JTH's Account Talk

Sometimes those busted IFT deadlines work to our advantage, perhaps this will be one of them. The good news is I almost never enter at the bottom or leave at the top. :)

Well here is to hoping for a good day tomorrow as well. I just submitted my IFT on tsp.gov and the autotracker to move me into 100% G COB tomorrow. I will be at someones going away so I won't be able to access the internet to do it.

* fingers crossed *
 
Bonds took a big hit today across the various bond charts I monitor, with a definitive break and close below the dominant rising trendline. It would appear stocks are confirming the exit on bonds. I'm not so sure what's going to happen, I've got bullish looking potential on some of my stock charts, perhaps a little too bullish. In a market 2+2 does not =4 and if it does, often times it means you play the other side. It's just a personal observation, nothing I can prove statistically. However, my systems have been correct this year and I would need substantive proof to go against them. As of current, I've exceeded my expectations this month and would be wise to make an exit. Problem is I'd love to start the next month already invested, so I'm on the fence for now. If I believe I can escape with a gain or flat, then I'm likely to make an exit tomorrow and let everyone else chase the rest of this rally. I'd love to hear your thoughts on my predicament.
I think it would be a big mistake to get out tomorrow. I got out last week because I was going camping and knew I would not have cell coverage at the campsite, but I made a big mistake. July will be a positive month for the S-Fund and in a positive month, it's best to stay in most of the month and then get out for a few days to avoid a dip, then get back in. The only way you can do that is if you start the month in the S-Fund because of the two IFT limit.
 
I just noticed that I quoted a post from yesterday that I thought was posted today and you (JTH) already moved to the G. I wish you the best and congrats on second place on the AT.
 
I just noticed that I quoted a post from yesterday that I thought was posted today and you (JTH) already moved to the G. I wish you the best and congrats on second place on the AT.

Ha Mark you were too late to convince me not to exit, most times I do agree it's better to start off the month already invested however,,, in this case I will wait out the holiday weekend and get to see what's around the corner from the the sidelines. :) Hey wait a minute aren't you in the F-Fund?
 
IFT 100% G-Fund EOB today.

Hmm...I'll be along right behind you - talking about gun-shy, at least this first of the month thing hasnt worked out to well this quarter.
So I think I will pass in July.
 
I think it would be a big mistake to get out tomorrow. I got out last week because I was going camping and knew I would not have cell coverage at the campsite, but I made a big mistake. July will be a positive month for the S-Fund and in a positive month, it's best to stay in most of the month and then get out for a few days to avoid a dip, then get back in. The only way you can do that is if you start the month in the S-Fund because of the two IFT limit.

And if July the First is a carbon copy of May and June - I'd rather try and catch the mid-month rally and then relax in my pool.
I dont need the extra stress.
 
2011 Personal Performance Report

YTD Stats: Updated 29 Jun, 44% of days in stocks, 56% days in G-Fund. Of days invested 67% positive, 33% negative. Average daily gain .13%

MTD Stats: Jan .15% -- Feb 4.71% -- Mar 3.49% -- Apr 3.40% -- May .65% -- Jun MTD 2.77%

29 Jun: IFT 100% G-Fund. Shortly after the entry I was down -1.95% by day 2. From there we sea-sawed back and forth a bit. By Day 14 the exit was made ending the position up 2.6% The entry was based on my systems, the exit was based on my judgement. This was a much longer trade than my preference, but work, patience and conviction payed off. I have no regrets about this entry or exit, I did exactly what I should have done for the situation I was presented with. I want to say I am humbled by the many thanks I have received, and grateful I don't offer a premium service because the strain of such an awesome responsibility would eventually lead to the detriment of my health.

9 Jun: IFT 100% S-Fund. I feel this is the most important entry of the year, if it goes sour a whole lotta folks are going to incur some damage. If it goes North and I escape with a gain, then I'll look like a hero (or at least I'll feel like one.) From a technical perspective I feel this is one the soundest decision I've made this year in regardless to the attempt to pick the bottom. My systems are in alignment with each other, they all agree this is where the entry should be. When I got home, my confidence was somewhat shaken as the youtubers seemed deceivingly bearish, more so than I thought they should be. I have to remember, we don't trade in the same timeframe nor with the same rules. I've entered the S-Fund with a 9.57% edge, the largest edge entering stocks this year. It will be interesting to see how this plays out. I have a high probability of making an exit in the next 3-7 days, possibly using my last IFT to enter the F-Fund.

31 May EOM: Finished out the month with .65% not bad for a 1-day play within what turned out to be a terrible month, although you wouldn't think it was due to the strong finish. Looking back I'd rather had made a final exit to the F-Fund instead of the G-Fund. As of 3 Jun price is escalating to the downside, making an entry a bit too risky, but perhaps we'll find a good entry before the month is over.

