We have not seen a full-on bear market in over a decade. We have seen periods when the SPY has had large pullbacks for a week or two, but the dip has always been bought up. Then we continue to make all-time highs. Now it’s different.
In the last week, we have seen a massive retracement. The worst week in the stock market since ’08. We are seeing lower highs, failed breakouts, and many breakdowns that follow through in the past week. BTFD isn’t working. This catalyst and price action is differnet.
A downtrending markets require a very different set of trading strategies. Here are 3 strategies you need to be using in volatile market conditions to survive and profit as a trader:
Short Sell
Not many new traders know that you can make money when stocks go down. This is called short-selling (also referred to as shorting), when you borrow shares of a stock from your broker and then buy them back later, ideally at a lower price. Short selling can be very profitable in market environments like the ones we are currently in.
BUT You have to manage your risk even more aggressively when short selling. A long position you can only lose what is in your account balance. But with short selling you can lose more than what’s in your account because stocks can go up more than 100%, meaning you would go in debt to your broker. In bear markets, the market will have HUGE rallies, and if you mistime your short, you could can get squeezed.
This video lesson will show you how to short-sell during volatile market environments:
Buy Bounces
Bear markets will typically bring a lot of volatility into the markets. This means that stocks will be trading well outside of their normal ranges, which is great for day traders. If you are not familiar or confident short selling stocks, there is still plenty of money to be made to the long side in a bear market. Stocks that have big pullbacks will always bounce at some point. The trick is TIMING it.
Stocks don’t just go straight down forever in a bear market. Just like stocks pull back when they are in an uptrend, stocks will spike when they are in a downtrend. When stocks get overextended to the downside, they will often have nice bounces. This strategy works especially well when a stock or ETF has had several consecutive down days.
Keep in mind that this type of trading setup is not something to marry. You are just going for the QUICK counter-trend move, and then quickly taking your profits. Once the stock bounces, it could start to fade off again and you may end up breakeven or with a losing trade. Take profits when you have them.
This video lesson will show you how to trade bounce plays in the overall market successfully.
Stay In Cash
Knowing when not to trade is essential for achieving success as a trader in the long run. In bear markets, stocks will not just go straight down every month. They will sometimes consolidate sideways, and not have an obvious trend. They will start to trade in a tight range, and there will not be much money to be made because there is no volatility or range to profit off of.
During these times it is crucial that you stay on the sidelines until one of your go-to setups presents itself. Patience is CRUCIAL during these periods.
When you look back at your trades at the end of every week and add up your PNL for the week, you will see how much OVERTRADING can hurt you. Even if they are small losses, boredom trades are a complete waste of your physical and mental capital. In order to be a successful trader, you need to have the DISCIPLINE to only trade when your edge is there.
In a bear market, you cannot be expecting the market to dump huge every day. You need to wait for an obvious trend and volatility to come back into the market before making trades.
Early-Bird Pricing For Our Bootcamp Ends Soon!
Early-bird pricing for our next Live Trading Bootcamp ends March 1st. We are only offering the discount to the first 10 accepted applicants!
