Skip to main content

How to set the Stop Loss for your Stock Trade

Invest In Tax Saving Mutual Funds Online

Call 0 94 8300 8300 (India)

 


The similarity of stake management methods in gambling and trading has often been remarked on. Both types of "games" involve betting on uncertain events.

The principle is the same: When luck runs against you, good stake management will allow you to stay solvent longer.

The number of successive losses required to drive a gambler into bankruptcy is the risk of ruin. This is easy to calculate in a game like blackjack or poker where the gambler is dealing in multiples of a minimum stake. It is up to him not to do something stupid and bet large amounts on losing hands.

At trading, the risk of ruin equation is more complicated because the trader has much more control on the quantum of loss. He has to set the minimum stake by setting a stop- loss and, of course, he must be disciplined enough to accept the loss. Assuming you are not a day trader, you will not use mechanical stops because these require resets.

Where should a stop- loss be set and what kind should one use? Some traders set a 'money stop'. That is, they are prepared to lose a maximum fixed amount per trade. Others use 'percentage stops' — the stop- loss is set at a fixed percentage away from the entry price. A third set uses stops set with reference to price- chart congestion points. My personal feeling is the three systems, or any other system of stop- losses used, should align to give roughly the same numbers. Otherwise, the contract is probably not worth taking.

To manage stakes efficiently, taking risk of ruin into account, the trader must have a money stop. He cannot afford to lose, say, ₹ 10,000 on one contract and ₹ 30,000 on the next, without losing control of risk of ruin.

The money stop must be set at a fixed percentage of the trading corpus. It could be one per cent of corpus, or it could be five per cent. That is up to the traders personal risk- appetite. Obviously, the smaller the cut- off, the better the risk of ruin.

A highly volatile stock, or ahigh- priced stock with a large lot size, will often see tight stop- losses being triggered even when the trade is right. This leads to unnecessary losses. A stop- loss must be placed at enough distance from the entry price to allow for some volatility.

For example, if you are taking a trade in a counter that usually swings four per cent a session, a stop- loss at 0.25 per cent from the entry price will be useless. So, the percentage stop makes sense. Any practical trader also knows price moves often halt when they hit congestion points. So, the chartbased stop also has logic.

If the percentage stop or the chart- based stop carry larger losses than the money stop, the contract is simply too 'big' to handle with the given corpus. If the percentage stop and chart- based stop are much less than the money stop, the contract may not offer large enough returns. The ideal contract is one where these all align.

Happy Investing!!

We can help. Call 0 94 8300 8300 (India)

Leave your comment with mail ID and we will answer them

OR

You can write back to us at PrajnaCapital [at] Gmail [dot] Com

---------------------------------------------

Invest in Tax Saving Mutual Funds ( ELSS Mutual Funds ) to upto Rs 1 lakh and Save tax under Section 80C.

Invest Tax Saving Mutual Funds Online

Tax Saving Mutual Funds Online

These links can be used to Purchase Mutual Funds Online that are regular also (Investment, non-tax saving)

Download Tax Saving Mutual Fund Application Forms from all AMCs

Download Tax Saving Mutual Fund Applications

These Application Forms can be used for buying regular mutual funds also

Some of the best Tax Saving Mutual Funds available ( ELSS Mutual Funds )

  1. ICICI Prudential Tax Plan Invest Online
  2. HDFC TaxSaver Invest Online
  3. DSP BlackRock Tax Saver Fund Invest Online
  4. Reliance Tax Saver (ELSS) Fund Invest Online
  5. Birla Sun Life Tax Relief '96 Invest Online
  6. IDFC Tax Advantage (ELSS) Fund Invest Online
  7. SBI Magnum Tax Gain Scheme 1993 Invest Online
  8. Sundaram Tax Saver Invest Online
  9. Edelweiss ELSS Invest Online

------------------

Best Performing Mutual Funds

    1. Largecap Funds Invest Online
      1. DSP BlackRock Top 100 Fund
      2. ICICI Prudential Focused Blue Chip Fund
      3. Birla Sun Life Front Line Equity Fund
    2. Large and Midcap Funds Invest Online
      1. ICICI Prudential Dynamic Plan
      2. HDFC Top 200 Fund
      3. UTI Dividend Yield Fund
    1. Mid and SmallCap Funds Invest Online
      1. Reliance Equity Opportunities Fund
      2. DSP BlackRock Small & Midcap Fund
      3. Sundaram Select Midcap
      4. IDFC Premier Equity Fund
    1. Small and MicroCap Funds Invest Online
      1. DSP BlackRock MicroCap Fund
    1. Sector Funds Invest Online
      1. Reliance Banking Fund
      2. Reliance Banking Fund
    1. Tax Saver MutualFunds Invest Online
      1. ICICI Prudential Tax Plan
      2. HDFC Taxsaver
      3. DSP BlackRock Tax Saver Fund
      4. Reliance Tax Saver (ELSS) Fund
    2. Gold Mutual Funds Invest Online
      1. Relaince Gold Savings Fund
      2. ICICI Prudential Regular Gold Savings Fund
      3. HDFC Gold Fund

