What I'm doing this December

Here is a cut and paste job I retrieved from The Virtual Stock Exchange.
Most of the sales were made because the issue was receding in price and
therefore no longer useful to me.
I should take a few minutes out to find out the names and the histories
of the companies. Honestly, the way they caught my notice was that they
were alerted to me via email by Investment House as a stock split. I then
investigated the issue and saw that it was moving upward (very important)
and bought it.
I sell the issue for one of two reasons:
1.) It's time to reap the profits. Then, I would make a partial sale of maybe
half of the holdings.
2.) The issue is no longer (or never was) profitable. Then I get rid of all
of it.
I do venture out to buy issues that aren't splitting or offering dividends, but
rarely, and when I do I am usually sorry. Last week for instance I got rid of
a gold fund (GLD) when it was bleeding money. Why don't I take my own advice and
stay away from "tips" and funds?
Have a happy holiday.

Order # Order Date Transaction Symbol Quantity Price Commission
508 12/10/2004 Buy SHFL 1000 41.11 29.95
509 12/13/2004 Sell FINL 2000 18.28 29.95
510 12/11/2004 Sell CAKE 5000 31.84 29.95
511 12/15/2004 Buy WWW 1000 31.89 29.95
512 12/15/2004 Buy LSTR 1000 72.51 29.95
513 12/16/2004 Sell LCAV 1000 22.35 29.95
514 12/16/2004 Buy FLIR 1000 59.40 29.95
515 12/16/2004 Buy MTH 100 108.86 29.95
517 12/16/2004 Buy JOYG 1000 41.36 29.95
518 12/16/2004 Sell CPO 1000 53.50 29.95
519 12/16/2004 Sell LSTR 1000 71.39 29.95
521 12/17/2004 Sell ADTN 1000 18.53 29.95
522 12/17/2004 Buy SYMC 6000 25.15 29.95
504 12/1/2004 Buy NCR 1000 59.80 29.95
505 12/1/2004 Buy O 1000 50.05 29.95
506 12/2/2004 Buy CPO 1000 55.36 29.95
507 2/5/2004 Sell FINL 10000 8.01 29.95

Oh, and by the way:
The foregoing is commentary for informational purposes only. All statements and expressions are the opinions of Frank Austad. This information is not meant to be a solicitation or recommendation to buy, sell, or hold securities. I am not licensed or registered in the securities industry.
And furthermore:
HYPOTHETICAL PERFORMANCE RESULTS HAVE MANY INHERENT LIMITATIONS,
SOME OF WHICH ARE DESCRIBED BELOW. NO REPRESENTATION IS BEING MADE
THAT ANY ACCOUNT WILL OR IS LIKELY TO ACHIEVE PROFITS OR LOSSES
SIMILAR TO THOSE SHOWN. IN FACT, THERE ARE FREQUENTLY SHARP
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN HYPOTHETICAL PERFORMANCE RESULTS AND ACTUAL
RESULTS SUBSEQUENTLY ACHIEVED BY ANY PARTICULAR TRADING PROGRAM.
ONE OF THE LIMITATIONS OF HYPOTHETICAL PERFORMANCE RESULTS IS THAT
THEY ARE GENERALLY PREPARED WITH THE BENEFIT OF HINDSIGHT. IN
ADDITION, HYPOTHETICAL TRADING DOES NOT INVOLVE FINANCIAL RISK AND
NO HYPOTHETICAL TRADING RECORD CAN COMPLETELY ACCOUNT FOR THE
IMPACT OF FINANCIAL RISK IN ACTUAL TRADING. FOR EXAMPLE,
THE ABILITY TO WITHSTAND LOSSES OR TO ADHERE TO A PARTICULAR
TRADING PROGRAM IN SPITE OF TRADING LOSSES ARE MATERIAL POINTS
WHICH CAN ALSO ADVERSELY AFFECT ACTUAL TRADING RESULTS. THERE ARE
NUMEROUS OTHER FACTORS RELATED TO THE MARKETS IN GENERAL OR TO THE
IMPLEMENTATION OF ANY SPECIFIC TRADING PROGRAM WHICH CANNOT BE
FULLY ACCOUNTED FOR IN THE PREPARATION OF HYPOTHETICAL PERFORMANCE
RESULTS AND ALL OF WHICH CAN ADVERSELY AFFECT ACTUAL TRADING
RESULTS.

