Athens Stock Exchange I noticed that the General Index had stopped dropping in 2003 and started to rise.

There wasn't much good news then but that didn't really matter because history has shown that the stock market rises when news are bad and experts are uncertain. The opposite happens during the drop, the stock market falls before bad news is even heard of.

As you will see in the chart below (chart 1) prices have broken the downtrend line that had started since 2000.

The technical signal was given and so I decided to invest some of my money in shares of the Greek stock market that had promising futures.

Diagram 1

GENERAL INDEX OF THE STOCK EXCHANGE OF ATHENS - The fall in 2003 is over

Bank of Cyprus share

The Bank of Cyprus (BOC) stock had stopped its fall in 2002 and was going sideways. I tracked it every day and saw a symmetrical triangle forming. I decided to invest a lot of money in the stock. BOC completed the triangle formation and started to move up in late 2004, early 2005 (chart 2).

Diagram 2

BANK OF CYPRUS SHARE 2002-2004

SYMMETRICAL TRIANGLE

Kept in my files, printed on paper, 20 years ago.

The upward trend continued and ended in 2007

The rise continued uninterrupted until around October 2007, when the General Index of the Athens Stock Exchange also broke the upward trend line. That's when I decided I had to sell and I did. Some of the books I've read say that 9 out of 10 stocks are likely to go down when the general indices are trending down.

Blue chips have a lot of weight in the general indices. So when the stocks that are considered leaders in the market fall, in order for a stock not to fall, it must have such special characteristics that allow it to stay on an upward path, against the general trend.

I had incredible profits, I gained about €200,000 euros. I've never had so much money in my bank account before. I felt very good because my patience and persistence and everything I read in the books helped me achieve a great result. I made money that I had to work for 10 years to make.

Profits in the stock market are never easy. They look easy but they are not. It is not easy to endure the ups and downs of the markets, to watch your portfolio increase or decrease and remain unbothered.

Investors in my opinion should always sleep with one eye open, that's why I say that the seemingly easy profit in the stock market as everyone thinks, is not as easy as it seems.

This time I would not suffer what I suffered in 1999. I decided to save the profits to pay for my house, and no matter what happened I would not touch them. But I would leave an amount to continue investing in the stock market. So I did.

Strategy for continuity

The market trend was clearly bearish but I decided to invest after big drops and where I found support according to the tools provided by technical analysis. It turned out to be a wrong tactic because in my attempt to profit in a bear market I had lost most of the money I had to invest.

From this behaviour I learned another important lesson: "Never invest against the trend, the profit you may have will be small compared to the risk you take."

A good option is: if you are sure that the trend is down, try shorting shares or indices. So again the trend will be in your favor.

The decline that began in 2007 continued for the Greek stock market until 2012. There it had a big rise until 2014 and then continued to fall again until early 2016.

Foreign markets were moving in the opposite direction. After the great correction they suffered at the beginning of 2008, they began to move up in 2009 and since then are still in an uptrend, especially US Stocks.

Seeing today how things have developed for foreign markets and especially in America I understand that I missed a huge opportunity to make a lot of money. Today things are different for investors where with a mobile app they can buy stocks from all stock exchanges in the world.

DOW JONES CHART 2009-2024

2013- Deposit Haircut and Bank Failures

BOC shares started to fall in 2007 and ended up to an absolute zero in 2013. It basically went bankrupt and the shareholders lost all their money. Now imagine if I had never sold and held the stock for the long term. The result is that I would have been ruined and most likely never invest in stocks again!

From this experience I also understood something: "That those who buy and hold their shares for many years without particularly monitoring them and call themselves long-term investors; one can say that they are the biggest gamblers. They're taking a gamble that could destroy them if it doesn’t work out.”

After the events of 2013 (deposit haircut etc.) the shares stopped trading for a long time. The new owners of the bank were now the depositors who suffered the haircut and foreign investors who participated in the bank's subsequent capital increase.

The problems for both Greece and Cyprus were piling up and the stock market was nothing to get excited about. Besides, I didn’t have much money to invest because I spent the money on my home.

I found money to invest again, 2019

Suddenly, I received some money from an inheritance and I decided that I should invest it again. This time my goal was to earn money to ensure my children's education.

Times change and we change with them but one thing remains the same, the need to have money to survive.