Popular posts from this blog

Retirement planning from a long-term perspective

Invest In Tax Saving Mutual Funds Online Download Tax Saving Mutual Fund Application Forms Buy Gold Mutual Funds     `HOW green was my valley'. This title comes from a movie I had watched many years ago. A little boy's journey into adulthood and the story of a Welsh valley's turn of-the-century descent from pristine paradise to despoiled coal mining.   I thought of the title because it is comparatively reflective of a person's life ­ the glorious years when he is earning and the sun down years when he is not having his regular job and, hence, his living standards comes down. The reason is a combination of things. Inflation of food items, transport, increase in health related costs in the later years of life and increase in expenses in almost all basic amenities of life. In India, the social security system is almost non-existent. In some states, wherever it is available, the scales of benefits are extremely modest...
Read more

LIC's JEEVAN SHIKHAR

  LIC's Jeevan Shikhar is a participating, non-linked, saving cum protection single premium plan wherein the risk cover is ten times of Tabular Single Premium. The proposer will have an option to choose the Maturity Sum Assured. The premium payable shall depend on the chosen amount of Maturity Sum Assured and age at entry of the life assured. This plan also takes care of liquidity need through its loan facility. The plan will be open for sale for a maximum period of 120 days from the date of launch. 1.   BENEFITS   : a) Death Benefit: On death during first five policy years: Before the date of commencement of risk   :   Refund of Single Premium without interest. Single Premium mentioned above shall not include any extra amount if charged under the policy due to underwriting decision and taxes. After the date of commencement of risk   : "Sum Assured on Death" equal to 10 times the tabular single premium shall be payable. On death after completion of five policy years but b...
Read more

CNX Midcap vs BNP Paribas Midcap Fund

BNP Paribas Midcap Fund - Invest Online   Te  performance of BNP Paribas Midcap Fund  – which has across the last 3 years generated superior returns over the benchmark – especially when the markets have gone down the fund has handsomely outperformed the benchmark preserving the capital of the investors. The fund has been able to do this only due to the superior stock selection process ( BMV approach) that is diligently followed at BNPP.   Highlights of BNP Paribas Mid Cap Fund:   Investment Objective : BNP Paribas Mid Cap Fund gives an investor exposure to invest in the various quality midcap stocks. The fund also has some exposure to large as well as small cap stocks.   Investment Approach : BMV ( Quality and scalability of Business →Good Management → Reasonable Valuation ) with Bottom-up stock picking.   Most of the investors are way happier if the fund that they have invested in is a significant Outperformer in tough times than in Good ti...
Read more

Investment Strategy - What is Sector Rotation Theory?

Buy Gold Mutual Funds Invest Mutual Funds Online Download Tax Saving Mutual Fund Application Forms Call 0 94 8300 8300 (India)   The economy goes through cycles : it expands for a few years and then contracts. Study of historical data suggests that different sectors tend to perform well on the stock markets during different stages of the economic cycle. While history never repeats itself exactly, some broad patterns tend to recur. Investors can take advantage of the sector rotation theory to move their money from those sectors that have seen their best times to those that are likely to do well in future.   The person who developed the sector rotation theory is Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at Standard & Poor's. He developed this theory by studying data on economic cycles going as far back as 1854 provided by the National Bureau of Economic Research ( NBER ) of the US.   When trying to correlate stock-market perfor...
Read more

Rajiv Gandhi Equity Savings Scheme (RGESS) set for launch this week

The finance ministry is set to notify the Rajiv Gandhi Equity Savings Scheme ( RGESS ) this week.   Though Finance Minister PChidambaram had approved on September 21, the scheme announced in this year's Budget, and had said that the revenue department will notify the scheme and the Securities and Exchange Board of India ( Sebi ) would issue relevant circulars within two weeks, it is yet to become operational.   A senior finance ministry official said the revenue department was expected to notify the scheme any day now to attract retail investors to the equity segment.   He added that Sebi was not required to issue any circular for the operationalisation of the scheme and that after the issuance of the revenue department's notification, investors would be able to avail of the benefits of the scheme.   The official accepted that implementation of the scheme had been delayed due to the deliberations on inclusion of mutual funds ( MF ) in it.   ...
Read more
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
Invest in Tax Saving Mutual Funds Download Any Applications
Transact Mutual Funds Online Invest Online
Buy Gold Mutual Funds Invest Now