SO THERE!

Portfolio Performance

What follows is a cut and paste from Virtual Stock Exchange

Performance 2-Week History for frankaustad in Individual

  Date     Long Value     Short Value     Cash     Total Equity     Return  
12/17/2004  $3,615,200.50   $0.00   $1,534,291.45   $5,149,491.95   414.95%  

12/16/2004  $3,490,875.00   $0.00   $1,666,553.34   $5,157,428.34   415.74%  

12/15/2004  $3,590,835.00   $0.00   $1,630,956.55   $5,221,791.55   422.18%  

12/14/2004  $3,452,362.50   $0.00   $1,735,237.85   $5,187,600.35   418.76%  

12/13/2004  $3,455,695.00   $0.00   $1,734,887.84   $5,190,582.84   419.06%  

12/10/2004  $3,626,532.50   $0.00   $1,538,997.77   $5,165,530.27   416.55%  

12/9/2004  $3,587,432.50   $0.00   $1,579,969.19   $5,167,401.69   416.74%  

12/8/2004  $3,483,660.00   $0.00   $1,561,046.18   $5,044,706.18   404.47%  

12/7/2004  $3,454,740.00   $0.00   $1,558,635.25   $5,013,375.25   401.34%  

12/6/2004  $3,512,280.00   $0.00   $1,558,464.57   $5,070,744.57   407.07%  

12/3/2004  $3,707,410.00   $0.00   $1,378,223.87   $5,085,633.87   408.56%  

12/2/2004  $3,712,960.00   $0.00   $1,378,072.95   $5,091,032.95   409.10%  

12/1/2004  $3,664,930.00   $0.00   $1,433,312.00   $5,098,242.00   409.82%  

11/30/2004  $3,761,710.00   $0.00   $1,202,094.90   $4,963,804.90   396.38%  

11/29/2004  $3,779,800.00   $0.00   $1,201,963.27   $4,981,763.27   398.18%  

11/26/2004  $4,046,900.00   $0.00   $944,971.40   $4,991,871.40   399.19%  

11/25/2004  $4,029,080.00   $0.00   $944,867.92   $4,973,947.92   397.39%  

11/24/2004  $4,029,080.00   $0.00   $944,764.46   $4,973,844.46   397.38%  

11/23/2004  $4,010,700.00   $0.00   $944,661.00   $4,955,361.00   395.54%  

11/22/2004  $3,960,120.00   $0.00   $944,557.56   $4,904,677.56   390.47%  

11/19/2004  $4,306,850.00   $0.00   $597,970.03   $4,904,820.03   390.48%  

11/18/2004  $4,811,180.00   $0.00   $200,134.40   $5,011,314.40   401.13%  

11/17/2004  $4,435,220.00   $0.00   $140,112.49   $4,575,332.49   357.53%  

11/16/2004  $4,420,315.00   $0.00   $172,747.09   $4,593,062.09   359.31%  

11/15/2004  $3,443,120.00   $0.00   $1,183,097.93   $4,626,217.93   362.62%  

11/12/2004  $3,480,928.00   $0.00   $1,145,800.27   $4,626,728.27   362.67%  

11/11/2004  $3,399,992.00   $0.00   $1,180,844.76   $4,580,836.76   358.08%  

11/10/2004  $3,364,441.00   $0.00   $1,180,715.45   $4,545,156.45   354.52%  

11/9/2004  $3,017,700.00   $0.00   $1,497,426.01   $4,515,126.01   351.51%  

11/8/2004  $3,136,101.00   $0.00   $1,367,515.94   $4,503,616.94   350.36%  

11/5/2004  $3,343,660.00   $0.00   $1,183,805.94   $4,527,465.94   352.75%  

11/4/2004  $3,360,412.00   $0.00   $1,183,676.32   $4,544,088.32   354.41%  

11/3/2004  $3,335,382.00   $0.00   $1,183,546.70   $4,518,928.70   351.89%  

11/2/2004  $3,290,950.00   $0.00   $1,183,417.10   $4,474,367.10   347.44%  

11/1/2004  $3,283,146.00   $0.00   $1,183,287.51   $4,466,433.51   346.64%  

10/29/2004  $3,264,718.00   $0.00   $850,387.89   $4,115,105.89   311.51%  

10/28/2004  $3,440,534.00   $0.00   $684,214.57   $4,124,748.57   312.47%  

10/27/2004  $3,463,058.00   $0.00   $683,131.45   $4,146,189.45   314.62%  

10/26/2004  $3,370,980.00   $0.00   $683,056.64   $4,054,036.64   305.40%  

