When you’re starting out in the markets, it can all be a bit intimidating.
There are just so many different markets to trade and so much information to process. If you’re not careful, you could easily get lost.
And if a couple of trades go against you, you might even wish you had never started trading at all…
So just remember this: You can’t know everything about every market.
It’s impossible! Believe me, it’s hard enough trying to know all you can about just a couple of markets.
Instead, you need to find just one or two things to trade and stick to them.
That means studying the price chart and every other piece of information you can gather.
You might choose a single stock, like Apple (AAPL) or Microsoft (MSFT). Or maybe you prefer an index like the S&P 500 or Nasdaq. You need to see how they react to important market news and events.
Here’s why it’s so important…
If someone else spends all week trading a single stock or index, how are you going to match them when you’re trying to juggle a dozen other trading ideas as well?
Sure, you might get lucky once or twice.
But forget about relying on luck long-term.
That’s why, when I started out on the trading floor, I traded just one product. Then, when I joined a trading firm, I stuck to just one sector.
There was no way I could do my own job and know as much about another market sector at the same time.
But where do you start? And how do you know which stock or index suits you best?
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Follow Your Interests
Some recommend you start with an area that you already know. For example, if you work in healthcare, then you could start with health-related stocks.
And that works for some people.
But in my mind, the most important thing is to find something that you’re interested in.
After all, if you work in an industry all week, reading all about it in your spare time may be the last thing you want to do.
So if your passion is technology – no matter what you do for your day job – then tech stocks might be the best place to start.
Likewise, if you have an interest in energy, there are plenty of stocks to pick from that sector, too. The next step is to narrow the list down to just one or two stocks that you’ll trade.
The challenge can be the sheer number of stocks to work through. You simply might not have the time.
That’s why some traders stick to a sector exchange-traded fund (ETF). It enables you to trade a sector that you’re interested in without having to specifically pick the best-performing stocks.
For example, if you’re interested in oil and gas stocks, you can trade a single ETF like the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE). XLE gives exposure to all the biggest stocks in that sector.
Or if you’re interested in gold, try an ETF like the VanEck Gold Miners ETF (GDX). This will allow you to trade the biggest gold mining stocks in one holding.
Instead of trying to analyze hundreds of stocks, you can focus your attention on the sector itself. And that could give you a big advantage.
By narrowing your focus to a few stocks, you will vastly increase your chances of becoming a profitable trader.
And it’ll save you a ton of headaches from always trying to work out what to trade next.
Regards,
Larry Benedict
Editor, Trading With Larry Benedict
P.S. Choosing one trading idea at a time is the core concept behind my One Ticker Trader trading service. Each month, we select a single theme and we focus on trading it with put and call options.
And this year, we’ve brought in gains like 7.7%… 19.9%… 21%… 39.1%… and 73.9% using this strategy.
If you’re interested in learning more about how it all works, you can check it out by going right here.
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Do you utilize a narrow focus when trading? Let us know your thoughts at [email protected].