Nimitz News - July 21, 2013

July 21, 2013

Vol. 39 No. 23

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

HELPING HANDS DAPA and SARP on the front lines of ARIs pg.8

PICTURES FROM HOME pg.6 1

Commanding Officer Capt. Jeff Ruth Executive Officer Cmdr. John Cummings Command Master Chief CMDCM Teri M. McIntyre Public Affairs Officer Lt. Cmdr. Karin Burzynski Media LCPO MCC (SW/AW) Mike Jones Media Production Chief MCC (SW) Gregory Roberts Media LPO MC1 (AW/SW) Michael Cole Editor MC2 (SW) Jason Behnke Lead Designer MCSA Andrew Price Media Department MC2 (SW/AW) Jacquelyn Childs MC2 (SW) Ashley Berumen MC2 (SW) Nichelle Bishop MC2 (SW) Devin Wray MC2 (SW) Ryan Mayes MC2 (SW/AW) Alexander Ventura II MC3 (SW) Renée L. Candelario MC3 (SW) Shayne Johnson MC3 Jacob Milner MC3 Christopher Bartlett MC3 (SW) George J Penney III MC3 Raul Moreno MC3 Linda S. Swearingen MC3 (SW/AW) Jess Lewis MC3 Vanessa David MC3 W. J. Cousins MC3 Derek Volland MC3 Phil Ladouceur MC3 (SW) Sam Souvannason MC3 (SW) Nathan McDonald MC3 Joshua Haiar MCSN Kole Carpenter MCSN Derek Harkins MCSN Kaitlyn Haskett MCSN Eric Butler MCSN Siobhana McEwen MCSA Aiyana Paschal MCSA Kelly Agee MCSA Victoria Ochoa

PRESS ON

By Lt. Cmdr. Jeffery Jenkins

Is your cup half empty or half full? We’ve reached the midpoint of deployment and your perspective is important on whether you celebrate what we’ve accomplished or dread what is to come. Maybe you are doing neither and just trying to survive each day. This is the time of deployment when complacency can set in. We look at what we have done and assume the future will match the past or worse we begin to slack off because of fatigue.

I want to encourage you today - Press on! Paul relayed this encouragement to the church at Philippi 2,000 years ago. Speaking of his walk with Christ, Paul stated, “Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:12) Now it would have been easy for Paul to say, “I’ve reached the goal and now it’s your turn to carry on.”

Paul was an apostle of Jesus Christ, personally called by Christ on the Road to Damascus. His resume’ was hefty but he was not content with his spiritual walk. In fact he went on to say, “I do not consider myself to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do; forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize promised by God’s heavenly call in Christ Jesus.” (v13)

Nimitz News accepts submissions in writing. All submissions must be in by Friday, COB. Submissions are subject to review and screening.

“Nimitz News” is an authorized publication for the members of the military services and their families.

Its content does not necessarily reflect the official views of the U.S. Government, the Department of Defense, the Department of the Navy, or the Marine Corps and does not imply endorsement thereby.

ON THE COVER: Cpl. Mathew Giles, left, and Lance Cpl. Joseph Daugherty, right, assigned to the “Death Rattlers” of Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 323, stand on the flight deck.

Photo by MC3 Jess Lewis

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I absolutely echo Paul’s cry to pursue the goal of God’s heavenly call. I also believe his key points are applicable across all areas of our lives. It is easy to rest on past successes.

Learn from them. Be proud of them. Never rest on them. The key to pressing on is to have goals toward which you are pressing. Set goals in all areas of your life: personal, professional, family, spiritual, fitness, etc. Look at your goals and see if they are challenging yet achievable. A good goal is achievable in a reasonable amount of time which is part of the key to reducing burnout.

Chase your dreams but break bigger ones into appropriate size goals. Working on your wings or ESWS pin? Set a hard goal for number of signatures this week and a section of material that you are going to master. A solid goal will help you press on when the natural temptation is to slack off and wait until tomorrow.

Each time you accomplish a goal, take time to celebrate. Then press on again.

Learn from your setbacks, and press on. Last remember, as you are pressing on, you are not alone. Paul was encouraging others and being encouraged by others as he pressed on. You are surrounded by shipmates. Ask for help and be ready to lend a helping hand yourself.

When you look back, you might be amazed at what you were able to accomplish.

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SECNAV Announces New Initiatives to Help Combat Sexual Assault Story by Defense Media Activity special agents and crime scene personnel approved by Mabus will further help decrease the sexual assaults investigation timeline.

ASAP teams with specialized training in legal jurisdiction, investigative procedures, evidence collection, sexual assault victim sensitivities, and the handling of reports and official statements are currently being deployed to fleet concentration areas worldwide.

