| trading penny stocks, most less experienced | | | | back. Then perhaps another opportunity comes to |
| investors buy and sell all at once. If they've got | | | | light, or maybe your kid needs braces so you use the |
| $1,500 to invest, they put the full $1,500 all into a | | | | money for the orthodontist. The downside to Scaling |
| single investment, and usually all at once in a single | | | | In is that your broker commissions will be higher, but |
| trade. This isn't a wise trading strategy, and anyone | | | | that’s not really a big deal since most stock |
| who knows my story ( ) remembers I learned this | | | | brokers charge such low commissions. |
| lesson the hard way. | | | | When you're selling penny stocks, you may want to |
| When trading penny stocks, you should always Scale | | | | Scale Out. It's not usually a good idea to dump all |
| In, and when selling penny stocks, you should always | | | | your shares onto the market all at once, unless you |
| Scale Out. | | | | only have a very small position in the company. With |
| Let’s say you have $6,000 and want to | | | | thinly traded penny stocks, unloading even 25,000 |
| invest it into ABC Company. Instead of putting | | | | shares could push the stock price down while you |
| $6,000 into the company immediately, you only | | | | are selling. |
| invest $2,000 at first. | | | | A lot of people use the very common, and |
| If that penny stock starts going higher, the two | | | | somewhat effective strategy, of selling half of a |
| thousand dollars is in a profit position. If it starts going | | | | position if their investment doubles. This gives you |
| lower, at least you’ve saved the loss that | | | | back your original investment, and then the idea is to |
| the other $4,000 would have taken. At that point, if | | | | let the other half ride. I find it more effective to exit |
| you still believe in the investment, you could Average | | | | and enter positions in three, four, or even eight |
| Down by buying more shares with the $4,000 that is | | | | different trades, as long as you are doing it with |
| still on the sidelines. | | | | enough money each purchase to make it worthwhile. |
| This strategy has even been employed in turn of the | | | | I usually space these purchases out over months, |
| century military tactics. A good general always holds | | | | and sometimes years. |
| back some of his troops, and can then respond | | | | I bought Absolute Software at 80 cents. It scared |
| based on the results of the first attack. | | | | me by immediately going down to 40 cents, but |
| By Scaling In, you stay dynamic and keep your | | | | Leeds Analysis provided clarity on this stock's |
| options open. It also buys you time. Time to think | | | | direction, so I didn't worry. |
| about the decision you made, and maybe rethink | | | | Soon Absolute reversed, and within the next two |
| what you are doing with the rest of the money. It | | | | years approached $8.00 per share. I sold three |
| also allows you to watch as other events occur, | | | | different chunks around seven and eight dollars, over |
| while still having the option open to buy more shares. | | | | a couple of months. Rather than dumping all the |
| For example, you might Scale In with a buy in | | | | shares at once, I proceeded cautiously, and took my |
| February and come back with a secondary purchase | | | | profits a piece at a time. |
| in July, and a third in September. In between each of | | | | It’s also a good idea to Scale In or Scale Out |
| these purchases, you have time to assess the | | | | surrounding an event. For example, a company is |
| situation and see new events that occur with the | | | | going to release their financial results, and you expect |
| company, with the competitors, and with the overall | | | | the numbers to be strong. You might want to buy |
| market and industry. You will simply be more | | | | shares with part of your money before the release |
| informed. | | | | of the financials. Then you keep part on the sidelines, |
| It also keeps your money on the sidelines so that | | | | until you see the actual results. At that point you can |
| you're open to other ideas. For example, say you | | | | decide if you want to put the rest of the money in, |
| were going to put $6,000 in ABC company, but | | | | or perhaps now you've changed your mind. |
| instead you decided to scale in, and you held $4,000 | | | | |