Brainy's Share Market ToolboxBrainy's Share Market Toolbox
An arsenal of weapons to help you tackle the share market.
Monthly Share Market eNews email update
Maximise profits with
optimised position size
eNews + eBook Articles Update #60 - March 2014
Dear Reader,     
  
This month's Share Market eNews email is going to all of our subscribing Share Market Toolbox Members as normal, and to the non-Members who have expressed an interest in receiving it. (Any non-members who want to access the detail in the Members Area can easily join as a Toolbox Member - it's not expensive.)

 

"Position size" - simple, yes?
No! - It can pay to optimise with clever tools,
and increase our profits! 

 

When we buy a parcel of shares, some people simply invest the same amount of money in each parcel they buy - perhaps $5,000 or $10,000 worth (this is the "Fixed Dollar Amount" per trade method). Should we think about adjusting this amount? How could we easily do that? 

 

Another way to look at this is to factor in the amount of investment capital that we have, and to also factor in the portion of this capital that we are prepared to "put at risk". This is where a good Position Size Calculator can be very useful. 

 

It can be very beneficial to consider the
"optimum" amount of capital to allocate to a position.
By risking the maximum amount that
you have decided you are prepared to "risk",

then you are taking maximum advantage
of favourable price movements to maximise profits.

 

Some rather simplistic research can demonstrate that portfolio performance can be increased by a significant amount. This is because we can "optimise" the position size, by maximising the amount of money to invest in the performing stocks (for a greater profit). See more details below.
 
In case you missed last month's topic, I finished a series of updates on the topic of exit strategies. You can see that material here in the eNews archive.

 

Any non-member who no longer wants to receive this material on a monthly basis can simply unsubscribe from ALL topics using the SafeUnsubscribe link at the bottom - or just Update Your Profile to change your interests. (BUT NOTE: Toolbox Members and BullCharts mailing list members should not unsubscribe, as it will remove you from all my mail lists.)

Please remember, anything mentioned here, and in the referred eBook Articles, is for general education only, and is not advice of any sort.
 

Please read on....  

About the eNews emails...
Just a short note to the recently new Toolbox Members:- These share market eNews emails always go to Toolbox Members (a part of the Toolbox service), and to the people who have registered to receive occasional information about the Share Market. This is a monthly email with some pointers and tips on focused topics - see a quick intro to the eNews emails. They often include references to specific eBook Articles in my Share Market Toolbox, as well as key web pages in the free area of the Toolbox (eg. on the extensive Share Market web page). I have been writing the eBook Articles since October 2008 - that's more than five years, and these eNews emails help you to navigate to related and useful information each month.
In This Issue
Feedback
The eBook Articles
Articles summary
Front pages
Any Problems?
Feedback?

Robert is always very happy to receive feedback about the Toolbox, and the articles and weapons therein.

Please feel free to contact Robert by email or phone.

Contact Us..
Quick Links

Articles Master List of all eBook (pdf) Articles

Introductory information About the Articles

Detailed Topic Index

Robert's BullCharts charting software Knowledgebase
 
The latest
Table of Contents pages for:
Share Trading,
or
Technical Analysis
or
BullCharts 

Share Market Toolbox - What is it?
 
Toolbox
Membership

Go to the Online Shop to become a
Toolbox member. 
 
Join as a Toolbox Member by printing the
manual order form
complete the details and send in the mail with payment.
 
The Members Area Gateway (lists all Toolbox features)  

Remember...
Price charts summarise the underlying opinions  
and emotions of the market participants. 
Every chart tells a story. It's helpful to 
understand the stories in the price charts.
this-month
This month's focus:
Optimising position size and Position Size Calculator
 
It can be very beneficial to consider the "optimum" amount of capital to allocate to an investment position in the share market. By risking the maximum amount that you have already decided you are prepared to "risk", then you are taking maximum advantage of favourable price movements to maximise profits.
 
For this month's update to eBook Articles and toolbox materials, I have updated the existing Position Size Calculator, posted a new web page, and revamped an existing eBook Article (it's now 10 pages long). Also see the links to view the following articles on the Articles Table of Contents page.
 