To increase transparency of the department’s criminal proceedings, SECNAV directed the services to begin publishing the results of all Special and General Courts-Martial, including sexual assault cases, on the service primary websites of Navy.mil and Marines.mil, respectively, by July 25.

The first of these summaries will cover those cases concluded from January through June of this year, but future editions will be published regularly.

Additional information and resources to combat sexual assault is available at www.sapr.navy.mil. Sexual assault affects Navy readiness, and the Navy is committed to preventing sexual assault. Join the Navy’s conversation about sexual assault on social media and help raise awareness by using #NavySAPR.

Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) Ray Mabus furthered his commitment to improve the Department of the Navy’s sexual assault response by announcing additional resources for investigators and a new initiative designed to enhance accountability and transparency across the Department.

Mabus approved nearly $10 million to hire more than 50 additional Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) Family and Sexual Violence Program personnel to shorten investigation times, and he directed the Navy and Marine Corps to regularly publish online the results of each service’s courts- martial.

“Our Navy and Marine Corps is the greatest maritime force the world has ever known. To uphold our core values of honor, courage, and commitment, we must do all we can to protect our people from those who would wish to do them harm, especially if they reside within our own ranks,” said Mabus. “This department is fully committed to using all available resources to prevent this crime, aggressively investigate allegations and prosecute as appropriate. We will not hide from this challenge-we will be active, open and transparent.”

The additional Adult Sexual Assault Program (ASAP)

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The aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) Family Readiness Group (FRG) hosted a “Children’s Halfway Party” at Naval Station Everett (NSE), July 13.

The event was held as a way to honor children of Sailors who are deployed on board Nimitz, and included bouncy houses, carnival-style games, door prizes, food, and a demonstration of a military working dog.

Rachel Davey, FRG event coordinator, said it is important to support children of Sailors who deploy because sometimes deployments can be harder on them than on the parents and spouses of deployed Sailors.

“I know a lot of people with kids, especially the ones with toddlers, are having a really hard time right now. They’re always saying, ‘I miss Daddy,’” said Molly Johnson, FRG president. “I even know some dads who say they’re having a really hard time right now, too.”

Johnson said that a lot of times, spouses of deployed personnel will move home, if possible, in order to get a little extra family support. For those who can’t move home, FRG might just be that surrogate family they’re looking for.

“A lot of people feel stuck out here. If they don’t know about the FRG, or if they haven’t gotten in-

volved yet, they feel very alone,” Johnson said.

“You feel like you’re doing this alone, but you’re not. There are hundreds of other people feeling the same way you are.”

“Big events cause a lot of smaller events to happen,” said Johnson. “People make friends through the FRG.” The Children’s Half-Way Party was just one of many that the FRG has hosted for families of Sailors.

“We’ve hosted a trip to the zoo, hiking trips, picnics and potlucks,” said Julie Ruth, who serves as an adviser for the group.

“We have a ‘New Mommy Group’ for expecting mothers, and we do events just for adults so parents can take a break from their kids,” Ruth said. “Sometimes being part of a group like this can help other people feel more brave”.

In August, the group is coordinating a trip to Ballard Market in Seattle. Ruth said having the opportunity to go with a larger group, which includes people who are familiar with the area, often times helps families to get out and explore the area around them.

PHOTOS ON PAGE 6

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a McEwen

Siobhan s by MCSN

Photo 7

nder u g n i v i ), dr I R A ( ) and s I t n W e D d i ( d inc cated e i t ard x a l o o e t b r n l i n o o e l h whi alco 2013inda S. Swearingen g e y n v r i l a v e i u r w n L T I), d y MC3 in Ja U d D Story b e t ( r e o c rep ). uen the infl ncidents were mitz (CVN 68 ei Ni drug us ft carrier USS ra the airc

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The number of ARI, DUI, DWI and drug use incidents have gone down significantly during the current deployment due to a more controlled environment than Sailors are used to while in Nimitz’ homeport of Everett, Wash. However, it is necessary to ensure that all Sailors on board Nimitz are aware of the alcohol and drug abuse programs available to them.

During indoctrination classes every enlisted Sailor E-4 and below with less than two years in the Navy, and every officer O-3 and below with less than two years in the Navy are given mandatory training on alcohol awareness and Nimitz’ policy on alcohol and drug use.

Several programs are currently in use on board Nimitz to help steer Sailors down the right path including Substance Abuse and Rehabilitation Program (SARP) which works with the Drug and Alcohol Programs Advisor (DAPA).

