Whilst sitting at my local this afternoon enjoy a cuppa and a Kit Kat I spied someone reading a piece about a company called SurfStich which to be honest I had never head of as it doesn’t sit within my universe of tradeable stocks. To save you the trouble of reading the article I can summarise it quick quickly. SurfStich lists in 2014, the listing is a bit lacklustre but price recovers from the $1 listing price to hit a high of $2.13. Stock then dies in the arse and shareholders crack the sad’s and want to sue the company. I have dropped a chart of the price action below.
On the chart I have plotted the listing price of $1.00 and as you can see the stock spent a good year above the listing price before beginning its precipitous fall from grace. I can guarantee you that when the stock price passed through $2.00 the investors who are now suing the company considered themselves to be absolute geniuses and when the stock began to fall those who ran the company were apparently complete dickheads for letting it happen. Here is a news flash for investors who operate on this sort of deflection of personal responsibility – you are responsible for your own actions and all the consequences that flow from them. You had ample time to exit the stock with a substantial profit but you didn’t – the decision not to was your fault – no one else is to blame.
I understand the notion of personal responsibility is an anathema to a lot of people but if ever there was a cornerstone principle for being successful at anything it is being able to accept your role in the events as they unfold. You cannot consider yourself to be the best investor in the world when price is running your way but then somehow seek to blame the company for your failure to take any form of defensive action when things do not go your way. This just paints you as a childish amateur.
I saw recently where an investor was hanging onto a stock that had plunged (all far too familiar in ASX stocks). Probably waiting for a more palatable exit. Might have to wait a long time for this one to come good.
SurfStich : Strong Buy
(Past recommdations : Babcock n Brown)
This is very amusing.
One of the problems is trusting your non-trustworthy trusted advisors.
But you do only make that mistake once I guess.
Look ….. it’s truly awful when someone holds a gun to your globe ( or a knife to your knackers) and stops you from selling your shares when you need to.
In this case though it’s actually all my bad. About 18 months ago I bought some stuff from this company and clearly and negligently I did not buy enough.
To make it even worse I even soothsaid so at the time that I shoulda got that extra pair of boardies …..
(Exits – not cutting losses)
“When you sell for a loss you feel bad. When you sell for a gain you feel good and people like to do things that make them feel good”.
Terrence Odean, Talking Trading.
Caroline Stephen.