All Entries in the "Announcements" Category

SEC Fees Set to Quadruple on April 1

March 16, 2009 at 6:45 am

This is no April Fool’s joke.  I wish it were – it’d save me a lot of money!  But the SEC is making a mid-year adjustment to transaction fees, effective April 1, and it’s a significant one.

Right now, traders pay $5.60 per million dollars in sales, which granted, doesn’t sound like much.  It’s a cost of doing business for traders, and not a very steep one at that when added to commissions.

However, in 2 weeks when the SEC fees change, it will go to $25.70 per million – more than 4 1/2 times higher.  That’s not quite as bad as the proposed Trader Tax which was recently making so many headlines, but it’s more real and it’s going to happen.

Putting the Pen to Paper

If you’re actively day trading, here’s what this translates into.  Depending upon your level of activity and the size you tend to trade, this could translate into several thousand dollars more per year in fees for you.

For example, let’s say you sell an average of $1M in stock each day.  That’s a very feasible number considering you could sell 20,000 shares (buy + sell = 40,000 total) over the course of the day at an average price of $50 (20,000 X $50 = $1M).  For that activity level right now, that would basically cost you $5.60 in SEC fees on top of whatever your commission is.  With the new structure, you’d pay $25.70.

Do that 5 days a week, and it’s $100 more per week.  Trade every week at that level, and you’re looking at a hike of $5,200 over the course of the year.

Here’s a link to the SEC Mid-Year Adjustment to Fee Rates document itself for more intricate details if you want to check it out.

Bottom line:  keep improving as a trader and it’ll be fine!

Jeff White
President, The Stock Bandit, Inc.
Swing Trading & Day Trading Service
www.TheStockBandit.com

[tags]Stock Market, Day Trading, Stock Trading, Investing, Swing Trading[/tags]

TheStockBandit University Has Launched!

March 12, 2009 at 9:14 am

There is a lot to be thankful for right now if you’re a trader. But if you’ve been part of the buy-and-hope crowd throughout the past 16 months, it’s been a tough ride – and might not be over yet.

Ignoring account statements sure isn’t the most responsible way to react right now, and yet it’s probably incredibly common. Those familiar with that mentality are quite likely rethinking their approach, especially given the fact that the S&P 500 has actually lost 40% over the past decade.

Index funds, schmindex funds.

As a trader for the past 11 years, I’ve come to appreciate the flexibility that trading offers. I wasn’t full-time initially, and yet I still recognized the aspect of defense which trading offers – a luxury that the buy-and-hope crowd knows nothing about.

During that time, I’ve run across many people who know a little about “the market” but very little about trading. Things like hardware, software, lingo, order types, psychology, money management and much more are just not the kinds of things that automatic investment plan types are familiar with. So when the market takes an all-out beating like it has since the 2007 top, many in the longer-term crowd would consider becoming short-term but simply don’t know how.

Learning About Trading

All along, I’ve been providing a premium service for those who are swing trading and day trading, but those who don’t understand trading to begin with are not going to benefit from it.  They need a trading education.

There’s a huge information gap between investors and traders, so I set out to bridge that gap with the creation of TheStockBandit University.

TheStockBandit University is a 4-week course set up in an on-demand video format to teach those with the desire to learn about trading.

To clarify…

This is not a what-to-trade course.

This is a course for the aspiring trader seeking some trading education. It is designed to take you from 0 to 60 in the trading realm in just 4 short weeks. It’s there to equip you to start taking control and stop getting shredded in this (or any other) bear market.

Stop by the homepage and check out the intro video for more information on how to learn trading if you fall into that category.  Because remember, the idea isn’t to invest but to Trade Like A Bandit!

Jeff White
President, The Stock Bandit, Inc.
Swing Trading & Day Trading Service
www.TheStockBandit.com

[tags]Stock Market, Day Trading, Stock Trading, Investing, Swing Trading[/tags]

Trading Videos to Make You Better – TheStockBandit.TV

January 14, 2009 at 2:26 pm

For some time now, we’ve been producing a free newsletter over at TheStockBandit.com for those who are on the email list.