10/25/2004  $3,329,648.00   $0.00   $682,981.85   $4,012,629.85   301.26%  

10/22/2004  $2,655,194.00   $0.00   $1,020,046.86   $3,675,240.86   267.52%  

10/21/2004  $2,726,073.00   $0.00   $1,019,935.16   $3,746,008.16   274.60%  

10/20/2004  $3,146,589.08   $0.00   $1,019,823.48   $4,166,412.56   316.64%  

10/19/2004  $3,599,851.34   $35,830.00   $1,019,711.81   $4,655,393.15   365.54%  

10/18/2004  $4,467,238.28   $0.00   $1,019,600.15   $5,486,838.43   448.68%  

10/15/2004  $3,627,408.16   $0.00   $1,859,688.35   $5,487,096.51   448.71%  

10/14/2004  $3,635,430.02   $0.00   $1,859,484.71   $5,494,914.73   449.49%  

10/13/2004  $2,835,910.54   $35,690.00   $1,859,281.09   $4,730,881.63   373.09%  

10/12/2004  $3,618,107.30   $0.00   $1,859,077.49   $5,477,184.79   447.72%  

10/11/2004  $2,502,904.62   $0.00   $2,960,463.57   $5,463,368.19   446.34%  

10/8/2004  $3,290,049.56   $0.00   $2,154,619.10   $5,444,668.66   444.47%  

10/7/2004  $4,191,160.64   $0.00   $1,519,152.96   $5,710,313.60   471.03%  

10/6/2004  $4,094,867.28   $0.00   $1,518,986.61   $5,613,853.89   461.39%  

10/5/2004  $4,457,024.30   $0.00   $1,563,390.08   $6,020,414.38   502.04%  

10/4/2004  $7,150,463.28   $0.00   $1,470,248.83   $8,620,712.11   762.07%  

10/1/2004  $3,457,368.00   $0.00   $5,160,839.25   $8,618,207.25   761.82%  

9/27/2004  $3,816,271.00   $0.00   $4,687,190.65   $8,503,461.65   750.35%  

9/24/2004  $3,837,399.50   $0.00   $4,467,969.04   $8,305,368.54   730.54%  

9/23/2004  $3,824,463.94   $0.00   $4,467,479.78   $8,291,943.72   729.19%  

9/22/2004  $3,820,600.14   $0.00   $4,466,990.59   $8,287,590.73   728.76%  

9/21/2004  $4,255,138.00   $0.00   $4,466,501.44   $8,721,639.44   772.16%  

9/20/2004  $4,255,138.00   $0.00   $4,466,012.35   $8,721,150.35   772.12%  

9/17/2004  $3,703,389.00   $0.00   $4,980,313.16   $8,683,702.16   768.37%  

9/16/2004  $3,696,275.00   $0.00   $4,979,767.81   $8,676,042.81   767.60%  

9/15/2004  $3,381,363.00   $0.00   $4,979,222.51   $8,360,585.51   736.06%  

9/14/2004  $3,430,375.00   $0.00   $4,978,677.28   $8,409,052.28   740.91%  

9/13/2004  $3,934,200.00   $0.00   $4,978,132.10   $8,912,332.10   791.23%  

9/10/2004  $3,845,114.00   $0.00   $5,458,856.79   $9,303,970.79   830.40%  

9/9/2004  $3,832,834.00   $0.00   $5,458,259.03   $9,291,093.03   829.11%  

9/8/2004  $3,177,417.00   $0.00   $5,457,661.34   $8,635,078.34   763.51%  

9/7/2004  $3,338,695.72   $0.00   $5,311,093.67   $8,649,789.39   764.98%  

9/6/2004  $3,398,334.00   $0.00   $5,310,512.09   $8,708,846.09   770.88%  

9/3/2004  $5,724,668.40   $0.00   $2,975,936.38   $8,700,604.78   770.06%  

9/2/2004  $5,778,814.40   $0.00   $2,975,610.51   $8,754,424.91   775.44%  

9/1/2004  $5,941,033.60   $0.00   $2,777,894.52   $8,718,928.12   771.89%  

8/31/2004  $5,876,499.20   $0.00   $2,777,590.34   $8,654,089.54   765.41%  

8/30/2004  $4,503,050.70   $0.00   $2,777,286.19   $7,280,336.89   628.03%  

8/27/2004  $3,314,930.40   $0.00   $4,017,383.77   $7,332,314.17   633.23%  

8/26/2004  $3,314,930.40   $0.00   $4,016,943.86   $7,331,874.26   633.19%  

8/25/2004  $2,621,582.30   $0.00   $4,016,503.99   $6,638,086.29   563.81%  