6 May: I don't mind being a scalper...My first double-tap back to back IFT since the old days of unlimited moves. Something I want folks to understand is when my YTD gains are at these levels, I see no reason to take additional risk (exposure) in the markets. I was not fully committed to making an exit, but when I saw how weak the good news pop was, I wasn't impressed. I was looking for a 2% intraday peak, when we didn't get it, I felt I should attempt to exit with a 1% gain. The plan in my head was executed exactly as I saw it should go, but I will admit that a .42% gain did not meet my expectations.

5 May: Currently #8 on the tracker with 12.27% YTD. The last time I was number 8 on the tracker was 28 March at 8.51%. Today's market action looked favorable going into the 12pm IFT deadline. The latter half of the day put us back in the red, but the good news is the transports managed to hold onto most of it's gains. For most of the indexes this has been a 4 day decline off a 52 week high. Thus far the pullback has been measured, but gaining momentum, either ways we'll have to see how this plays out. For myself, I have high potential of making a hasty exit if I believe I can lock in gains of over 1%

28 Apr EOM: Entered G-Fund, with a 100% allocation. 12 days in the market, with 9 in the green. I'd call 75% up days a great bull trend to ride. My entry was timed 1 day too early, the very next day after my IFT I lost -1.48% it was a tough pill to swallow, but I stuck it out and it turned out for the better, ending the month over 3%. Oh by the way, that partial 25% S-Fund allocation taken on the prior IFT was a complete and utter waste of time.

15 Apr: Entered S-Fund, this time with a 100% allocation. My previous 25% IFT 4-day entry netted me a whopping .07% so I basically took the same entry level with a higher allocation. I did not get the sub 686 target I wanted (key word wanted.) I was not completely happy with this setup, but sometimes happiness and timing don't go hand in hand together. I took on some additional risk on this last trade, we'll see how it plays out.

11 Apr: Entered S-Fund, this time with a 25% allocation. I've spent some time thinking about how I wanted to play this month out. I'd like to finish the month fully invested, but don't want to be fully invested for the remainder of this month just yet. This was the best compromise given the circumstances I have to work with. There are 3 things, of which any 1 of those can get me fully invested. With 25% in, I can afford to absorb some pain, or partially enjoy a bounce. From there, a good entry with the remaining 75% can play well, if well played.

31 Mar EOM: Ending the month with a 3.49% gain ending the month in the G-Fund. We have a double-top breakout on the leaders, the Transports & the W4500. My entry into stocks was 2 days too early, my exit was (and still is) too early. All in all it was still a very good month and all my goals were met, patience was well rewarded. My expectations for next month are uncertain.

25 Mar: Entered G-Fund. Ended up staying in S-Fund position a bit too long, but adding a little patience worked out. 2.82% over 9 trading days. Needed a mental break, watching the markets as intensely as I do, takes it's toll.

15 Mar: Entered S-Fund. Earth Quake devastates Japan, but watching the news over the weekend I'm optimistic the people of Japan (more so than other peoples) can overcome these tragedies. The ability of the markets to hold ground under these strained Middle Eastern & Japan conditions is nothing short of amazing. As I write this, Futures are down hard, so be it, I can't be right on everything all the time, but I can avoid being wrong for too long. Off the last major wave shown in the chart, if we retrace more than 50% (1258.85) for more than 3 days, I will be forced to consider an exit.

3 March: Entered G-Fund. The night before I had decided to make an exit, only if I thought I could escape with more than 1.37% This would (at a minimum) afford me the opportunity to outperform the G-Fund for the month should I decide to stay out of stocks for the remainder of March. It was a calculated risk that paid off and I'm happy with the outcome, having made .67% more than my lowest expectation. A 5 day investment in the S-Fund yielded a 3.04% gain.

28 Feb EOM: Ended the month with a 4.71% gain, remaining 100% S-Fund. Bonds are tracking with stocks (who will blink first), I'll be looking to make a minimum level before making an exit. My personal belief is the downtrend has already began, only a double-top breakout will change my mind.

24 Feb: Entered S-Fund. I had sat on the sidelines for 13 days, prices pulled back over 3% so I felt like I was jumping in at a slightly discounted price. Just managed to get in a lower price than my last exit.

4 Feb: Entered G-Fund. Started the month out invested 100% S-Fund. After making a 4-day 2.13% gain I headed to the sidelines to rest out the oil-based news and wait for another buying opportunity.