What started out as a free written newsletter ultimately morphed into free trading videos – and for good reason!  Not only does the video format make the experience much more fun and exciting, but also far more insightful and informative.

There’s simply no comparison when it comes to video vs. the written format, which is why last year the Bandit Broadcast (our premium stock newsletter) also switched to video format.

Through the videos, I’m able to show & tell what I’m talking about.  As a result, the feedback has been outstanding.

Introducing TheStockBandit.TV

In recent weeks, we’ve been working on a new way to distribute the free videos, and I think you’re going to love it.  The solution is a brand new, stand-alone site set up solely for the purpose of these videos.

TheStockBandit.TV is a location where you can watch trading videos to your heart’s content!  It’s a site where each video will be archived and available to you 24/7.  Jump from clip to clip, or search for a topic and see if it has been covered.  If not, just use the contact form and submit your request for what you’d like to see in a future episode.

These are trading videos, so each one you view is designed to help you become a better trader.  Sometimes they’ll cover general trading topics or discuss a concept which is vital to your success.  Other times, they’ll introduce helpful tips and tools for streamlining your trading process and narrowing your focus for better trading.    Every video is concise, brief, and helpful, so that your time is always well-spent.

You’ll find new videos added regularly, so you will not want to miss what’s coming.  Therefore, be absolutely sure to subscribe to the RSS feed, or join our free email list to be notified anytime new episodes are posted.

Here are those links once again:
TheStockBandit.TV (new free Trading Video site)
TheStockBandit.TV RSS Feed
Join the Email List for Updates

See you back here soon with another post, and I look forward to seeing you over at the Trading Videos site as well!

Jeff White
President, The Stock Bandit, Inc.
Swing Trading & Day Trading Service
www.TheStockBandit.com

[tags]Trading Videos, Day Trading, Stock Trading, Investing, Swing Trading[/tags]

Welcome to The Kirk Report Readers!

September 18, 2008 at 2:10 pm

I just want to welcome those of you who arrived here on the blog today as a result of the Q&A post on The Kirk Report. I’m glad you stopped by and hope you’ll return often!

Charles is a great friend, a class act, successful trader, and of course top-shelf blogger who works hard day after day to churn out only the highest-quality content for his readers. Needless to say, I’m honored to have been invited for a “Q&A” on his site! It was without a doubt the most in-depth, challenging interview I’ve ever done, and I really enjoyed the thought-provoking questions Charles asked. Hopefully you find it beneficial to read!

While you’re here, let me point you to a few posts which will help you get a bit more familiar with my style of trading and writing…

You can read the about page for more info on my background and this blog. I’m a technical trader, a family man, and I wear t-shirts to work!

I write a nightly stock newsletter over at TheStockBandit.com for traders wanting daily ideas, but I put out regular content here on the blog which I hope you find useful whether or not you subscribe to the paid service. There is also a Free Video Newsletter which I publish nightly that you can sign up to receive. Just see the top-right corner of the blog sidebar and add your email address there to get it (you can opt out anytime).

As for the tour of this blog, you will find over 300 posts here from the past couple of years along a variety of trading subjects. I’ll run through a few highlights from the archives which you might want to check out.

Here are a few articles about my trading style…
*Deciding if a Stock is Trade-Worthy
*Small Mistakes = Small Consequences
*Goal Number 1
*The Day After
*Check Your Rolex
*Another Definition of Trading
*TASC Magazine Interview

A few articles on trading psychology…
*Slay Your Trading Giants
*Trading Discipline
*How Gaps Change Motivations in the Market
*When Bulls Become Sellers
*The 2nd Worst Feeling in Trading
*My Biggest Trading Fear
*3 Signs You Have a Pet Stock
*Gap Lessons: When Trades Get Lucky

Here are a few how-to articles I’ve written…
*How to Grow Your Trading Account (Part 1)
*How to Grow Your Trading Account (Part 2)
*Gauging Urgency in Chart Patterns
*3 Keys to Buying Dips
*Finding Short Sale Candidates
*Stop It!
*How I Use Worden’s TeleChart 2007
*Watch List Management
*Blending Your Style With the Current Environment

Regardless of what you choose to read about while you’re here, I hope you find it useful to your trading approach. This blog exists for that very purpose, so make yourself at home and come back often!

