Hi,

I'm not a licensed broker so I can't give you any advice. my ex was a stock broker turned into a bum whole another story... anyway, read as much as you can and play a game in your head of what if games and see how the market will react in your head. And invest/position yourself in a way so that if the market does act the way you think, you will make money. You have to make your money work for you. The same man stressed in "don't trade in small quantities". You have to invest real money to make money. And you will lose real money too. But the game is to make more in the long run.

If you are looking for a long term investment with reasonable return ( I compare it to the interest rates available from the bank) and if the divident paying out is more than 3% today, you are better off with the investment. However, if you think the value of the stock drops you will come up short in the long run.

As for riding it out, I haven't bought into that idea. Why not dump it and wait until it drops then buy it back? then again you have to decide if paying out for the capital gains tax is worth while or not. Generally, if the stock doesn't tank more than 30% its not worth dumping because of the capital gain. If dumping the stock then buying back atleast "30% cheaper of your capital gain" then you are better off riding it out. so lets say you bought the stock at $10.00 and went up to $20.00 then you thought the market is going to tank so you sell. Your capital gain is $10.00 so you have to pay $3.00 in tax. To come out even, the stock must lose $3.00 or go down to less than $17.00 to make it worthwhile to sell, If the stock stays above $17.00, then you are better off holding onto the stock.

Another important concept is don't try to sell at its peak!! I've been told that "pig out and you will get roasted."

just some thoughts.

Smilingcat