8/24/2004  $2,625,131.10   $0.00   $4,016,064.18   $6,641,195.28   564.12%  

8/23/2004  $4,175,131.10   $0.00   $2,500,654.36   $6,675,785.46   567.58%  

8/20/2004  $4,931,050.70   $0.00   $2,500,380.53   $7,431,431.23   643.14%  

8/19/2004  $4,850,289.25   $0.00   $2,500,106.74   $7,350,395.99   635.04%  

8/18/2004  $4,181,770.90   $0.00   $2,499,832.97   $6,681,603.87   568.16%  

8/17/2004  $4,128,700.65   $0.00   $2,499,559.23   $6,628,259.88   562.83%  

8/16/2004  $3,752,893.55   $0.00   $4,000,315.48   $7,753,209.03   675.32%  

8/13/2004  $3,704,609.26   $0.00   $3,400,716.98   $7,105,326.24   610.53%  

8/12/2004  $3,704,609.26   $0.00   $3,400,344.60   $7,104,953.86   610.50%  

8/11/2004  $3,758,735.78   $0.00   $3,399,972.25   $7,158,708.03   615.87%  

8/10/2004  $2,905,720.00   $0.00   $3,399,599.95   $6,305,319.95   530.53%  

8/9/2004  $1,396,990.00   $0.00   $3,399,227.69   $4,796,217.69   379.62%  

8/6/2004  $2,590,080.00   $0.00   $2,199,054.96   $4,789,134.96   378.91%  

8/5/2004  $2,656,360.00   $0.00   $2,198,814.16   $4,855,174.16   385.52%  

8/4/2004  $2,707,840.00   $0.00   $2,198,573.39   $4,906,413.39   390.64%  

8/3/2004  $2,983,810.00   $0.00   $2,198,332.64   $5,182,142.64   418.21%  

8/2/2004  $2,092,540.00   $0.00   $2,198,091.92   $4,290,631.92   329.06%  

7/30/2004  $2,250,920.00   $0.00   $2,197,851.22   $4,448,771.22   344.88%  

7/29/2004  $2,250,920.00   $0.00   $2,197,610.55   $4,448,530.55   344.85%  

7/28/2004  $2,326,330.00   $0.00   $2,197,369.91   $4,523,699.91   352.37%  

7/27/2004  $1,393,890.00   $0.00   $2,197,129.29   $3,591,019.29   259.10%  

7/26/2004  $1,380,835.00   $0.00   $2,196,888.70   $3,577,723.70   257.77%  

7/23/2004  $1,532,634.00   $0.00   $2,052,458.04   $3,585,092.04   258.51%  

7/22/2004  $1,555,277.00   $0.00   $2,052,233.29   $3,607,510.29   260.75%  

7/21/2004  $1,547,016.00   $0.00   $2,052,008.57   $3,599,024.57   259.90%  

7/20/2004  $1,542,580.00   $0.00   $2,051,783.87   $3,594,363.87   259.44%  

7/19/2004  $1,582,640.00   $0.00   $2,051,559.19   $3,634,199.19   263.42%  

7/16/2004  $1,546,520.00   $0.00   $2,087,204.44   $3,633,724.44   263.37%  

7/15/2004  $1,565,599.70   $0.00   $2,086,975.89   $3,652,575.59   265.26%  

7/14/2004  $1,551,684.00   $0.00   $2,086,747.36   $3,638,431.36   263.84%  

7/12/2004  $1,660,559.00   $0.00   $2,086,518.86   $3,747,077.86   274.71%  

7/9/2004  $1,694,140.70   $0.00   $2,086,290.38   $3,780,431.08   278.04%  

7/8/2004  $1,696,287.70   $0.00   $2,086,061.93   $3,782,349.63   278.23%  

7/7/2004  $1,696,287.70   $0.00   $2,085,833.50   $3,782,121.20   278.21%  

7/6/2004  $1,693,565.70   $0.00   $2,085,605.10   $3,779,170.80   277.92%  

7/5/2004  $1,960,477.70   $0.00   $2,085,376.72   $4,045,854.42   304.59%  

7/2/2004  $2,242,537.70   $0.00   $1,879,798.17   $4,122,335.87   312.23%  

7/1/2004  $2,254,909.30   $0.00   $1,879,592.32   $4,134,501.62   313.45%  

6/30/2004  $1,733,086.00   $0.00   $1,879,386.51   $3,612,472.51   261.25%  

6/29/2004  $1,768,110.00   $0.00   $1,879,180.71   $3,647,290.71   264.73%  

6/28/2004  $1,541,710.00   $0.00   $1,878,974.93   $3,420,684.93   242.07%  

6/25/2004  $1,822,867.00   $0.00   $1,879,501.68   $3,702,368.68   270.24%  