If you’d like to subscribe to this blog, here’s the RSS feed. There’s also a feed reader icon in the righthand sidebar which will do the trick, or just beneath it you can subscribe by email so that you won’t ever miss a post!

Thanks again for stopping by to visit, enjoy your weekend, and I hope to see you back here soon!

Jeff White
President, The Stock Bandit, Inc.
Swing Trading & Day Trading Service
www.TheStockBandit.com

[tags]Stock Market, Day Trading, Stock Trading, Investing, Swing Trading, Charles Kirk[/tags]

What Are You Doing Next Wednesday Night?

July 17, 2008 at 2:32 pm

I am thrilled to have been invited by the fine folks at Worden to help out with a free Blocks webinar next Wednesday, July 23rd at 8pm ET.

I’ll be co-presenting with Worden’s Director of Training, Craig Shipman on Discovering Stocks Suitable for Your Trading. It’ll be 1 hour long, completely free, and we’ll point out a couple of core trading concepts and how to put them into practice with Blocks. I hope you’ll join us!

Specifically, the webinar will cover how to locate stocks which are appropriate for your trading style, as well as how to evaluate pullbacks for potential buys.

Here’s how you can register…

Visit the Worden homepage, and click the Blocks logo at the top of the page:

Then click the Upcoming Webinars description beside the July 23rd event:

Sure hope to see you there Wednesday! It should be a fun, action-packed hour with some very helpful hints & tricks on using Blocks to find potential trading candidates.

And of course, if you aren’t already using this charting software, then you’ll see what you’re missing out on. I’ve discussed this revolutionary product before, and it just keeps getting better.

(PS. Those who register will have access to the archived webinar even if you can’t attend live.)

Jeff White
President, The Stock Bandit, Inc.
Swing Trading & Day Trading Service
www.TheStockBandit.com

Guest Post at StockTickr

June 18, 2008 at 7:05 am

Just want to give you a heads-up that I wrote a guest post today over at the StockTickr Blog called Finding New Edges from Old Trades.

I think you’ll want to check it out, because it goes hand-in-hand with some of the things we’ve been discussing here recently (such as my previous post).

Here’s that link to today’s post one more time, and while you’re over there be sure to take a good look around – there’s a lot of great stuff!

Trade well today,

Jeff White
President, The Stock Bandit, Inc.
Swing Trading & Day Trading Service
www.TheStockBandit.com

Blocks Webinar

May 17, 2008 at 11:16 pm

Just wanted to post a quick heads-up here regarding a webinar I’ll be attending on Monday evening for Blocks.

What’s New in Blocks Trader – Monday, May 19th 8-9pm ET

The webinar will be put on by a friend of mine, Worden’s Training Director, Craig Shipman. Craig has educated many thousands of traders on TeleChart (which I’ve used for almost a decade) and now Blocks (which I’m integrating more and more into my research). Needless to say, I have no doubt at all it will be worth attending for some tips & tricks on using this amazing charting software.

I wrote long ago how Blocks would “revolutionize the way stock chartists and researchers tinker with data, because it allows the user to combine data sources all in one place – on the code level.” I continue to be impressed with the way Worden is improving and updating the program, which is no surprise given the tremendous success they’ve had with TeleChart for so long.

To register and attend the Webinar:
Visit Worden.com
Click the Blocks icon at the top of the page
The center of the next page will have the Webinar info.

Have a great weekend!

Jeff White
President, The Stock Bandit, Inc.
Swing Trading & Day Trading Service
www.TheStockBandit.com