Friday, April 9, 2010

Do u have a "Swiss" Bank account?

One of my trader friends in Shimla has been silently multiplying his net worth through trading since a few years!

He is a thorough introvert.

I met him yesterday evening over a cup of coffee at Indian Coffee House on the Mall Road to specifically ask him a few questions.

I was sure to find something important to learn from him by asking him his trade secrets!

I was not disappointed.

"How do you manage to keep smiling even when the market falls like it did today?" I asked.

"See, Jigs, my philosophy is simple," he started.

"Markets have the natural tendency to go up. To go down and keep going down forever is not their natural behaviour. So, if and when they fall, small or big, I am 100% sure that the markets will come up. There is an unsaid guarantee of that here in India. I am not living in Combodia or Ethiopia or Haiti, you see!"

"Secondly, I enter the markets only and only when the market is severely beaten down. I use RSI
and MACD besides my eyes, head and blood pressure to judge whether I am near the intermediate
bottom. Similarly, I decide on the exit point."

"The probability of the market going further down from my entry level is extremely low."

"Thirdly, if at all the markets do something unnatural, something totally unexpected and
abnormal, by falling from my "home-work" levels, I don't mind"

"I always ensure that for every nifty futures lot I buy I keep Rs.40000/- spare as back-up fund
in my HDFC account. This 40000 buffer gives me a cushion of 800 nifty points! I can hold my
nifty position in case of a sudden catatrophe of upto 800 points. And that is hell of a cushion
below my 'home-work entry level'!!!"

"Frankly, Jigs, I don't expect that cushion to be used even 50% in my entire life! Otherwise, my
homework analyses about the entry-point is useless and I need to go back to the KinderGarten of
stock trading again."

All this while I was keenly listening to him, recording (with his permission) the audio of this
entire conversation on my Mobile.

"And how do u feel when some amount is debited from your account in the evening due to
unexpected fall in the day?"

"Why should I feel anything, Jigs?"

"Long ago, I developed a childish but damn effective psychological way of dealing with this
daily debit-credit thing."

"I assume that I have a secret invisible vertual 'Swiss' Bank account. I assume that the money
debited to my HDFC account is deposited into my 'Swiss' account by my broker."

"I assume this to maintain my peace of mind. I know that the money taken away will be returned.
I assume that it is still with me only but in my other account. I know that it is going to be
'transferred' back to my HDFC account the moment markets come up again. And come up they will, for sure"

"So, tell me Jigs, what difference does it make anyway whether my money is in my this or that
account? I am anyway not going to spend it even if it is in my HDFC account!"

I was speechless. I had got what I wanted.

I asked the waiter for the bill of the coffee and dosa, and paid happily with the money I had
withdrawn from my HDFC account!

and I decided then and there to open a "Swiss" Bank account that very day.

(Swiss=Stays With "I" Safe & Sound)

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