(03-05-2013, 04:14 PM)Ben Wrote: [ -> ] (03-05-2013, 01:53 PM)Temperament Wrote: [ -> ]But the mental baggage of 2 highly cyclical stocks in the shipping sector is holding me back. Because IMHO shipping sector is about to turn maybe in a year or two.
We are in the same boat. I also have one dry bulk shipping stock in my portfolio that is in heavy loss situation. I am not prepare to sell not because I think the tide is turning, but because the price has dropped so much that if I liquidate now, I am not able to cash out a meaningful amount for other use. Sorry, I know my logic is flawed, but mental baggage is hard to explain....
Just for fun, I went to do an internet search on 'Mental Baggage' and found this,
Ridding Yourself of Emotional and Mental Baggage
A useful extract,
If we keep our minds and hearts free of clutter, we will be able to focus on all that is important. We will be able to deploy our time and energy effectively, towards achievement of goals and success.
Each time I go thro' a BEAR market, I'd looked at my Stocks Portfolio, mostly submerged in a sea of red and I'd tell myself what are the stocks that I ought to get rid of. These are the ones that'd dropped the most and rightfully so as they have the worst fundamentals (Poor stocks picking skills always comes to light during a bear run - what Warren Buffett meant when he says 'When the tide goes down, we'll know who's swimming naked').
But, somehow or rather, when the market recovery comes along, I'd drag my feet... Most of the past mistakes never recover. Dropping to 0.5ct may not be the end of my agony as they can still do a reverse split and then proceed to drop to 0.5ct...
After the last BEAR in 2011, when the market rebounded strongly, I finally plucked up the courage and strength to get rid of my junks which I'd accumulated over the past couple of decades. If you'd ever tried Bungee Jumping, it's like the moments before you jump.... Want to do, don't want to do, flip-flop between the two. When the rope is finally tied to the legs, there's a moment that seems like eternity....
But, yes, like Bungee Jumping, once you take the leap, you realise that it wasn't that difficult after all. In fact, it's actually quite fun!
So, last year, after overcoming the mental difficulties to sell off my first few junks, I continued spring cleaning and today, am cleared of almost all junks (left a couple where I'd need to top up the brokerage fee if I were to sell).
Yes, the amount I got back are mostly a couple of hundreds or a thousand plus. It also did severe damage to my Realised P&L - huge realised losses. But, fortunately, there was little impact on my Net Worth as I'd always been diligently marking my assets to market value.
But, like the above sentences I'd lifted from the article, clearing my Mental Garbage for stocks had freed me from all the past baggages (that I'd been lugging along) and I'm now a lot more focussed and decisive, when it comes to Stocks.
Hope the above helps all those with the same predicament..
) after I cut, I can only congratulate those who are still holding or jump in at a low price.