6/24/2004  $1,832,428.00   $0.00   $1,879,295.87   $3,711,723.87   271.17%  

6/23/2004  $1,829,000.00   $0.00   $1,879,090.09   $3,708,090.09   270.81%  

6/22/2004  $1,807,940.00   $0.00   $1,878,884.32   $3,686,824.32   268.68%  

6/21/2004  $1,804,080.00   $0.00   $1,878,678.58   $3,682,758.58   268.28%  

6/18/2004  $1,853,240.00   $0.00   $1,834,382.76   $3,687,622.76   268.76%  

6/17/2004  $1,841,300.00   $0.00   $1,834,181.89   $3,675,481.89   267.55%  

6/16/2004  $1,776,370.00   $0.00   $1,833,981.05   $3,610,351.05   261.04%  

6/15/2004  $1,765,956.00   $0.00   $1,833,780.22   $3,599,736.22   259.97%  

6/11/2004  $2,564,674.00   $0.00   $1,039,965.17   $3,604,639.17   260.46%  

6/10/2004  $2,560,024.00   $0.00   $1,039,851.29   $3,599,875.29   259.99%  

6/9/2004  $1,080,709.00   $0.00   $1,039,737.42   $2,120,446.42   112.04%  

6/8/2004  $579,788.00   $0.00   $1,039,623.57   $1,619,411.57   61.94%  

6/7/2004  $1,331,140.00   $0.00   $1,039,509.73   $2,370,649.73   137.06%  

6/4/2004  $936,189.00   $0.00   $739,705.60   $1,675,894.60   67.59%  

6/3/2004  $932,712.00   $0.00   $739,624.60   $1,672,336.60   67.23%  

6/2/2004  $1,445,488.00   $0.00   $739,543.61   $2,185,031.61   118.50%  

6/1/2004  $1,809,870.00   $0.00   $739,462.63   $2,549,332.63   154.93%  

5/31/2004  $1,818,647.00   $0.00   $739,381.66   $2,558,028.66   155.80%  

5/28/2004  $1,328,542.86   $0.00   $1,225,086.94   $2,553,629.80   155.36%  

5/27/2004  $1,322,069.47   $0.00   $1,224,952.80   $2,547,022.27   154.70%  

5/26/2004  $1,901,833.74   $0.00   $1,224,818.66   $3,126,652.40   212.67%  

5/25/2004  $1,758,353.17   $0.00   $1,224,684.54   $2,983,037.71   198.30%  

5/24/2004  $1,717,169.64   $0.00   $1,224,550.43   $2,941,720.07   194.17%  

5/21/2004  $1,919,471.25   $0.00   $721,515.84   $2,640,987.09   164.10%  

5/20/2004  $1,916,766.17   $0.00   $721,436.84   $2,638,203.01   163.82%  

5/19/2004  $1,928,784.75   $0.00   $721,357.84   $2,650,142.59   165.01%  

5/18/2004  $1,064,786.00   $0.00   $721,278.85   $1,786,064.85   78.61%  

5/17/2004  $1,364,608.00   $0.00   $721,199.87   $2,085,807.87   108.58%  

5/14/2004  $988,016.00   $0.00   $1,127,850.44   $2,115,866.44   111.59%  

5/13/2004  $1,009,395.00   $0.00   $1,127,726.94   $2,137,121.94   113.71%  

5/12/2004  $1,430,226.20   $0.00   $1,127,603.45   $2,557,829.65   155.78%  

5/11/2004  $1,789,415.60   $0.00   $1,127,479.98   $2,916,895.58   191.69%  

5/10/2004  $1,294,457.25   $0.00   $1,127,356.52   $2,421,813.77   142.18%  

5/7/2004  $2,646,745.45   $0.00   $1,002,082.82   $3,648,828.27   264.88%  

5/6/2004  $2,680,018.14   $0.00   $1,001,973.09   $3,681,991.23   268.20%  

5/5/2004  $2,720,401.04   $0.00   $1,001,863.37   $3,722,264.41   272.23%  

5/4/2004  $2,508,519.00   $0.00   $1,001,753.66   $3,510,272.66   251.03%  

5/3/2004  $2,489,940.18   $0.00   $1,001,643.97   $3,491,584.15   249.16%  

4/29/2004  $1,820,538.24   $0.00   $1,001,534.29   $2,822,072.53   182.21%  

4/28/2004  $1,834,467.05   $0.00   $1,001,424.62   $2,835,891.67   183.59%  

4/27/2004  $1,849,777.95   $0.00   $1,001,314.96   $2,851,092.91   185.11%  

4/26/2004  $1,848,552.69   $0.00   $1,001,205.31   $2,849,758.00   184.98%  

