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Black Belt Trading: Investing Like a Pro 181

pare my trades or my results to anyone else’s. You don’t have to be a genius
to do well in the market, but you do have to keep your ego under control so
you won’t break the rules and make careless mistakes.” To his credit, Bill
isolates all of his Portfolio Managers and doesn’t let them know where they
stand in performance relative to each other. He knows that doing so would
only put additional pressure on them.

Learning from Your Weaknesses and How to Overcome Them
The many years of teaching investing workshops have made Charles realize
that every trader has their own inherent strengths and weaknesses: “For
some, it’s very difficult to cut losses. Other investors may not have the
patience or fortitude to hold on for the big move. They satisfy their ego by
locking in their profits early and miss out on the big money.”
“To overcome weaknesses, Bill has taught me to
1. Admit that you have some shortcomings. Some investors refuse to take
responsibility for their own results, and they end up never succeeding.
2. Do a post analysis of your trades; your weaknesses will pop right out.
3. Write down rules to help you overcome your trading flaws.”

“In writing down my own rules and strategy, I really defined what style of
trading comes most naturally to me. I am more of a swing trader. I am most
comfortable taking profits into strength when my analysis of the stock’s
action tells me that a pullback is in store, and I tend to buy on pullbacks to
the major moving averages or other support levels in stocks that have
proven that they are market leaders. I am a much better singles hitter than
a homerun hitter. That style is consistent with my personality, so I don’t fight
it. Bill has proven over the years that he is a great homerun hitter, so he may
trade a little differently than I do. That’s okay. Bill said to me a long time
ago, ‘If what you’re doing is working, don’t change it.’”
“Bill has been an inspiration in many ways. For one thing, his work ethic
is unparalleled. There is nobody at the firm who works harder than he does.
He is very flexible when it comes to the market and individual stocks. He
can change his mind on a dime, and yet he has conviction when it’s appro-
priate. One of the things that I admire most is the fact that he has never
blown up his account, which is rare among traders. He will never hesitate to
cut a loss if his stock starts acting poorly, no matter what he thinks of the
company or how much he likes the stock. He is one of the few investors who
made a fortune trading his own money. Most of the wealth in the financial