There are currently 40 departmental DAPA representatives on board Nimitz.

Nimitz’ command DAPA is Senior Chief Hospital Corpsman Marvin T. Ramos, of Chula Vista, Calif.

For many Sailors there is a myth that seeing a DAPA is a bad thing; however, the purpose of a DAPA is to ensure that Sailors have an advocate to help them do the right thing.

“A Sailor can refer themselves without any consequences,” said Ramos. “They can also be referred without consequences by their chain of command if no incident occurred.”

The director of Nimitz’ SARP program is Chief Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Handling) Michael D. Hayes, of Abbeyville, Ala.

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“I work hand in hand with DAPA doing the clinical side,” said Hayes. “I do the screening process and the diagnosis and recommend what level of treatment the Sailor gets.”

SARP is considered a part of mental health, and Hayes works with the ship’s psychologist, who is licensed to finalize the diagnosis he recommends.

“Most people have dual diagnosis, and they are treating a mental health issue with alcohol,” said Hayes. “Alcohol is a depressant, and if used to treat depression it can make [depression] worse.”

There are three diagnosis that Hayes gives to Sailors who are sent to see him for alcohol abuse: no diagnosis, which means the Sailor has no problem with alcohol; alcohol abuse, which means there is a low level of alcohol abuse; and alcohol dependence, which means the Sailor is an alcoholic.

“There are three levels of treatment for Sailors who have been diagnosised as having an alcohol dependency problem,” said Hayes. “Outpatient, which is the lowest level of treatment and it can be administered on board. Intensive outpatient, in which the Sailor goes TAD to a treatment facility. Residential inpatient is the highest level of treatment in which the Sailor is taken off the ship to go to a full-time treatment facility.”

According to Hayes, about 80 percent of Sailors who are referred to DAPA or SARP are given a “no diagnosis” status.

Sailors who come to the command DAPA or SARP representatives seeking help with alcohol dependency before an ARI occurs will not suffer any adverse effects in their career.

For more information on Nimitz drug and alcohol prevention and treatment programs, Sailors are encouraged to contact either their departmental DAPA, the command DAPA or the ship’s SARP director.

nes i r a rM o s r o nd il a a y S r t a eren the milit ff ent i r d e ff 0 i Ask 2 pinion on ceive 20 d c i o e their liable to r ’s econom y o e you’r s. In toda it’s hard t r, er e w v s e le n b w a a o i l h e , te er clima gainst th security. a b as argue ck and jo rmw e fo paych until Per is That ve (PTS) r to-Se ted. u instit

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Y

eoman (YN) 1st Class Scott Brady found out firsthand how quickly a sure thing could turn into uncertainty when he went up for PTS approval in 2011.

“When initially approached by my career counselor that my re-enlistment request might be disapproved, I didn’t think that PTS could deny an E-6’s request to re-enlist, especially when I didn’t have anything negative in my record for what was then an 11-year career,” said Brady. “A simple, stupid algorithm that I had no idea existed labeled me as ‘expendable’ for lack of a better word, and told the Navy that while I wasn’t through with them, they were through with me.”

When it became apparent that Brady would be involuntarily separated, it wasn’t only the paycheck that Brady realized he’d be missing.

“When we collect our paychecks, I believe that a lot of Sailors mistakenly look only at the mid-month or end of month pay totals,” he said.

“For years, that’s all I really paid attention to. In reality, the Navy provides Sailors with no-cost health and low cost dental, housing allowances which pay the rent/mortgage, food allowances and relatively low cost insurance.”

This became all too clear for Brady after his daughter was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

“That was what really had me up at night, literally,” said Brady. “My separation would cost my daughter the opportunity to receive therapies that were not offered through most insurance companies. I would be the reason that she fell behind, and I had no reason as to why I had been singled out. I felt that I was letting my family down as a provider and as a man.”

Brady transitioned to the Navy Reserve, and after a long job hunt, found employment as a civilian at his former command. A year later, Brady’s reserve squadron career counselor told him about the Reserve Component to Active Duty Component program. The Navy had separated too many Sailors and needed YN1s for sea duty billets.

“At first I thought he was nuts,” said Brady.

“Why would I think of coming back to an organization that had so unceremoniously shown me the door a mere 12 months prior? So I told him,

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‘yeah, maybe’, took the e-mail that he had printed out for me, tucked it into my jacket and went home from my weekend duty.”

With sequestration and civilian furloughs looming, active duty seemed more and more attractive, however. Brady submitted his application and hoped for the best, although the rigors of his previous job search had taught him not to get his hopes up.

“I sent my application in on a Sunday, they received it and processed it on Monday, and received a ‘Congratulations’ e-mail from my Enlisted Community Manager on a Wednesday,” said Brady. “It took the Navy three days to say ‘yes.’”

Brady will no longer have to worry about the specter of involuntary separation looming over him, however, thanks to a new career management system unveiled by the Navy called Career Navigator.

“For E-6s, there will be automatic re-enlistment for ratings not requiring a specialty NEC (Naval Enlisted Classification),” said Aviation Ordnanceman 1st Class Perez Badillo. “You can get approval the same day you submit it.”

The new system replaces PTS while providing Sailors with more opportunities to stay in the Navy and transparency through every step of the process.

“This system puts Sailors’ careers in their own hands,” said Perez Badillo. “Sailors are able to see the status of their application and explore career paths like other ratings they qualify for.”

While his experience proved to be an eye-opener for Brady, it served as a lesson learned as well.

“It sounds like a complete cliché, but you honestly never know what the world has planned for you,” said Brady. “This experience was definitely humbling. As someone who has been through an involuntary separation and the rollercoaster of emotions that came about because of that experience, I would recommend that a Sailor and family members all seek out assistance that is offered through Fleet and Family Service Centers.”

For more information about the newly instated Career Navigator system, visit npc.navy.mil or talk to your departmental career counselor.

STEP

ONE SMALL

Forty-four years ago, Neil Armstrong as the first of only 12 people to set foot on the moon. But his first steps toward the moon landing were with the Navy and the opportunity it provided.

Armstrong was 17 years old in 1947 when he went to Purdue University under an educational opportunity then offered by the Navy. The Holloway Plan paid for two years of study, three years of naval service and then covered the final two years of study to complete the degree.

After his first two years at Purdue, he reported to Naval Air Station Pensacola in the beginning of 1949, and finished flight school just in time for the beginning of the Korean War. Assigned to Fighter Squadron 51, he set sail for Korea in June 1951 on the USS Essex.

Ensign Armstrong flew 78 combat missions by the time he was 22, including one in which his plane was hit by anti-aircraft fire, forcing him to eject from his plane. He left active service in 1952, and remained a lieutenant junior grade in the Naval Reserve for eight years.

After finishing his degree in aeronautical engineering at Purdue, Armstrong decided to seek work as a test pilot.

Working at Edwards Air Force Base (AFB), he flew a number of aircraft, from large propeller driven bombers to the X-1, the first plane to break the sound barrier.

When NASA announced they were taking applications, Armstrong grew excited about the possibilities of the recently announced Apollo program. His application came about a week after the deadline, but luckily a friend who’d worked

STORY BY MC3 PHIL LADOUCEUR

with him at Edwards AFB saw it and quietly placed it into the stack with the other applications before anyone noticed.

On Sept. 13, 1962, Armstrong was asked by telephone if he would like to be one of the nine new astronauts. Without hesitating, he said yes, becoming the first civilian astronaut for NASA. After going into space with project Gemini, Armstrong learned he would be a part of the Apollo crews flying the first lunar missions. This was just a few months after the deaths of three astronauts of the Apollo 1 mission.

Being an astronaut was and is a dangerous occupation.

Just getting into space required the crew and their spacecraft be perched on top of a device consisting primarily of fuel, designed with the sole purpose of creating an enormous but controlled explosion. It made sense that a test pilot was the sort of person needed for the exploration of space.

To practice landing on the lunar surface, for example, NASA had the pilots fly landing vehicles that were designed to simulate the moon’s lower gravity. Armstrong was flying one in 1968 when he found himself 100 feet in the air and the controls malfunctioning. He managed to eject, and his only injury was from biting his tongue. But if he’d ejected a half second later, he would have been killed.

The test pilot attitude would be needed with the lunar lander again, when setting down on the moon.

When they were landing, Armstrong saw the area they were planning to set down on appeared unsafe. He took manual control of the vehicle and began looking for a safer

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area. Because it took longer, there was uncertainty as to how much fuel was left. There was probably only 45 to 50 seconds of fuel left when they finally set down on July 20, 1969. After landing, the message came from Houston.

“You got a bunch of guys about to turn blue. We’re breathing again.”

Although it didn’t come out until years later, Armstrong had been picked by NASA to be the first person to step on the moon because they knew he didn’t have a large ego. As he stepped on the moon, he spoke: “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”

Four-hundred and fifty million people were listening.

Only five images exist of him on the moon. This was because he was the one with the camera, but it also seems indicative of his humble nature.

“He never wanted to be a living memorial, and yet to generations the world over, his epic courage and quiet humility stand as the best of all examples. It is not merely his ‘small step’ we admire; it is his very large and humble heart,” said Ray Mabus, the Secretary of the Navy, after Armstrong passed away last year.

