When to cash in your gains

[WernerH]

Hi all... I am reletively new to share trading and have been going along in theory for a while, now that i have real money invested the hardest part seems to be deciding when to get out. While this is a good problem to have, here is the situation. Bought some CFD's that are returning good profits but going in i had an idea as to when i was going to get out of 50% of my holding and when the sell the rest (using technical analysis). Now that i am close to that level i am second guessing myself and thinking of holding on for a while longer, the risk being that i lose some profits if the share turns. I know that a trailing stop-loss seems to be the preffered system, but with geared instruments (like CFD's) in order to maintain some profits you must set the trail to a very small percentage otherwise you will lose all of your profits (5% trail = +-30% profit). What exit strategies are all of you using with geared instruments, and how have they worked out for you? Werner

[WernerH]

To add a little more, i have not quite reached my first exit point but have made about 35% return thus far, do i get out early or hold on a little???

[#3]

its more about your exist when things dont go your way.
If you think you can get 50% (you used your system to tell you it would get there), have a strategy for what happens if it only gets to 40 or 45%??
If it get to 50% take profits to cover your costs and leave the rest to run with a stop trailing quite close behind. IMO

[WernerH]

That probably makes the best sense... stick to initial guns and sell 50% at expected resistance level and then set a tight trailing stop to ride the wave if it continues. And i suppose making some profit is great, so rather bank it than chase every last cent with the possibility of losing along the way. But greed is a powerful motivator. Werner

[TOPIX]

WernerH. Do not allow your position to control your mindset. Do not change your system during a trade. Execute the plan you had before you entered the trade. If you feel you can improve your exits, do it outside your trades - test it and if it works, implement it. When in doubt during a trade, exit the trade. Your doubts will lead to wrong decisions and harm your quality of trading in the long run

[#6]

It is that greed to get a little bit more that have sunked many a ship. You had a plan when to get out. Apply that discipline vigorously. Don't second guess yourself. CPS gave you advice backed with experience containing joy and disappointment. Take his advice.

[WernerH]

Thanks all... Will use that advice to heart and trade by my system. Hopefully my system is right :-) Thanks again to all.

[WernerH]

HELP - after above points i have set in my stop loss to trade at just above my entry point (thereby ensuring that i break even - shooo). Now i am trying to enter my exit points for profitable trades but can't seem to get this right. When i go to the TRADE screen i can enter my selling prices but it only seems to be valid for the day. Is there any way to enter exit points for long term with CFD's? I know the price that i want to sell at, but i don't want to enter them every day.

[HateGauteng]

whenever in doubt, take the money. You can always re-enter the trade. SSF and CFD trades are good for the day only, need to re-enter prices every day.