31 Jan EOM: I managed to end the month with a slight profit at .15% not even enough to outpace the G-Fund or inflation :rolleyes: Today's bounce gives me concerns going into February, the bounce was very weak on the transports and weak across the S&P 500 & Wilshire 4500. The good news (if you can call it that) is I managed to meet my goal of starting the month invested...

26 Jan: Entered S-Fund. I didn't really want to enter the markets at this level, but I felt the pullback had already occurred and since the trend is up I felt perhaps we were ready for another breakout. This time I was 2 days early, as the Egypt crisis began to emerge. My first day in the S-fund I gained .41% and on the second day I lost -2.15% :cool:

11 Jan: Entered G with 1.01% At the time I made this decision both C & S had been down 4 of 5 days, and the dollar have been down 5 of 6. I felt the I fund had taken a downturn and I didn't want to get dragged down into the red. Turns out my decision was 1 day too early, although I escaped with a .43% gain that day, I missed out on a 1.15% gain the next day. I ended up sitting in the G-Fund for the next 10 trading days.

1 Jan:
Started out from 2010 with a 1G, 26C, 52S, 21I allocation. I had reservations about this allocation because I felt it was a mistake to split my resources across multiple funds. The reason behind my thinking? How certain can you be about a position if you're so inclined to spread your risk? If you take a position you should have proof this is the best position you can take, and by spreading your risk you're showing you have doubt about the position you're taking.
 
Ha Mark you were too late to convince me not to exit, most times I do agree it's better to start off the month already invested however,,, in this case I will wait out the holiday weekend and get to see what's around the corner from the the sidelines. :) Hey wait a minute aren't you in the F-Fund?
I normally move between the F and S funds because the F often goes in the opposite direction of the S. I wish I had stayed in the S because I expect a positive July from the S. In months that I expect to be negetive I start out in the F and try to play the rebound (1st IFT to the S and second to the F). In months I expect to be positive (July) I would like to start out in the S and move to the F when I feel a dip is comming, then back to the S for the the finish of the month, while still having the G as a 3rd IFT if needed. I screwed myself and forgot my own rule because I had been on vacation and not following the market with the same focus. I have been kicking myself all week because I know better than to turn my back on a system that has been working so well for me.
 
I ended up canceling my IFT last night and figured I will stay in through the beginning of July and see what happens. Maybe I'll get lucky.
 
JTH thanks for all the info. I am on track with my 2% a month goal due in no small part to the info you freely share. just wanted to know your apprieciated. guppie
 
Great Play JT.

Many would be tempted to extend an extra move into the next month.

Thx FWM, it is easy to get competitive & greedy, we still have half a year yet to go, this is a long race. :)

I ended up canceling my IFT last night and figured I will stay in through the beginning of July and see what happens. Maybe I'll get lucky.

We never know what happens, it could end up being your best trade of the year!

I have been kicking myself all week because I know better than to turn my back on a system that has been working so well for me.

I have it on good authority that when I'm TDY or deployed, or on vacation the market drops like a rock :D

JTH thanks for all the info. I am on track with my 2% a month goal due in no small part to the info you freely share. just wanted to know your apprieciated. guppie

Thx Guppie, I see you're doing exceptionally well on the Auto Tracker, anything in particular working for you this year?
 
Thanks for the charts. I think I am starting to understand them a little bit more. Especially when people like you break them down for me.
 
Open the Pod Bay Door, HAL. :nuts: Love the avitar ! I'm sorry Squalebear, I can't do that ! :laugh:
 
Thx Guppie, I see you're doing exceptionally well on the Auto Tracker, anything in particular working for you this year?



I primarily use cnbc as a counter indcator when they doom and gloom I try to buy and vice versa:toung:
 
Open the Pod Bay Door, HAL. :nuts: Love the avitar ! I'm sorry Squalebear, I can't do that ! :laugh:

Ah friend, you've come out of hibernation to pay a visit, I am glad to see you poking around looking for that comb of honey...
 
For the Complex H&S I posted in my blog , the overall right shoulder price objective has been met. Current expectations show we could hit some resistance from the upper neckline from the smaller H&S located within the yellow circle. If we break through that, then I may change my expectations quickly, looking for a double top to double top breakout.

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Looks like today may be another decent day...as of right now. I'm trying to think of whether I should use an IFT to move to the G fund COB today or see what next week holds. Hmm...burning an IFT this early into the month doesn't sound like a good option, but I am glad I held out for the last few days gains. I finally dug myself out of negative territory, but my luck I'll go right back down next week. :(
 
If we blow through this last line of resistance for the S&P/Dow, what is the next resistance level? Or do we wait for a new high?
 
This surge looks fakey based on very little encouraging data while energy sector and metals are fizzling out with a rallying dollarI ain't buying.
 
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