Page 829 - How to Make Money in Stocks Trilogy

100 HOW TO MAKE MONEY IN STOCKS SUCCESS STORIES

Jeff’s daily routine starts the night before, when he reads through eIBD,
the digital version of the paper. He looks for ideas and focuses on companies
that are different and stand out. He is very focused on the “N” in CAN
SLIM and prefers newer companies with products or services that are in big
demand by consumers.
During the trading session, Jeff uses a MarketSmith screen to track stocks
that are up on volume and determines whether any of these stocks warrant
immediate attention if they are breaking out of bases. On days when the
market is in an uptrend but opens lower, he likes to see which stocks can
buck the trend and turn up first. This has helped Jeff find several winners
over the years.
As Jeff reflects on his learning curve as an investor, he mentions the first
IBD workshop that he attended in 1990, and what an impact it made on him
as well as how much it helped his trading. Through the years, Jeff has
attended all of IBD’s advanced workshops and says, “There have been so
many important things that I have learned. Each workshop has its gems—
the take home lessons—and I continue to learn.”
“One of the biggest things I know now is that I did not exploit the big win-
ners that came out of the 1980s and 1990s, such as Cisco Systems,
Microsoft, Intel, Dell, and Home Depot. These were the change-your-life
type of stocks, and although I netted some nice gains in the tech boom of
the 1990s, I was too inexperienced as an investor to understand how to hold
these stocks and capture their massive gains.
“But I am excited, because I believe that we are on the cusp of another
secular bull market. Bill O’Neil and Chris Gessel discussed this possibility
during a webinar in August 2012. I’m trying to adapt my trading style so that
I can truly exploit the big stocks that will make enormous gains when this
new era happens.
“I have been able to handle Apple reasonably well over the past three
years, pyramiding my original position to over five times my initial pur-
chase.”
Some of Jeff’s biggest winners over the years:

Crocs. 2007: 223% gain
Baidu. 2007: 61% gain
Apple. 2009–2012 (still holding the position mid-September): 444% gain