...but not if you follow the method taught by Wall Street. They want to keep you confused so you will go to some broker who has been given the Wall Street mantra of buy, buy, buy, never sell.

Advice from a broker is a eulogy for your money. There are no customers yachts. Geeze, Louise, am I being too hard on brokers and financial planners (they are cut from the same cloth)? Lets do a little historical study.

Do you remember back in 2000 when you had more money in your account than you do now? Uh oh, touched a nerve, did I? Did your broker or financial expert call you to tell you it was time to sell or did he say you should buy more because the stocks were cheaper? The latter was the story from the big boys in New York. They had stock to sell.

Did any broker or talking head on TV ever say that CASH IS A POSITION? No! If any broker ever said that to customers he would be fired on the spot and the TV geniuses cant because the station advertisers would cancel. What would ole You cant afford to be out of the market Chuck Schwab say? Brokerage companies dont make money when your funds are in a money market account.

Then what should an investor do?

You must have an exit strategy. Anyone can buy. The pitchmen can give you a thousand reasons why to buy almost any equity. If you look back in history it is always the financial genius who sold that made the millions. You dont have to be Edward Lefevre, Gerald Loeb or Richard Wyckoff to protect your hard earned retirement money.

There are many good selling methods. On the Internet go to Google or any search engine and type in stock market exit strategy. There are literally millions of web sites that have exit strategies you can buy or get free. My word of advice is to find a very simple one. Here is where the KISS formula (Keep It Simple Stupid) is important.

The final step is up to you. You must act when the strategy says sell. When all is said and done the key to success in the market is not buying; it is selling. Do not give back your profits and never allow big losses in your account. If your broker wont work with you get another broker and insist on limiting losses and protecting profits on any position you may have. That is the key to stock market success.

Al Thomas

Albert W. Thomas has spent most of his life in the field of finance. In 1965 he founded an insurance holding company, Security Dynamics Investment Corporation, after having been an agent and General Agent for several life insurance companies. In 1970 he became cofounder and president of Real Life Estate, Inc., that marketed a unique real estate and life insurance package.

After he became interested in commodities he bought a seat for his personal trading on the Chicago Open Board of Trade, which is now known as the MidAmerica Commodity Exchange. Later he became a full time trader and also acted as a commodity broker for a few select clients. By fellow floor traders Al is considered to be an excellent technical analyst much of which is outlined in his book IF IT DOESN'T GO UP, DON'T BUY IT! It became a best seller on Amazon.

In 1981 he sold his membership on the Exchange and with his wife, Carolyn, lived full time aboard their 41' ketch, the Aumakua (which means guardian angel in Hawaiian). They sailed in Florida and the Bahamas for two years.

He founded World Trading Group in 1984 that grew to the seventh largest introducing commodity brokerage firm in the U.S. with 35 offices from coast to coast, Alaska and Canada. It was sold in 1992.

Al is a graduate of Northwestern University with a B.S. degree in Commerce and is a member of MENSA. He is now president of Williamsburg Investment Company that syndicates his weekly financial column since 1999 to more than 300 newspapers and writes a financial market letter called Over My Shoulder that is quoted in Barron?s and many other publications. A 3-month trial subscription is available on his web site. He is a regular guest on several financial radio talk shows.

His favorite pastime is fishing.

Mr. Thomas is available for speaking engagements. Please call 321-453-5300 for more information.