Bank of Cyprus stock started trading again at the end of 2014 but its trend was down. The company was suffering from non-performing loans. Incredible efforts were being made to keep the bank afloat and it was constantly cutting its costs.

In February 2019, it bottomed out and started to move up. I followed very closely. I was emotionally attached to it because of the profits I made on the stock in the past cycle. I knew that this is wrong because there are thousands of stocks on the stock exchanges for one to buy, but on the other hand I felt that I knew the company very well and that I would still succeed. It was a cyclical stock and I could take advantage of its cycles by profiting from the turn.

The mistake

Ignoring the signals from my trading system, I decided to go ahead and buy with 40% of my money. I calculated that the bottom it made in February 2019 was the stock's last move down. I believed that the company would survive and its time would come. Huge efforts were being made by the administration to find its way again.

I bought at the point shown below:

But in March 2020, the crisis of the Corona pandemic broke out and an incredible decline began. Markets, as they usually do, behaved irrationally in this crisis as well, but maybe that’s the beauty of markets. The problem then was that I was invested and making losses.

This long and excessive fall taught me another lesson. That through such irrational behavior investment bubbles or big falls usually arise. In both cases for someone who knows the game of the stock market he has an amazing opportunity to win a lot of money.

The Stop Loss I hadn't made and the emotions I was feeling

It turned out that it was not a good buy and that there are no good stocks. Good stocks are only those that go up.

I was scared, I hesitated to sell even though almost all the technical analysis books I had read have as an important rule to cut your losses quickly.

I had bought many shares at 1.30 and the stock in 9 months went to 0.43 cents. I had incredible losses, I felt destroyed. I let my emotions get the best of me and I didn't place a stop loss. I was trying to justify to myself that the fall was steep and I didn't catch it etc. Then I decided I had to be honest with myself and admitted that I was afraid of just taking my losses. Frustration and fear had overwhelmed me and I was very angry with myself.

Another proof that no matter how much you know the stock market if you can't manage your emotions properly you will never have a good result.

Philo and a different philosophy

Then I happened to talk to Philo and I remember our conversation to this day. He was incredibly calm and told me that I shouldn't worry because the company is doing well and that he is following it closely. It is constantly cutting costs and reducing non-performing loans.

He also believed that even though I now had huge losses I should not worry in the long run because the price I had bought wasn’t expensive. eThe point was that I didn't need the money immediately and had the stomach to take it.

Philo was reassuring because he saw things differently and saw something I couldn't see at the time. He was of course an investor who invested based on the value that stocks have or will have in the future while I invested based on the trend. He had a different philosophy. I sat back and thought that I had no choice but to endure but for the future I should avoid making such serious mistakes because I would be out of the game.

Psychology is one of the most important factors in the markets, if you lose it, you are lost.

The lesson I had learned from this experience and my conversation with Philo, and which I realised only when the stock started to move up was:

Some people think and invest differently than I think and that is not necessarily wrong. They buy value, have patience and don't care about making a quick profit. They strictly follow the saying "get rich slowly". I also understood that if a stock really has value and you don't buy it at a particularly high price, there will come a time in the medium-long term when you won't lose your money. Even if it moves down temporarily.

An opportunity lost because of fear of past mistakes.

I continued to follow the market and decided that unless I see real signs of a reversal of the downtrend I will not invest any more money into the market. I wouldn't rush to discount the trend but I also wouldn't adopt the tactic of averaging down into more and more losses.

Even when the stock went into the 0.45-0.50 cent range I had not decided to buy. I had promised myself that I would buy when I got long-term buy signals according to the trading system I use. When the bottom is in, no trading signal can give you a buy signal. You can follow some of the technical formations, but if you're still hurt from the losses you took you never decide to buy.

In retrospect and even now that I am writing what I experienced, I cannot help but think that IF I had bought at the levels close to 0.50, I would have 10X’d my money.

So I made another important observation: you will make the most profits in the markets if you invest at the beginning of the uptrend, if you spot it in time or at least in the next few months.

It also goes without saying that you have to manage to stay in the uptrend as long as you can. In all stocks, during the uptrend, there are always pullbacks that can scare you and make you decide to sell the stock while the uptrend still has a way to go.

As for the stock I had seen the "ending diagonal" formation mentioned in wave theory books and the related positive RSI oscillator breakouts but I was afraid to buy.