CAUTION: I have to express some caution regarding the position size calculator spreadsheet. It has taken me a lot of fiddling and fine-tuning over 3 years, with some creeping improvements, a couple of which are not yet completed (eg. including a reference to slippage). I must also say that many people have created their own spreadsheet calculators, some of which are very powerful, and some of which are not that intuitive to use (except for the creator who knows how it works and how to use it).
 
Thank you:- I also must thank everyone who has sent me sample calculators, or provided input and ideas, and assisted with the development of this one (mostly BullCharts software users).
 
Here are the links to this month's information:-
  • Position Size Calculator - This is the key item this month. An updated spreadsheet tool to calculate an optimised position size based on some key parameters (like total trading capital, and money management and risk management basic rules). You enter portfolio constraints in the yellow cells, and stock price data into the green cells. See the links to download the calculator.
  • New web page - Optimising position size, provides a quick overview of the topic, and useful web links.
  • Article ST-4400, "Position size and Calculator" - An existing eBook Article, now expanded to 10 pages, with refreshed images that refer to the revised Position Size Calculator. Toolbox Members can see Article ST-4400. Toolbox non-members can see the free page 1.
  • Helpful video - For BullCharts software users, there is also a 6-minute video of how to use the BullCharts Trade Planner (position size calculator), which is another variation on position sizing, but is handily built into the BullCharts software. (There is a link to this video from the Trade Planner item in Robert's BullCharts KnowledgeBase.
Regarding my growing collection of eBook (PDF) Articles, don't forget to see the latest Table of Contents pages for all articles (see links in the side-bar above right). There are now a total of 138 Articles in this collection of eBook Articles - a whopping total of 634 pages of information! You can see the Table of Contents for all eBook Articles here (recently new or updated ones are highlighted), and the Master Toolbox Index which includes the eBook Articles, plus web page references, and helpful videos.
eBook (PDF) Articles - Summary

Since October 2008 I have accumulated quite a collection of eBook (PDF) Articles on three subject areas - Share Trading/Investing, Technical Analysis and BullCharts software (actually more than 630 pages of material in more than 138 articles). These Articles are invaluable for both new and experienced investors and traders. I write brief monthly notes in this eNews email to highlight specific Articles on targeted topics, and sometimes referring to new or updated web pages in the Toolbox (also see a history of Toolbox updates). I am also writing new Articles and updating existing ones as required. For more information please see: 

Article front pages 
For any new readers of my Toolbox eBook Articles, there are some useful introductory Articles including an Introduction and an Overview Article for each of the three subject areas. You can see them here:
Any problems?
What if you have some sort of problem with accessing the Toolbox and any of these Articles? Or maybe the Username and Password doesn't work. If there is any problem at all, simply contact me by email or phone. The best email address for this is: support@robertbrain.com. Occasionally emails disappear - the system thinks they are spam, or the ISP might think they are spam. If I don't reply within a day or so, please contact me by either email address or phone.
In Closing

There is nothing secret in this email, so feel free to forward it to someone if you think they might benefit from the information, or from being a Toolbox Member. The easiest way to do this is to use the "Forward Email" link at the bottom. 
 
I am also confident that my Toolbox Members won't be sharing their username and password with non-members. It is not fair that I spend all this time preparing the materials, and then my Toolbox Members pay money to have legitimate access, only to let some people pay nothing to read and view the details.
 
Please feel free to email an individual Article to others as a sample; but if they want online access to all the materials, it is pretty cheap, so they should subscribe as a Toolbox Member. There is information about Toolbox Membership in the Quick Links section at right. 
 
Always happy to receive feedback, or suggestions for new content or improvements.
 
Until next month,
happy investing or trading,


Watch out for the sharks in the ocean! Robert B. Brain
(mobile: 0438 355 910)

ps: watch out for the sharks in the ocean!  

This email was sent to robert@robertbrain.com by robert@robertbrain.com |  
Robert Brain (Brainy) | 23 Nathan Street | Ferntree Gully | Victoria, | 3156 | Australia

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