The unrealized gain/loss column on a valuation report can be very seductive. However, it's probably best to try to avoid looking at it when you are making portfolio decisions.

It tends to make you want to sell the stocks where you've lost money, (So you can stop looking at the negative numbers), and keep the ones where you've made money (so you can keep patting yourself on the back).

However, it tells you nothing about the projected future returns for any of your holdings. Some of the ones that have gone down might actually have the best prospects for future growth and some of the ones that have already grown might have done what they're going to do for a while.

You want to keep looking to the future by focusing on projected returns. You might be able to hone your skills at projecting future growth by evaluating how you made judgments in the past but don't assume that all stocks that might have gone down in price since you bought them were bad purchase decisions.

In this months Dashboard Diagnostics session we'll look at the portfolios from two clubs from St Louis and some of their buying and selling decisions. You're sure to get some ideas for how to refine how you make those decisions in your club!

Dashboard Diagnostics will be on Monday, July 18 at 8:30 PM ET. It's free and everyone is invited. Register now to join us at www.bivio.com/club_cafe

Laurie Frederiksen
www.bivio.com

When will you add Positive Relative Returns for june 1st and July 1st?