BOCH. ENDING DIAGONAL.

Upon completion of the formation (shown in the chart above) a sharp rise began that took the stock to around 1.20 in a few months with a return of 150%. If I didn't have losses from the previous purchase I made I would have bought at around 0.53 cents as shown below in the chart. And at 0.67 I could buy as soon as it broke the 200 day EMA. But I was scared. It's incredible what the market can do to your psychology.

This experience taught me that in the markets nothing is ever clear at first but after it happens it seems like it was clear. Because of that we get mad at ourselves for not trading it correctly!

It has now become abundantly clear that the trend has changed to an uptrend. This was confirmed when some institutions bought some millions of shares at around 1 euro. Institutional support is an important factor in the rise of a stock, as the books I read explain.

Hellenic Bank

At the same time I was watching HB which formed a strong bottom.

I considered the subsequent rise a certainty after such a formation. Already the share of the Bank of Cyprus, which was in the same sector, had left some profits. I finally bought Hellenic Bank stock before the formation was complete. I had put less money compared to Bank of Cyprus which I considered a stronger stock, due to the more competent management it had.

My prediction was confirmed and the upward trend of the Hellenic bank stock began. I already started making profits.

Forming a saucer or cup with a handle

I decided that I would buy Bank of Cyprus shares in case the stock made some ground and absorbed the gains it made. If it formed a base of a few months and then broke it that would be according to the William O'Neil books I had read, an amazing buy signal that had a high chance of success.

Bank of Cyprus stock finally did me a favor and made a base of about 15 months and formed an amazing cup or saucer with a very large handle. I was determined to buy on the breakout of the formation. I would put in all the money I had left. I was so sure this time that I had also broken a fuse I had and got more money. I waited for the right moment.

I know most of you who haven't studied technical analysis will laugh at the pattern I mentioned above called a "saucer with a handle".

But take a look at the blueprints below. One is of the Bank of Cyprus stock and the other is from a book by the well-known author and successful investor WILLIAM J.O'NEIL. Amazing resemblance don't you agree?

BOCH (BANK OF CYPRUS) 2020-2023

Saucer or cup with handle

2022 the big rise and the big decision for further stock purchases

Suddenly in August 2022 the stock did me a favor and broke the formation to the upside. There suddenly without hesitation and with determination I bought shares of great value. I invested all the money I had. I was determined to seize this opportunity.

It is not easy to invest large sums in the stock market and act as if nothing is happening, but I was determined to play it all for everything. Fortunately the stock behaved well and didn't make a drop to scare me. In November 2022 (about two months later) it continued its upward trajectory and never looked back. Now I felt much more comfortable and started to sleep better at night. It is not easy to have all your money invested and be comfortable and relaxed.

Rules for buying and selling shares

Now everything was going very well. I was overinvested in a bull market and my portfolio was consistently posting profits. But a proper investor, in addition to rules for buying shares, must also have rules for selling shares. I absolutely had to implement a system of selling rules that would help me secure the substantial profits I had when it came time to sell.

I felt very confident now because I felt that I had learned from my failures. I already paid the price and learned my lesson.

The first time was in the fall of 1999-2000
The second to a lesser extent was in the 2007-2008 downturn when I bought into a bear market and lost some of my money.
The 3rd time was the stock purchase I made without getting any buy signal and the big drop came due to corona.

I studied all the mistakes I made and learned from them. This time I would update my sales rules to get a better result.

To implement the perfect sales system I started re-reading all the books I had. I read one every 15 days and took notes. When I read them all I went and bought more. I was ready, I had implemented my plan. I waited for the right moment.

Formation of the Uptrend

In June 2023 the rise stopped at 3 euros and the stock went sideways for 5 months. This move gave me another important element in the layout. A reliable uptrend line with bullish bottoms has formed.

In addition, according to technical analysis, you can connect a parallel line with the trend line and the tops and form a bullish channel (see below).

Stocks or indices move in this upward channel in many cases. When prices hit the upper part of the channel they retreat and find support at the lower part of the channel. Naturally, at some point the fall will come, this cannot be done forever. The important thing for technical analysts is to be able to take advantage of the ups and downs in the share price if they spot a bullish channel.

