Stock Market Anxiety
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Stock Lady
- Posts: 9
- Joined: Sun Oct 26, 2008 1:16 pm
I have been a stockbroker/financial advisor for 24 years. The current market situation is very stressful. No matter what I do I can't find investments that don't end up losing money. Everytime a client talks about losing some of their retirement money I get a pain in my stomach. Everytime I see that a client called, I envision them beating me up verbally, I anticipate a negative conservation.Very often it really is a negative conversation. I get anxious and my mind starts a negative self talk. Mind you, I actually do a good job of financial planning and investing. I decided to set really small goals, talk to 5 clients a day and 1 prospect. The thing I have a really hard time doing is telling people I meet what I do, network. I worry about not meeting my goals. I worry about not making enough money, even though I am not poor. I have decided when I feel anxious I will call another client. I can't bring myself to cold call because I am worried about the rejection. Any suggestions?
Have you tried talking to your clients about Income Annuities? Do you have a Series 7? Our agents are selling Income Annuities like crazy. As for the rejection part, well, in lesson 3 (not sure where you are yet) but it teaches you not to be afraid of rejection or to let one no deter you. Its just one no. It may be 10 no's but if you get one good yes, thats some serious commission, right? So keep at it. Because if you don't call prospects then you get nothing so calling them and trying is better than a missed opportunity. If you don't call, you are 100% not going to make it but if you do call, you can do positive self talk before each call and just keep at it, right?
Anxiety is living in the future, Depression is living in the past.
Also, it is NOT your fault that the stock market and the financial market is in the crapper. Do not allow your clients to abuse you because they will. You do have to keep their respect but don't allow them to abuse you. Life is too precious for that.
Anxiety is living in the future, Depression is living in the past.
Hi Stock Lady,
I am stock trader, and a very good technical analyst. There are many things that have been done wrong that has brought us to our current situation, all of which no small trader/investor can control.
Investing in the stock market since May 2006 has had more than its share of challenges; to wit there are very few safe havens. Annuities, and high yield corporate bonds are a few of the safe havens.
IMO, investing long term capital investment is far more risky than day or swing trading. I have moved my trading strategies from short swing to purely day trading and have a very successful trading system, but I know that the average investor hasn't the time for, and must turn to trading professionals to manage their money for those purposes, but there in lays the problem: who can be trusted to adequately manage funds?
Right now, I am managing near 800K of private funds and I am returning nearly .5% per day, but even like this there are days when I may loss 1%, thankfully those days are few.
As for the negative self talk you are going through, you indicate that you "actually do a good job of financial planning..." just keep in mind that the so called greatest investors in the world all lost between 40-60% of their portfolio value and the lesser traders/investors lost between 60-75-90% of portfolio value, and that there is a huge amount of fear of investing in the stock market. The is reflected in the much lower trading volumes which affect, to some degree some day trading strategies.
The present time can be looked at with fear or as a golden opportunity to get on track with stocks that have great value, good to great balance sheets, low p/e's and extremely under-valued. Currently: GE, IBM, AAPL appear to be golden for long term growth and rebounding from their lows. These are only a few that I can think of off the top of my head, but I have at least 50 on my radar that I track daily.
Stick to the positive self talk and keep moving forward, I would also suggest that not all anxiety is bad, and that you must sometimes give your self an opportunity to be anxious. I am sure that if your investing or trading on the stock market you have every reason to be anxious, just remember to to set up defensive trading strategies, and I am also sure you know all this too, but it may be a helpful reminder.
Take care and God Bless!
I am stock trader, and a very good technical analyst. There are many things that have been done wrong that has brought us to our current situation, all of which no small trader/investor can control.
Investing in the stock market since May 2006 has had more than its share of challenges; to wit there are very few safe havens. Annuities, and high yield corporate bonds are a few of the safe havens.
IMO, investing long term capital investment is far more risky than day or swing trading. I have moved my trading strategies from short swing to purely day trading and have a very successful trading system, but I know that the average investor hasn't the time for, and must turn to trading professionals to manage their money for those purposes, but there in lays the problem: who can be trusted to adequately manage funds?
Right now, I am managing near 800K of private funds and I am returning nearly .5% per day, but even like this there are days when I may loss 1%, thankfully those days are few.
As for the negative self talk you are going through, you indicate that you "actually do a good job of financial planning..." just keep in mind that the so called greatest investors in the world all lost between 40-60% of their portfolio value and the lesser traders/investors lost between 60-75-90% of portfolio value, and that there is a huge amount of fear of investing in the stock market. The is reflected in the much lower trading volumes which affect, to some degree some day trading strategies.
The present time can be looked at with fear or as a golden opportunity to get on track with stocks that have great value, good to great balance sheets, low p/e's and extremely under-valued. Currently: GE, IBM, AAPL appear to be golden for long term growth and rebounding from their lows. These are only a few that I can think of off the top of my head, but I have at least 50 on my radar that I track daily.
