An introduction and a little about me

Hey everyone, thanks for checking out this blog. I'm assuming readers are either stock market traders, or just casual financial enthusiasts  interested in the analysis and strategies of stock market speculation. In either case, you've come to the right place. I want this blog to not only be just me rambling on about the aspects of stock market strategy that I find interesting, but rather what THE READER finds interesting as well. By offering comments and suggestions, I can cater these discussions to topics that everyone can enjoy and benefit from. 


So a little about myself...

Me.

I'm Irfan. I'm a junior economics & financial mathematics double major at the University of Maryland. My goal in life is to become a successful hedge fund manager, and influence the world in a beneficial way.  Economics fascinates me in how it can use quantitative methods to analyze virtually any aspect of the world, from markets to human behavior to football to sex.  To me, being able to quantify and explain virtually any phenomena with numbers is so practical and effective.   I am an assistant football coach at a local high school, and utilized economic and mathematical reasoning quite frequently during the past season, using game theory and historical data to help the head coach optimize his playcalling.  With that being said, I really cannot blame anyone who at this point thinks I'm a total nerd. 


My interest in the stock market is actually relatively new.  I've always liked economics, but financial markets just seemed boring to me.  My dad would try to get me interested in the stock market, but I never gave it a chance. During the 2008-2009 financial meltdown, I would watch CNN in my dorm room and note the ever decreasing Dow Jones Industrials Average at the bottom of the screen, but never understood what it actually meant. However, about a year ago, my dad gave it one last shot, and asked me to research this investment strategy for his portfolio. I delved into some research halfheartedly, but after a few days, I was absolutely hooked.  For the past year I have read every book on investing I could get my hands on, watched CNBC and Bloomberg virtually every day, and have had a borderline obsession with understanding how the market operates and how to profit from it.  I began investing about $1000 of real money in July, and began applying the principles and strategies I had learned. After impressing my father enough, he recently gave me $20000 of his money to invest and trade, promising me half the profits.  Which brings me to this blog...


The purpose of this blog is to be able to share my ideas, thoughts, and opinions about stock market investment/trading/speculation strategies, and give readers a chance to follow my portfolio.  By publicizing every trade I make, along with the reasoning for doing so, I feel like I'll force myself to make well informed trades.  If I ever do make a dumb trade, I WILL talk about it on here, and I WILL expect each and every reader to ridicule me.  I'll post the value and holdings of my portfolio at the end of every blog post, as well as any trades I had made since the last post, and the reasoning behind each trade. However, this is not just some public trading diary I am keeping for my own benefit. Most of my posts will be about investment strategies, speculation ideas, the economy, hedge funds, etc. In addition, I'll be more than happy to talk about virtually anything readers want to discuss (assuming I get readers). I am NOT here to provide stock picks or otherwise promote/trash companies (unless readers voluntarily trust my own portfolio selections), nor will I dismiss a trading strategy as ineffective without giving good reasons for doing so. I personally blend bits and pieces of many strategies, and have an open mind for that reason.


I'll be discussing my personal trading philosophy and strategy in my next post, as well as my take on the many strategies that are out there. Until then, enjoy! 


Tuesday, February 8th, 2011
Daily Change: Up $130.46 (0.6%)
Friday's Change (Just to brag): Up $1,034.54 (5.2%)
Current Porfolio Value ($20000 on January 24th, 2011): $21720.73  (Up 8.6%)
February Performance: Up $2782.51 (yes, that does mean I made some miserable rookie mistakes in the last few days of January)
Market Outlook: Bullish but have been anticipating a correction since Friday, and today's penetration of the DJIA's upper channel line may be a sign that the market is overextended and that a correction is imminent.


Holdings:
APKT - 100 shares - $70.56/share
LULU - 100 shares - $78.39/share
GPOR - 200 shares - $24.53/share


Trades: Tuesday, February 8th, 2011
-Sold APKT (100 shares) - Took profits by reducing half of my position, mainly to reduce margin in anticipation of a market correction soon
-Sold ZAGG (500 shares) - Same reasons as APKT, except that I sold off my entire position. ZAGG, a long time holding of mine, is in an upward trending base but is far too volatile for me right now. I'm probably going to wait for a breakout before reentering, and allocate this cash elsewhere.


Trades: Monday, February 7th, 2011
-Sold RVBD (100 shares) - Took profits (probably too early) to reduce my use of margin, in anticipation of a market correction soon
-Sold LULU (100 shares) - Same reasons as RVBD, except only reduced half of my position