Super Stock Picker Forum

Does anyone have any recommendations for other sites that have done well and have the same format as SSP?

I used to follow the QIS site http://www.qiscapital.com/index.php
But their track record in the past year and a half has been poor and they often trade very small cap penny stocks.

I'm looking for something that plays larger cap canadian stocks priced over $5.
Any suggestions?

Hi Bryan, don't know of any sites like SSP for larger cap stocks.  However, I think you, DCA and I seem to be on similar thought patterns about this stuff. 

Would you, DCA, or others be interested in an idea exchange, or collaborative effort?

Cheers,

Victor

Sure! I'm in. How should we proceed?

I would be interested in joining in as well. If for no other reason then just to learn. However, as Bryan said 'How should we proceed?'?

The easy way to proceed is right here.  I think SSP will let us know if he objects pretty fast.

Hi Guys,

No problem at all, you're all welcome to exchange your ideas here.

Who knows, maybe, if it is possible and if it is something that interests you, we could implement your strategy as a new portfolio here...

What about using the SSP portfolios as a basis and building something from that? The SSP system is very mechanical in order to take out human emotion.
The Japanese have a concept called "Autonomation". It means "automation with a human touch". With that in mind, I suggest we survey all of the SSP picks from the past and present and use our knowledge of charts to pick buys, sells and shorts. There are many gems from the SSP historical trades that may be good plays but miss the mechanical eyes of the system. There may be picks that the system picks up but, because of gaps or news, we reject as buys.

I would strongly suggest using charting techniques. Any other thoughts?

Bryan

I like that word Auonomation.  It is essentially how I bias initial purchases and the size of holding.

Take for example SMX there did not seem to be air in the tires so while I did buy with SSP I did not buy much.  On the other hand, a current pick TEC, shows a margin in the area of 35-40% and a healthy net.  (In truth I bought this one prior to the SSP pick.)

It is also important to learn from SSP.  Eventually SSP will stop publishing updates to its portfolios so right now I try to predict SSP buys and sells.  The other thing to consider is that if SSP continues word will spread.  At that point the SSP picks will tend to ballon when they are picked and potentially drop thereafter.  In other words the success of SSP will influence the market.  Right now V4 is the best performing but as this takes affect it will be the earlier portfolios that start to lead.

DCA

Yes. I agree. Look at ARI. When SSP called it a sell it was hard to get out of it as it is thinly traded. I've held on to it and today (after the members have finished selling I presume) it popped 5% on a down market day.

As a general rule I find that the best performing value to buy a stock at appears to be around $3.

These stocks are small enough to not have been noticed and yet some of the start-up risk has been removed.

I also listen to my clients.  Some of the best investments are sticking to what you know.  (and is the closest to inside trading without being an 'insider')

BTW bryanmcm I just visited your website and realized we are in quite similar business.

D

For the record my five largest nonSSP (Current) holdings:

TIM (4.27)
INTC (19.23)
NEM (2.62)
WEW (1.20)
RRE (0.40)

So perhaps I do not strictly follow my own $3 rule.

D

Your $3 rule seemed to work. I bought 4000 shares of WTN on April 1 for $3.45. Still holding it at $10.71

perhaps we should start a second thread in which whoever starts it (we cna vote on that) administers (and updates) the first post which will contain our collective portfolio.

in the subsequent postings in this master thread we can discuss potiential picks, explain why, and vote on them to se if we agree it should make the portfolio.


good idea?

Voting is one option. Here's another ... How about a friendly competition?
We all run our own portfolio in real dollars from a real account. Each of us communicates the buys and sells and we are all free to discuss what we think we should do. We might end up with very similar holdings or maybe not. Either way, members have three options (or more if someone else cares to join in) and the results are published monthly. (Trades are published as they happen)

We could each start our own thread with our name as the title.

No rush for this. I think the markets are frothing and due for a correctoin which may bring the SSP down a notch or two as I have speculated. Besides ... its summer and I want to play!

Could we start this later after we see the ssp go through a nice 40% correction?

Bryan

I am now out of all positions except TEC and PHX/un.to
I believe TEC may rebound to a better price and PHX/UN is still climbing.
We are past support levels on most SSP stocks and as I have said before and we are due for a healthy (if you can call it that) draw down.
LOOK OUT BELOW!
I have maintained a position in a US money market fund.

Well today I bought a lottery ticket with TEL.  Rumour of news this week is going to move the stock up or down when released.  My bet is up.  This is a company I had sitting in my debris pile and now they seem to be turning from an uranium to a potash play.

D

What is TEL?

Trigon Uranium is TEL.V.  It is a penny uranium company that has not done well in heavy metals but is poised to move into potash.  (Even has it's own tame Canadian politician on the board!)

July 2 - a few hours before the markets close.

I have been saying for some time now that both the markets and SSP are due for a correction. As I speak we are witnessing a 1 percent downward move on the TSX putting at levels not seen since early may. The charts are very convincing. 
GCE, BNK, HLB, TEC and FDG.UN are all off significantly from their recent highs. 

