My short position updates.

For the first time in my life I started to short stocks and currently all positions have been closed out. I was charged no fees nor was I charged any margin interest because I always had the cash to cover my positions. I learned that I like shorting stocks much more than I do playing options because unlike options, short positions have no time limit. If you buy options, there is always a calendar date on when they close so you have to be right or you lose that money that was invested. A short position is like playing a long position and you can even put a trailing stop on the position so as not to get burned.

I shorted 5 stocks and one of those stocks I shorted twice. One of those stocks I shorted but broke the rules on picking it and I didn’t make any money there. At one point I had $12,385.00 invested in short positions and once closed, I lost a total of $164.32 or 1.3%. I learned a lot in those few days of trading short and I feel that it was worth the $164 that I lost to learn what to do the next time I faced with those same signals to go short. I made a few mistakes in my picks and I got in a little late because was unsure on the rules of shorting.

Stocks that I shorted: PCLN, BEN, BP, MT, and MAN. I shorted BP twice and took my profit a bit early. I made $122 on my first trade and $245 on the second. I should still be riding that one down, but it is hard to cry over taking a profit. I should have never shorted PCLN, because the S&P500 never gave me the clear signal to short.