Formation of an upward channel of Bank of Cyprus stock

So this is what I did with Bank of Cyprus stock, I joined the peaks and formed the bullish channel shown below. He decided that I would sell at that point if the prices went (and they eventually did) where there would be some resistance due to a previous top and also the prices would touch the upper ascending line of the channel.

Bank of Cyprus. Price Chart.

The last wave, the completion of the move and the exit plan

Profits in my portfolio were growing with no worries on the horizon. But I knew that all good things come to an end and I had to be ready. Remember above what I mentioned about the rules for selling shares? I had now decided when to sell.

By counting the waves of the upward movement I formed the opinion that the last upward wave of the developing movement had already begun. Usually all the news are good and there is no concern for investors in such a bullish phase. Then, logically, the correction follows with no one knowing how far it can go. In any case I had to sell, I had been invested in the stock since 2020, for 4 years now.

I decided because of the big gains this time I would sell before waiting for medium-term exit signals. I decided that if prices touch the upper line of the ascending channel, I would sell.

It is a rule of technical analysis that states that any high that has been reached in the past is a resistance point for the prices of the stock or index that will reach that point in the future. I concluded that if the stock went to 4.60 I would sell blindly.

The Big Decision

The price was around €3.60 at the end of April, after the €0.25 dividend it had given (Ex-dividend on April 25). They had already announced a share buyback program on April 19, a sign that management believed in the future of the company. When it went ex dividend on April 25th it just dropped a few cents, while it had paid a dividend of €0.25 cents, this was a sign of the great momentum of the stock.

Suddenly 5 days after the dividend a sharp rally started. It was the bullish wave I had been waiting for. I thought I would put 1000 shares for sale a little higher to test the strength and determination the buyers had. I had read in a book that it was a tactic used by George Soros. Immediately the shares disappeared. I understood that the stock still had a way to go.

I remembered the words of William O'Neill: “Learn to quit when things are good and the elevator is still going up.”

I decided that I would slowly sell as the stock rose and approached the €4.60 target, which was the upper line of the ascending channel and the resistance I wrote above.

The Phone Call

Suddenly my phone rang and it was a friend who I had recommended to buy Hellenic and Bank of Cyprus shares. He had told me that he was making incredible profits and that he hadn't invested all his money in the stock and regretted that he hadn't. He was thinking of doing it. My answer was that he better start thinking about selling and not be greedy. It has already made huge profits.

I told him that I already sold some shares. His reaction was that I am crazy because the stock has a great value and he was trying to convince me with various arguments. He did not accept my point of view at all, while 2-3 years ago in a similar discussion we had he was scared and doubted that the stocks would rise.

After this discussion I decided that I had to sell all my shares without delay. I remembered the well-known wall street story where during the great boom a successful stockbroker went to a polisher to shine his shoes and the polisher asked him if he knew any good stocks to tell him to buy.

The result was that the stockbroker went to the office and sold all his shares. His reasoning was that if even the polishers were into stocks then there was no other buying power to take over the market and it would naturally fall.

Thoughts that were going through my mind

Even the non-believers were convinced that the rise will continue, even if it is a sell signal. There would be some correction soon.
Before the big rise my friends had no opinion and were afraid of the markets, now they are sure of further rise. And how could it not be since all the news is positive.
I had thought that I should not be greedy, let others also win. I remember what happened in 1999 like it was yesterday. An old saying goes: "in the stock market both bulls and bears win but pigs are slaughtered".
I also wondered: "Where were all the "experts" telling us to buy when the stock was at 1 euro. Not even at 2 and 3 euros did they tell us to buy!”

The money I earned I have to work 7-8 years (8-9 hours a day) to get it. If I miss this opportunity I will never forgive myself.

I was at the company I work for and it was getting wasted from a lot of work, I grabbed my cell phone and went outside because it was noisy where I worked and I couldn't concentrate. I started selling and selling markets where there were buyers and stayed there until I was sure they were all sold.

The share was at €4.60 on the Cyprus Stock Exchange and at £3.90 on the London Stock Exchange. Exactly where my target was and where I was spotting ifsconditions I had mentioned. I had shares on both exchanges.

