Downbetting stocks

[Lemstaboy]

I have been spreadbetting for many years; sometimes upwards, sometimes downwards. Mainly UK stocks but occasionally US stocks. Most of my best gains have come from downbets - some held for just an hour or two but mostly a few weeks. I trade mostly via IG.com and Spreadex, both of whom I find very good (I also have a few shareholdings, using IG.com as broker). Favourite bets can change from day to day but at present my biggest downbet is Dianomi (DNM) whose HY Results came out in late January last year. Tracsis (TRCS) and Iomart (IOM) have also been profitable downbets in recent weeks (I've cashed in those for the moment but they remain on my Shorts watchlist and will be reopened if falls resume).

 

[Lemstaboy]

Anyone who watched episodes of the TV programme 'The Weakest Link', presented by Anne Robinson from 2000-2012 will know that the key to making money involved shouting "Bank!" at appropriate moments. A failure to do so (hanging on instead for a possible greater gain) could see gains collapse. I find a similar approach important in capturing spreadbet gains. I place 'echelon' bets; a series of smallish bets on a stock (each with a trailing stoploss in place), some of which I will bank from time to time, and sometimes add. Spreadbets are a leveraged device, (typically leveraged 5:1) and as such can swing the wrong way very quickly, so dithering is not a good idea.

 

[Lemstaboy]

Experienced spreadbetters who sensibly go for indices or stocks with a very tight sub-1% buy/sell spread will find it odd (nay, laughable!) that I bother with stocks where the spread is sometimes 2%, 3%, 5% (a whopping 9% for a rolling bet on DNM for example!). I totally understand that viewpoint. ;-) Recommendations for other continuous fallers I might look at are welcome.