The question now is - where is the bottom? We should be learning from this correction and looking for opportunities to buy in!

I persoanlly am in US dollars.

Still holding TEL but watching my margins carefully.  Looking for some potash news to pop it so I can get out before I lose too much sleep.

Only the brave and "ego-less" will be posting their trades these days. I am neither as I have been in 100% cash for 2 weeks. What a weak coward I am!

The V1 is showing YTD returns of -6%, 6 months returns of -2.3%, and 3 month returns of 18%.

The weekly has YTD returns of .4%, 6 months returns if 3.2% and 3 month returns of 27%

I post this for future enthusiasts who want to jump into SSP when it posts those fabulous 6 month and YTD returns. There should be warning signals going up when they get over 50%.

How many out there are still 100% invested in a SSP portfolio?
Be honest!

Still holding all my position.

I have 2 accounts following SSPV4, they are now back to where they where at the beginning of the year.

If they where not fully invested, I would start now.

When I say  100% invested I mean all of the money you have to invest. I'm not referring to a couple of accounts or a portion of your RRSP.
We all get exited when we look at 100% yearly returns and then think about how quickly we could be millionaires if we invested out total portfolio.
Its exiting to think that if you started with $75K and got 100% per year you would have over a million dollars after 4 short years.
My point is that no one could invest ALL of their life savings and continue to re-invest every peny of returns in the SSP for 4 years. The draw downs like we are experiencing right now are just too much to stomach.
Maybe if we all gave our money to some investment guy and told him to follow the SSP EXACTLY as they require and come back four years later it would work.

I am getting killed thanks to SSP!

Tec - down 26.17%
HLB - down 40.20%

What are you learning?
Its an expensive tuition if you come out of this with a lesson. Its a waste of money if you don't.

Bryan,

This site todayhotstocks.com seams to use a similar approach as SSP but fot US stocks. Their 2008 trades are listed here: http://www.todayhotstocks.com/index.php?page=closedtrades

wm

70% of my RSP is in SSP4

30% is in another automated strategy, wich is based on momentum
and do have some of the same stock as SSP4 in it.  But typically hold 8-12 stocks

my other investment are in Commodity trading.

I am tracking SSP very precisely, even with the exact allocation mechnism for number of stock.

And I'm even preparing to add money into it. in the coming weeks

The only time I had been nervous was when we had to put all our money in one stock BNK at one point a few month back.  At that point I waited one week because other stocks where coming in from SSP3.

But dont forget SSP4 select the best performing stocks in the markets, where there is a lot of volume.  Also company like WTN wich have a market cap of 1.2 Billion and GCE with a market cap of 550+ milion are not small company that are goinf to disappear.

Obviously I am a firm believer in system trading, I would rather follow exact

Also, prior largest drawdown was on January 21, 2008 we went through, and came back to new high.

Current drawdown as of yesterday is at 27.07%

Do you know that the TSX had a 50% drawdown from 2001 to 2002

History will tell.

Denis

Is this a online service like SSP? if yes, could you post the URL so I can check it out.

Thanks,
wm

Thanks
Some questions -
Do they have a portfolio?
DO they have a performance chart like SSP ?
Are you a member?
Thanks
Bryan

All private stuff develop for myself.

Sorry.

I contacted
http://www.todayhotstocks.com/index.php?page=closedtrades
They said that they do have a portfolio and that it has risen over 60% YTD. However, they have only been around since January 08.
All US.
Bryan

Hi

Here is another suggestion (for long term invesment): Magic Formula investing

by Joel Greenblatt which he talks about in his book The Little Book That Beats the Market (Little Books. Big Profits)

Claims to have a performance of 27% over 17 years.

Has anyone tried it?

I have read the book. You can see all of the various picks at
http://www.magicformulainvesting.com/

I wonder of the returns are still valid after the recent market declines.

I did not know about the book.
I went to the site reference given by Bryan, tried it for fun!

1. I wouldn't call 27% return over 17 years "magic", and I'm too old to wait 17 years!
2. The site returns, let's say if you ask for 25, their picks by alphabetic order!
3. From there, they suggest:
  "...In general, purchase 5 to 7 top ranked stocks every 2 months or 7 to 9 top ranked stocks every 3 months. After 9 or 10 months, this should result in a portfolio of 20 to 30" (which ones are the top ranked, if they come alphabetically?)
   
   
   What? 20 to 30 stocks? Are we talking about creating a Mutual Fund here?
   
   
4.  They seem to have only American stocks, this forum here is dedicated to Canadian Stocks. I have a middle sized US portfolio, but I would never hold so many position at one time! I like to check my "kids" (even if I don't even know their names) every day!

Anyway I doubt anyone here has tried it!
If you have read the book, why don't you try it, and come back in 17 years to tell us about your returns. (Joking  ;) )

Louise

PS: BTW Bryan, remember what I said about NASDAC in another post?
I had a quick look at the returns, using the candle glance from stockcharts.com. Most of those who seemed to be moving (but it was really a very quick look, I wouldn't make any decision on this) were NASDAC stocks.