Stick to the positive self talk and keep moving forward, I would also suggest that not all anxiety is bad, and that you must sometimes give your self an opportunity to be anxious. I am sure that if your investing or trading on the stock market you have every reason to be anxious, just remember to to set up defensive trading strategies, and I am also sure you know all this too, but it may be a helpful reminder.
Take care and God Bless!
Last edited by Gman5256 on Tue Jan 27, 2009 7:31 am, edited 1 time in total.
All for His praise, glory and the joy it gives Him.
Hugs, In His Love >:D<
Gman9259
"He who dwells in the secret place of the most
high shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty"
Hugs, In His Love >:D<
Gman9259
"He who dwells in the secret place of the most
high shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty"
I've watched the market since 1979. I dont' know alot about investing, just look for what appear to be "sure" or "close to" sure bets on the market and invest then. In my opinion, this is a unique time in the markets history to buy low, very, very low. I don't usually invest in individual stocks, but use mutual funds since they are managed by pros.
I got in when the Dow was at 12,100. I got out at 10,400, then back in again at 9,300. This is a very difficult time and I don't know what the future holds. I anticipate the market going lower before it stabilizes. I'll try to absorb the pain and buy some more when it drops more. I believe at some point, perhaps 12 to 24 months from now, the market will stabilize, the economy will begin to recover, and this turbulent time period will be viewed as an opportune time to have gotten in at a very low valuation. So, I'm buying on substantial dips, around 8,000 or lower and will continue to do so. It is painful, but I buffer that thinking with the belief that eventually the pain will be rewarded with a reasonable return, better than a CD.
However, there are structural changes that need to be made, in my opinion, to the financial structure and I don't think anyone is ready to go back to ethical and common sense business practices. That concerns me a lot. The last 20 years or so have been pretty much a nonstop bull market, with a few exceptions, and the "expectations" seem to me to have gotten totally out of hand. Everyone wants to earn 15% or more a year on their investment and I think that creates an inappropriate desire to "manage" [fudge] corporate earnings, or worse, create out right fraudulent financial statements in order to meet earnings expectations. Even in this climate, that type of thinking seems to still be prevalent.
Trust and stable earnings is earned through ethical conduct, proven business practices, and being truthful and transparent, not through fudging numbers or fraud, but those at the top of many corporations don't seem to understand that.
I've got a GM bond which I'm not sure if I'll get all of my principal back on. I also almost invested in Thornburg Mortgage about a year and a half ago. Kiplinger's magazine came out with an article titled "Low Risk Investments" or something like that which included Thornburg. It all made sense, sounded sound, and it was sound. But Thornburg's stock went from $27 down to below a buck now and is now no longer traded on the major exchange. Apparently they were too leveraged. Not really sure what happened, all I know is what they are invested in is very sound, but they don't have the capital to make the margin calls for declining values due to fair value accounting. So, even the best of minds, Kiplingers included, didn't see this crisis coming or properly assess its impact.
I got in when the Dow was at 12,100. I got out at 10,400, then back in again at 9,300. This is a very difficult time and I don't know what the future holds. I anticipate the market going lower before it stabilizes. I'll try to absorb the pain and buy some more when it drops more. I believe at some point, perhaps 12 to 24 months from now, the market will stabilize, the economy will begin to recover, and this turbulent time period will be viewed as an opportune time to have gotten in at a very low valuation. So, I'm buying on substantial dips, around 8,000 or lower and will continue to do so. It is painful, but I buffer that thinking with the belief that eventually the pain will be rewarded with a reasonable return, better than a CD.
However, there are structural changes that need to be made, in my opinion, to the financial structure and I don't think anyone is ready to go back to ethical and common sense business practices. That concerns me a lot. The last 20 years or so have been pretty much a nonstop bull market, with a few exceptions, and the "expectations" seem to me to have gotten totally out of hand. Everyone wants to earn 15% or more a year on their investment and I think that creates an inappropriate desire to "manage" [fudge] corporate earnings, or worse, create out right fraudulent financial statements in order to meet earnings expectations. Even in this climate, that type of thinking seems to still be prevalent.
Trust and stable earnings is earned through ethical conduct, proven business practices, and being truthful and transparent, not through fudging numbers or fraud, but those at the top of many corporations don't seem to understand that.
I've got a GM bond which I'm not sure if I'll get all of my principal back on. I also almost invested in Thornburg Mortgage about a year and a half ago. Kiplinger's magazine came out with an article titled "Low Risk Investments" or something like that which included Thornburg. It all made sense, sounded sound, and it was sound. But Thornburg's stock went from $27 down to below a buck now and is now no longer traded on the major exchange. Apparently they were too leveraged. Not really sure what happened, all I know is what they are invested in is very sound, but they don't have the capital to make the margin calls for declining values due to fair value accounting. So, even the best of minds, Kiplingers included, didn't see this crisis coming or properly assess its impact.
