STOP LOSS!

I made my ever first stop loss order on August 29th.  I had bought Stellar Biotech earlier in the week at a cost of about $2.10 for 1150 shares.  However, on August 28th, it started dropping as fast as it had rocketed up.  So, at the opening bell on August 29th, I had a stop loss order put in my cash account and I was preparing to sell the 1200 shares in my TFSA account at another brokerage!  Two browser windows open and within the first 20 minutes of trading, I had dumped Stellar Biotech.  I actually had to use the help system as I had never made a stop loss order before.  This was something I should have done a lot earlier in my very disastrous trading career. So, thanks to some quick moves, I lost $280 in my cash account (which can be applied to my capital losses) and made $580 tax-free in my TFSA account.  I signed up for a trend analysis service and they had some trading rules I should have been applying much earlier. As I review the small profits I made this month on Stellar Biotech and Teranga Gold, I had to get my psychology right as I could have made three times more money than I did because I didn't act at the right time to maximise profits.  You have to be satisfied with any profit and minimise your losses!

Stellar Biotech chart

I also took a 75% loss on North American Palladium after reading this report from Seeking Alpha.  I figured that was better than a 100% loss.

When I heard of the Mount Polley mine tailings pond breach, my heart sank. The still small voice was asking if my investment in Taseko Mines (TKO) was ethical.  Their New Prosperity Project has been blocked twice by the federal government despite being approved by the BC Government.  I had sold 700 of my 2000 TKO shares to move it into Stellar Biotech (that was a good move as it cut my loss on TKO).

Then, last week, I heard of more Eritrean migrants dying in the Mediterranean as they tried to escape to Italy.  I had piled most of my money into Sunridge Gold in the hopes it would be the next Nevsun Resources.  I'm down about 70% on that one too.  Again, the still small voice asked what are you doing investing in a company in Eritrea (the political risk was off the charts) when I first took the dive.  I did anyways because I trusted the instincts of Peter Grandich (a Christian).  So, the still small voice is telling me "you reap what you sow" and I'm thinking SGC is yet another lesson in this.