I decided to sell (as O'Neil says) while everything was positive for the stock

The company made the most profits it had ever made in its history.
The trend in foreign markets was up and nothing seemed to spoil the party.
It had an incredibly low PE.
It was buying back its shares (buy back of shares).
It had the support of the institutions and members of the management also owned shares
Investor shareholders were excited by the profits the stock gave them and asked the management (at the AGM) to increase their dividend amount next time
It was the first topic in print and electronic media that he set a new record (see below)
We had positive reports from experts who gave a target price of €6.50 and that the stock had great value and was undervalued compared to other banks
Paid a high dividend

After the sales when I saw the amount that entered my account I thought that I had achieved the goal I had set from the beginning. I secured my children's education and I wouldn't have to take out a loan for it. I felt completely satisfied. Finally it feels good to sell and realize the profits seen in your portfolio.

The correction has begun

Somewhere around 4.60 – 4.65 was the highest the stock reached. Suddenly in the next few days it started to rain. All the buyers who were piling up to buy the stock when it was going up, now that it's going down, are gone. There was no depth/purchasing power.

It happened exactly as William J. O'Neil explained it in one of the books he wrote. That's why he used to say "sell when the elevator goes up". It was something incredible.

The stock then fell to 4.40 and later to 4.10…

The 2nd phone call

Suddenly my phone rang. It was my friend again. This time his tone was different, he sounded scared. He told me he bought more shares at 4.40 and 4.20 but the stock fell further. He asked me if I had bought back, now that the stock was falling, and I told him I had not. He was immediately horrified and puzzled at the same time.

Do you remember when I mentioned above the market’s unique ways of tearing down big egos?

The correction for the Bank of Cyprus share went to around €3.85 (almost 20%). Which you consider a normal correction after such a rise. It again found support in the uptrend line.

The diagram below shows the importance of trend lines in technical analysis

My thoughts after selling all my shares and staying 100% in cash

I did pretty well, but what do I do with so much cash?
Should I invest in other companies now or not?
Should I wait for the general indices to fall and then invest?
If I am going to invest, how much should I invest? Certainly not the full amount. I will definitely save the money I will need in the next 3-5 years, I will not risk it.
Let me wait a moment. Markets rallied a lot and a correction is likely.
I remembered again some advice written in the books I read and one of them was: "If you had success, then a little detox from the markets is not bad".
Should I buy Bank of Cyprus again now that it has dropped?
What are the prospects of the Bank of Cyprus? It’s a cyclical stock
Why not start looking to find some growth stocks listed on the Nasdaq?

As Andre Kostolany once said:

“The torment in the stock market is that those who own shares are trembling lest prices fall while those who are waiting to invest are afraid that prices will rise.”

The Strategy Going Forward

I thought and finally decided that I would invest some of my money and set some criteria and rules. As e.g. I would buy stocks that didn't run long and had formed some base. It doesn't make sense to chase a stock that has moved too far from its base. That's what the books I read say and that's what I would do. The risk I would be taking would be greater than the potential gain I might have.

I started every night researching to find these stocks

I probably wouldn't buy them now but I would put them on my watch list. Besides, I had to start preparing for the next bullish cycle. The uptrend still lasted well, but the fall will come naturally at some point.

History and the manifestations of human nature will continue to repeat themselves endlessly in the stock market so there will always be opportunities.

But if you want to make money from stocks, start studying!

I remind you what the legendary Warren Buffet once said:

"Risk comes from not knowing what you're doing."

The way to make money in the stock market is to start studying, observing, getting informed and start searching to find the winning stocks that will give you the big profits.

Every day I take time and prepare to seize the next big opportunity.

I really believe that anyone can make money but they have to put in the necessary time they need.

As William O'Neil says in his books: "If you sit every night and watch TV or drink beers with your friends, don't expect to improve and find answers to something as complex as the stock market and markets."

Alexander Elder once said: "The stock market is the place of exaggeration and cycles." This great truth is what makes the stock market so special. I remember what I said above... "it is through irrational behaviour that investment bubbles or major crashes usually arise." There are great opportunities being created and we have to find a way to profit fromm them. That should be our goal.

Remember that your goal is to make money and not chase buying bottoms and selling at tops. This is something impossible and if it happens it is just by luck.

My story is meant to inspire others to start their own path to success. If I succeeded to some degree then anyone can.

It is of course necessary to slowly acquire all the necessary elements that I mentioned above and which are necessary to lead you to success.

I wish everyone good luck and good profits