Life's battles don't always go to the stronger, the smarter, the faster hand; But sooner or later the person who wins is the one who thinks "I can." Author Unknown
http://dp19032k9.webs.com
http://dp19032k9.webs.com
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Stock Lady
- Posts: 9
- Joined: Sun Oct 26, 2008 1:16 pm
Hi Stock Lady,
You were the one that opened the door to indicate how stressed you were about the flack your clients were giving you and you indicated how much grief this was bringing you. No one here asked for any stock advice from you.
I think for the most part, no one here made any negative remarks about your anxious clients or the stress that your client bashing has brought to you. On the contrary, I think Don and I were trying to be empathetic and responsive yo the concerns you raised.
In my closing this is what I said:
"...Stick to the positive self talk and keep moving forward, I would also suggest that not all anxiety is bad, and that you must sometimes give your self an opportunity to be anxious. I am sure that if your investing or trading on the stock market you have every reason to be anxious, just remember to to set up defensive trading strategies, and I am also sure you know all this too, but it may be a helpful reminder..."
Best wishes to you and hope your clients don't give you such a hard time for what is happening in the broader markets, as you have no control over any of that, and that you will soon be free of the stress that the wild market gyrations has brought you.
I apologize if my futile attempts to try to understand and help with a response ended as a misunderstanding on my part. I will say nothing more on the subject. Good luck and please do try to have a nice day.
Sincerely,
Gman
You were the one that opened the door to indicate how stressed you were about the flack your clients were giving you and you indicated how much grief this was bringing you. No one here asked for any stock advice from you.
I think for the most part, no one here made any negative remarks about your anxious clients or the stress that your client bashing has brought to you. On the contrary, I think Don and I were trying to be empathetic and responsive yo the concerns you raised.
In my closing this is what I said:
"...Stick to the positive self talk and keep moving forward, I would also suggest that not all anxiety is bad, and that you must sometimes give your self an opportunity to be anxious. I am sure that if your investing or trading on the stock market you have every reason to be anxious, just remember to to set up defensive trading strategies, and I am also sure you know all this too, but it may be a helpful reminder..."
Best wishes to you and hope your clients don't give you such a hard time for what is happening in the broader markets, as you have no control over any of that, and that you will soon be free of the stress that the wild market gyrations has brought you.
I apologize if my futile attempts to try to understand and help with a response ended as a misunderstanding on my part. I will say nothing more on the subject. Good luck and please do try to have a nice day.
Sincerely,
Gman
All for His praise, glory and the joy it gives Him.
Hugs, In His Love >:D<
Gman9259
"He who dwells in the secret place of the most
high shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty"
Hugs, In His Love >:D<
Gman9259
"He who dwells in the secret place of the most
high shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty"
I was trying to provide some insight into my own struggles with negative thinking in regards to stress I've encountered as a result of losing money in the market and how I'm seeking to counter that.
In my last job I was doing accounting for a small business and uncovered some very material errors relating to how they recorded transactions. Even after disclosing this to the owner he didn't want to change his ways. This caused a huge amount of stress for me, and I tried to persuade him to change his mind but he refused, so I left. This took place over about a year. The concepts from the Stress program helped me to remain calm, composed, and self assured in this situation. I was also serving as an expert witness in a court case during this time and the stress from both these situations simultaneously at times was a real challenge. The skills I learned from the program helped me navigate through all of this successfully.
Life isn't fair, but it is how we choose to think during these times that determines our emotional stability. Compassionate dialogue within ourselves can give us the strength to stand up under the external stressors.
In my last job I was doing accounting for a small business and uncovered some very material errors relating to how they recorded transactions. Even after disclosing this to the owner he didn't want to change his ways. This caused a huge amount of stress for me, and I tried to persuade him to change his mind but he refused, so I left. This took place over about a year. The concepts from the Stress program helped me to remain calm, composed, and self assured in this situation. I was also serving as an expert witness in a court case during this time and the stress from both these situations simultaneously at times was a real challenge. The skills I learned from the program helped me navigate through all of this successfully.
Life isn't fair, but it is how we choose to think during these times that determines our emotional stability. Compassionate dialogue within ourselves can give us the strength to stand up under the external stressors.
Life's battles don't always go to the stronger, the smarter, the faster hand; But sooner or later the person who wins is the one who thinks "I can." Author Unknown
http://dp19032k9.webs.com
http://dp19032k9.webs.com
Hi Don,
Thanks for sharing how the program helped you. I hope it continues to help no matter what crisis you may face.
Take care,
Gman
Thanks for sharing how the program helped you. I hope it continues to help no matter what crisis you may face.
Take care,
Gman
All for His praise, glory and the joy it gives Him.
Hugs, In His Love >:D<
Gman9259
"He who dwells in the secret place of the most
high shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty"
Hugs, In His Love >:D<
Gman9259
"He who dwells in the secret place of the most
high shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty"