Options Sage submits:
Smart virtual portfolio management is a world apart from conventional virtual portfolio management. While conventional virtual portfolio management offers generic guidelines to diversify capital, smart virtual portfolio management is tailored to your personal circumstances. We have, in the past had similar articles on managing $10,000, $100,000 and $1M Virtual Portfolios. This article is a variation of the $10,000 article in preparation for our new 2011 Member Virtual Portfolio with the goal of turning $25,000 in into $100,000 over the next 12 months. Phil is, of course, proposing an aggressive stance but, after turning $10,000 into over $30,000 in just 7 months in the prior virtual portfolio - let's just say we are confident it can be done.
Although this article focuses on prudent strategies for a $25K virtual portfolio, many less conservative investors are likely to find the strategies addressed throughout suitable for their own virtual portfolios – though the % allocations will differ as we will see in Phil's virtual exercise. No matter what your risk tolerance, a virtual portfolio comprising some relatively conservative trades is always prudent!
$25,000 Virtual Portfolio
Phil once commented that, when trading a $10,000 virtual portfolio, “every $100 counts”!
Capital should be allocated judiciously in a small virtual portfolio. NEVER allocate a majority of your capital to any single trade. Dedicating 20% of your virtual portfolio to relatively conservative trades (shown below) is appropriate but exceeding 30% is far too risky when dealing with limited capital. With a $25K virtual portfolio, it becomes increasingly imperative to be right first time. Financial constraints limit your ability to scale into trades at different threshold levels and that makes timing critical unless….