4/23/2004  $1,857,275.33   $0.00   $1,001,095.68   $2,858,371.01   185.84%  

4/22/2004  $1,820,931.61   $0.00   $1,000,986.06   $2,821,917.67   182.19%  

4/21/2004  $1,784,765.43   $0.00   $1,000,876.45   $2,785,641.88   178.56%  

4/20/2004  $1,763,700.26   $0.00   $1,000,766.85   $2,764,467.11   176.45%  

4/19/2004  $1,797,883.26   $0.00   $1,000,657.26   $2,798,540.52   179.85%  

4/16/2004  $1,775,173.63   $0.00   $1,000,547.69   $2,775,721.32   177.57%  

4/15/2004  $1,795,315.50   $0.00   $1,000,438.13   $2,795,753.63   179.58%  

4/14/2004  $1,830,267.83   $0.00   $1,000,328.58   $2,830,596.41   183.06%  

4/13/2004  $1,830,736.49   $0.00   $1,000,219.04   $2,830,955.53   183.10%  

4/12/2004  $1,875,018.79   $0.00   $1,000,109.51   $2,875,128.30   187.51%  

I am a Virtual Millionaire

Frank Austad, Virtual Millionaire

I am a virtual millionaire!
And you can be one, too. It is really easy. Let me explain:
By “virtual millionaire”, I mean a person who picked up a portfolio worth over a million imaginary dollars by registering a membership on http://www.virtualstockexchange.com/.
Then with that virtual million you can buy and sell stocks, bonds mutual funds or simply let it sit and earn virtual interest in a virtual money market account. It won't do a thing for your bills, but I have found it to be a great learning tool that was a kick in the butt to play with. In time I found out how to make some serious virtual money using a few tools I had picked up over time.
One of the easiest and cheapest to use was the stock split newsletter that Investment House (http://www.investmenthouse.com/) sends me on a regular basis. I have been using them almost exclusively since I lost my job and could no longer afford the subscription to Channeling Stocks.com ( http://www.channelingstocks.com/ ). Which is too bad, because I found that to be an incredibly valuable resource.
If this blog turns into a full time business like I hope it will be then I will probably re-subscribe and start sending you my thoughts on that.
One of the reasons why you probably surfed over here, is because of my claim that you could make FIVE TIMES your initial investment outlay in just a few months time if you followed the example of this exercise. That’s probably over blown as we are only talking about hypothetical performance of a virtual portfolio of one million imaginary dollars.
I’ll tell you just about what I have been doing to get my imaginary portfolio to the top of the heap (if you call about $5.9 million “top of the heap”). I try to get issues that are on their way up due to some factor – usually a stock split. I buy these gems in blocks of a thousand or more while their charts and share prices are trending upward. I sell half off when I see a great deal of success. I will also sell all shares when the poor things turn out to be lumps of coal in Santa’s toy bag.
One of the most important things I wish to warn you against is not to make the mistake of simply taking my advice straight to market. I appreciate your trust in me, but both of us being mortally fallible could cause some difficulty I don’t care how much money you think you have. I strongly recommend following my example and making your first portfolio a virtual one. It’s a lot easier to tell your spouse, partner or drinking buddies how much imaginary money you lost. What really sucks is telling your loved ones how much money they would still have if they would not have trusted you in jumping into that Enron company.
Here’s another thing: I very rarely buy mutual funds either virtually or with real money. I don’t think there are any mutual funds that do any better than the S&P, NASDAQ or DIJA. You could accuse me of plagiarizing the Motley Fool (http://www.fool.com/), but pick up a newspaper sometime. Mutual Funds are out. Another thing; most of my recommendations become obsolete pretty quickly too.
I usually sell issues within a couple of days after I first pick them up. I rarely hold onto anything for longer than a month or two. It’s one of the reasons why I have to keep up a daily blog to keep you informed as to where I am putting my play money.
Keep up with this site and see where my money goes!
There is more coming! Next: Proof of my accomplishment.

Want to try your hand at investing? Great! Just remember this:


(Legal ALL CAPS CYA section) HYPOTHETICAL PERFORMANCE RESULTS HAVE MANY INHERENT LIMITATIONS,SOME OF WHICH ARE DESCRIBED BELOW. NO REPRESENTATION IS BEING MADETHAT ANY ACCOUNT WILL OR IS LIKELY TO ACHIEVE PROFITS OR LOSSESSIMILAR TO THOSE SHOWN. IN FACT, THERE ARE FREQUENTLY SHARPDIFFERENCES BETWEEN HYPOTHETICAL PERFORMANCE RESULTS AND ACTUALRESULTS SUBSEQUENTLY ACHIEVED BY ANY PARTICULAR TRADING PROGRAM.ONE OF THE LIMITATIONS OF HYPOTHETICAL PERFORMANCE RESULTS IS THATTHEY ARE GENERALLY PREPARED WITH THE BENEFIT OF HINDSIGHT. INADDITION, HYPOTHETICAL TRADING DOES NOT INVOLVE FINANCIAL RISK ANDNO HYPOTHETICAL TRADING RECORD CAN COMPLETELY ACCOUNT FOR THEIMPACT OF FINANCIAL RISK IN ACTUAL TRADING. FOR EXAMPLE,THE ABILITY TO WITHSTAND LOSSES OR TO ADHERE TO A PARTICULARTRADING PROGRAM IN SPITE OF TRADING LOSSES ARE MATERIAL POINTSWHICH CAN ALSO ADVERSELY AFFECT ACTUAL TRADING RESULTS. THERE ARENUMEROUS OTHER FACTORS RELATED TO THE MARKETS IN GENERAL OR TO THEIMPLEMENTATION OF ANY SPECIFIC TRADING PROGRAM WHICH CANNOT BEFULLY ACCOUNTED FOR IN THE PREPARATION OF HYPOTHETICAL PERFORMANCERESULTS AND ALL OF WHICH CAN ADVERSELY AFFECT ACTUAL TRADINGRESULTS.Any links provided to other server sites are offered as a matter of convenience and in no way are meant to imply that Frank Austad endorses, sponsors, promotes or is affiliated with the owners of or participants in those sites, or endorses any information contained on those sites, unless expressly stated. However, Frank Austad may receive compensation from the server sites which are provided through links.

My apologies and credit goes to the great writers of Acommodity Free Trader (www.acommodity.com), whom I stole the preceding from. The wording was generic enough that I could cut, paste and edit without a great amount of legal liability.
Or not.
Write me if you find anybody that could use a helping hand with his or her computer or electronic project.
Until this blog hobby of mine becomes full time I am still looking for work.
Write me if you have an opinion toward the content of this site. Any comment, good or bad would be appreciated.