In December of 1999, the technology sector had been on a very hot upward spiral for over a month, since the market had been consumed with interest rate fears, causing a sell-off in October. James Cramer, referring to this period, unequivocally called this market “the most powerful I have ever seen in my 20 years in the business.” (The Street.com, Fox News Network, December 4,1999).

I bought Nokia (NOK) the previous month, November, and watched it gain over 40 points in two weeks’ time. Trying to stay aware of downside risk when the market seems like it can do no wrong, I had decided toward the close of the market a couple of days ago that I would put in a limit order to sell my shares and take a nice gain.
But, as is my wont, I always make the stock work to be sold. In other words, I make it go higher than I really think it will reach if I am to give up my shares. In this case, I was OK if it didn’t sell because I knew there was a good chance this stock had a ways to go. But I knew I could buy it back if the technology bubble bursts in the next three weeks.

I set my limit order at 1451/2, knowing there would have to be a nice run toward the close to reach my price. In addition, I purposely set it at a half, knowing it is tougher for the half point to be hit. It was a delicious, nonpressured feeling that I don’t get to experience often enough. If it reached my price, great, I would take my healthy gain and be happy. And if it didn’t, I would still be in the game the next day and make even more with a name I really like. In psychology, this is called an approach-approach situation because either way I choose, both end states are desirable.

Either way it went, I was going to feel content. So, of course, the stock starts moving up about five minutes before the close after trading in a rather narrow range for this stock most of the day. It makes it up to 1451/4, just 1/4 short of reaching my limit to sell. When it hits 145 1 /4, it begins to fade a little and finishes at 144 5/8, up almost 3 for the day. I had come within a quarter of a point of selling my shares.

The next morning, Nokia gaps up 9 1/2 points at the open, holds its opening price all day, and closes 17 3/8 points up for the day. I decide when I see the gap up that I will hold this stock for the longer term. Nothing like a 9 1/2 point gap up and 17 3/8 gain for the day to change your thinking! And if that’s not enough, the stock comes back on Monday and goes up another 141/2 points. This one is too good to get rid of.

The reframing of my thinking was simply to see that if it drops, I’d let it drop and let it come back, rather than try and time the market perfectly, trading in and out of it. In other words, I simply shifted into investor’s-mind from intermediate-term thinking, which tends to be my preferred time frame for holding positions. But, like most amateurs, I can be quite patient in holding certain losing positions for a long time just to get back to even.

I recently had my patience pay off in finally getting out of Seagate Technology, which I had held for two and half years. Of course, I lost the opportunity cost of that money being in another position and actually making a profit, rather than sitting on “dead” money. But there is a certain satisfaction, I must admit, in holding it until I got my initial capital back. And in fact, I ended up feeling so content just with getting out of it that it ends up feeling like a gain, even though it is only a psychological gain, not a monetary one. The psychological perspective that allows this reaction might be stated as, “Been down so long getting even feels like up.”

Curiously, while I have had the patience to hold fund positions for years at a time, along with individual stocks that I was holding losing positions in, I have not been one to hold winning individual positions for more than a year or so. I have never had any interest in holding a Coke or a Disney for many years.

Truth be told, I don’t even want to own a Coke or a Disney. Now that I have had a taste for the faster track, I must admit the old, solid companies seem too slow for me. But I didn’t want to own them even before the whole Internet revolution.

When was the last time Coke or Disney gapped up 91 /2 points in the morning? When you have that happen with a CMGI, JDSU, or watch any other “red hot” like Redback Networks or dozens of others make a run for the moon, it’s tough to get excited by a two-point move on a good day by Disney.

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