Staying up-to-date with all your stocks plus the ones on your watch list PLUS a daily review of the headlines in search of the next big thing… We just don’t have the time to do this… every day. Every event. Every tweet. No way.
So how to cope with this shortcoming?
Leverage
Leverage the time and skill set of your fellow investors, thy peers & the experts. One caveat, you need to know and trust him/her to a certain degree. Especially the self-proclaimed experts. Especially those…
The standard solution
Find yourself a Newsletter writer or full-service broker that does the shifting for you and fits your style the best. You can blame your losses on him/her and boast about your winners, win-win all around (the NLW collects his monthly fee to make up for the harassment of malcontent and/or angry impatient subscribers). Make sure they fully understand your (risk) profile. Learn about their incentives & specific timings for any trade/call.
The alternative/complementary solution
Build your own network. Find yourself trustworthy peers that are willing to share their opinions. Find the experts publicly commenting on the sector/stocks (Conference interviews, podcasts, articles, interviews, etc.).
Your relationships are instrumental in helping you succeed. People respond well to those they know and those who treat them right.
Know they peers – Networking
The word is out, networking… There are hundreds if not thousands of people out there trying to get a grip on the market. For the junior mining sector, it’s a rather limited pool compared to the general stock market. And that is a good thing if you want to get to know the (main) players. A short rundown of things to do or pay attention to:
Introduce yourself to the CEO’s of your core holdings. Why you are invested/interested in the company and what your expectations are. Keep it condense and clean. This is mainly to get your foot in the door for when you have specific questions. And like in any business, many will reply first & in more detail to long term shareholders.
Find thy peers to start with. Focus on your core stocks and see who is discussing it (articles, chat boards, twitter, etc.). Connect informal.
Ask questions. Not the one you can find back on slide 7 of the latest presentation. Real questions.
Meet face to face. Not always easy but worth the effort. Go to the local conferences, meet local peers for a beer. It makes a difference.
Share where you can. Contribute if it’s value adding. Correct others if you are sure. Discuss if you are unsure. Unconsciously you are building your reputation. If people ask you not to share certain bits (if perceived sensitive information), listen. Don’t “kill the goose that lays the golden eggs” comes to mind.
Enjoy & be grateful at all times. Joking is allowed. GIF play is a must on Twitter. A congrats mail to the company after a good NR is a class act. Buying them a beer is better.
Private conversations are part of every healthy relationship. John’s kid plays in the local league, big game on Sunday: Added investment value = zero. Importance = immense.
Take responsibility. As always, it’s your money and your decision. Own up to your mistakes or you will never learn from them.
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