The Game Group Shares (GMG.LSE)

atush

Indeed, but they are happy investing memories.

I bought BA at 1quid. Sold at third at 3 quid, then sold another tranche. Still have some and get shareholders discount lol.

Takes the sting out of investing failures ;-)

gadgetmind

atush wrote: »

Takes the sting out of investing failures ;-)

I know it's one of these things everyone says even though no-one believes it, but I really haven't had many failures, and certainly no huge ones.

I did once decide to keep a business going with personal cash and guarantees, which all went very wrong, but I managed to emerge with rights to the intellectual property; it's still bringing in some modest money over twenty years later!

I've also backed the odd duffer, mainly because I trusted the views of others rather than my own research and instinct. Lesson learned!

However, my winners outnumber the losers, and for every quid I've lost, I've got a few £k from the winners.

grey_gym_sock

selling half if it doubles is a tempting idea ...

it's possible that it doesn't improve investment returns in itself, but if it helps you keep your nerves, then having nerves of steel might improve your returns.

it's also debatable how beneficial it is to have nerves of steel. there has to be some advantage in not being scared by short-term stock market fluctuations. OTOH, one might be better off being scared off shares in risky individual companies altogether, if one then puts everything in trackers instead.

grey_gym_sock

grey_gym_sock wrote: »

... if one then puts everything in trackers instead.

or in boring, profitable, dividend-paying, recession-proof companies.

gadgetmind

grey_gym_sock wrote: »

it's also debatable how beneficial it is to have nerves of steel. there has to be some advantage in not being scared by short-term stock market fluctuations. OTOH, one might be better off being scared off shares in risky individual companies altogether, if one then puts everything in trackers instead.

I suggest you read "Descartes' Error: Emotion, Reason and the Human Brain" by Antonio Damasio.

He argues that emotions and visceral reactions are a key part of the human reasoning process, and that we need aversion borne of experience to function.

My guts were screaming at me as I piled lots of £k into the markets during August to September last year, but I ignored the silly sods!

grey_gym_sock

yes, emotional reactions more often than not right. but there are times when one should ignore them. or should train oneself to have different emotions.

investment is perhaps a field in which one's emotional reactions, learned in other fields, may be unsuitable and need (self-)training.

gadgetmind

grey_gym_sock wrote: »

investment is perhaps a field in which one's emotional reactions, learned in other fields, may be unsuitable and need (self-)training.

The main two emotions investors need to suppress are impatience and fear. You need to be able to play the long game, to be able to see volatility as not just part of the picture but also as an opportunity for profit. Dips are when the muppets sell and when the wise man buys, but he buys in his own time, when the muppets are getting desperate and running in circles, and sometimes he doesn't buy at all just to keep them guessing.

There will *always* be another dip and another equity.

Always.

atush

gadgetmind wrote: »

I know it's one of these things everyone says even though no-one believes it, but I really haven't had many failures, and certainly no huge ones.

I did once decide to keep a business going with personal cash and guarantees, which all went very wrong, but I managed to emerge with rights to the intellectual property; it's still bringing in some modest money over twenty years later!

I've also backed the odd duffer, mainly because I trusted the views of others rather than my own research and instinct. Lesson learned!

However, my winners outnumber the losers, and for every quid I've lost, I've got a few £k from the winners.

I had a couple where I lost the lot (like Neteller and baltimore) but I knew they were highly speculative so invested small amts (we are talking my child benefit acct so 500-1000 per trade) and had doubled earlier and sold. My mistake was buying in again?

Those we my wild and crazy learning days. For every speculative trade i made one in boring but steady ones like say Tesco or United utilities etc.

gadgetmind

atush wrote: »

we are talking my child benefit acct

We stuck a load of our daughter's CB into various high interest accounts, and it's now a big fat five figure sum in a First Home Saver.

The rest went into a bare trust, holding shares in the same company that I bought at 15p. Daughter got in at 35p, but she's still close to a "20 bagger" and is flogging off over 4-5 years to fund her uni fees.

Of course, this was high risk, and I wouldn't have done it if I hadn't had *deep* knowledge of that very specific area of technology.

Daughter seems grateful, if her own way.

atush

Glad to know I am not the only one gambling with the CB lol.