I set out tonight to write up an entry about a suitable stock to add to my blog.  But nothing seemed right.  I scanned through the list of the top % gainers, my usual starting place, but there were few stocks over $10.  And when the few names I found seemed to have potential their latest earnings were in general a little less than exciting. Financial results are reported that are mediocre yet because they are ahead of the already more dismal expectations, the stock rises.  Not enough in my book.

In fact if you are familiar with my own trading account, (you can see my current holdings on my Covestor page), you will see that even my own relatively aggressive momentum strategy has mutated into a more conservative large/mid-cap growth/value strategy that involves stocks with relatively secure franchises selling at reasonable valuation with reasonable dividend payments.  (As I get older, I continue to start investing more and more like my original inspiration, my late father.) 

Briefly, I am still looking for stocks making moves higher with solid recent earnings reports, a record of steadily improving financial results, reasonable valuation, and a decent charty.  O.K. so I want everything :).  But why not.

In my own portfolio I have caught myself chasing performance swapping out of Colgate (CL) for Coca-Cola (KO).  Moving from Haemonetics (HAE) to Oshkosh (OSK), switching from PetSmart (PETM) to TJX (TJX). 

Perhaps if I had been a bit wiser, I would have understood that my own frustration with my own account was merely a frustration with the overall market that was influencing my own holdings.  With nothing wrong with the previously held stocks, their resistance to upward price appreciation, was merely a reflection of the difficult stock market.  Chasing performance hasn't worked.  Oshkosh (OSK) was sold after incurring a loss.  The only possible improvement was the pick-up with TJX, which itself is in the process of consolidation after a  large price appreciation this year.

I am back to my disciplined investment system.  I shall hold onto stocks in my portfolio until they either incur losses, incur large gains, or actually report major financial problems.  I cannot argue more about trusting your strategy, implementing your strategy, and keeping your cotton-pickin' hands off the stocks when you shouldn't be messing with your own plans.

Time and time again, I discover my own trading flaws that keeps me as an amateur, no matter how many blog entries I can accumulate on this website.