Armstrong never went back to space. In his later life he worked as an administrator, a professor, and was on several companies’ board of directors. After his death, a ship was named after him, the R/V Neil Armstrong (AGOR 27), the first in a new class of Auxiliary General Oceanographic Research ships.

It’s worth remembering that all of his achievements began with the educational opportunity provided by the Navy.

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10 Finance

gladly accept your money and set up a brokerage account.

You can also use “Discount Brokers” like Charles Schwab, E-Trade, etc. The general difference is Full Service Brokers will do research for you and make recommendations and Discount Brokers just make the stock trades you come up with on your own. Commissions for Full Service Brokers are generally higher than Commissions for Discount Brokers. There are all types of variations on this basic idea, but that pretty much sums it up.

Individual Stocks, Options, Commodities, and Futures

Definitions There are a lot of terms associated with stocks and I will explain some of the key ones (my words) below:

Part one

A fun and easy guide by Cdr. Matthew Miller N33/N35 Sub Ops/Future Plans

Share Price – the current price of one share of stock (e.g., $100 per share). For publicly traded companies (as opposed to privately held companies) this price moves up and down all day long while the markets are open based on supply and demand.

Shares Outstanding – the total number of shares a company has issued (e.g., 1 million shares outstanding) – note that I am not going into different share classes here because that will unnecessarily complicate matters.

Market Capitalization – the number of shares outstanding times the current price of a share. For example, if a company has 1 million shares outstanding and the shares are trading at $100 per share, then the Market Capitalization is 1 million times $100 = $100 million.

Earnings – the amount of profit a company makes over a specific time period (like quarterly or annually).

In its simplest form profit is the total amount of revenue a company earns minus expenses during the time period (e.g., for 2006, company XYZ earned $5 million).

Earnings per Share (EPS) – the amount of profit divided by the number of shares outstanding (e.g., for 2006 company XYZ earned $5 million and had 1 million shares outstanding so the EPS was $5 per share).

Price to Earnings Ratio (P/E Ratio) – the current price of one share of stock divided by the earnings per share (e.g., $100 per share divided by $5 per share = 20). It is common to calculate a P/E Ratio for the previous year’s earnings (known) and also the next year’s earnings (projected).

Introduction

I thought I would provide some more details on this topic even if most of us will not be future traders.

I will focus on individual stocks first because that is probably what most people are interested in. Options, Commodities, and Futures are high-risk financial products and many brokerage firms won’t even allow you to trade them until you pass a test and/or sign your life away. Although these are complex investments, I will explain how they work in simple terms.

Stocks Basics Buying a stock is simply buying an ownership stake in a company (like Apple, IBM, Ford, Intel, Microsoft, Caterpillar, and on and on). The ownership stake is generally expressed as a number of shares. You can buy stock directly from a company – like through an Initial Public Offering (IPO) or through your employer.

Alternatively (and more commonly) you can buy stock from someone else who already owns it. Stock exchanges are where people and organizations buy and sell stocks from each other (i.e., the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on Wall Street in New York City). There are many different exchanges like the American Stock Exchange and NASDAQ, but the idea is basically the same – a mechanism for people to trade (buy and sell) stocks.

There are a lot more parameters that can be calculated for a company’s stock, but these are the basics.

Value versus Growth

Not anyone can go to Wall Street and offer up stock for sale - you need to use a broker that is authorized to trade and this includes paying a commission to buy/ sell. There are “Full Service Brokers” like Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, and others that will

There are different strategies you can employ (and there are different mutual funds that attempt to implement these strategies for you as well). Value investing is looking for stocks that are “undervalued.” This is where the price theoretically does not reflect what the company is really

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worth based on fundamentals (like current earnings, cash flow, value of assets, etc.). Growth investing is looking for stocks that have rapidly accelerating earnings. This is where the earnings may not “justify” the share price today, but they are growing so fast that the share price is expected to rise in the future.

This is where you borrow money to buy even more stock.

Recall the discussion on leverage during the Mortgage article. For example, you have $1,000 and buy 10 shares at $100 per share of company ABC (not including brokerage commissions for sake of discussion). You can also borrow another $1,000 from the brokerage and buy 10 more shares at $100 per share (you have to pay interest on the amount you borrow). You now have 20 shares of a $100 stock (worth $2,000), but have only put up $1,000 of your own money. If the stock goes up to $110 per share, you have made $200. Although the stock went up 10%, you made 20% because you earned money on your borrowed money as well as your own money. This works against you on the way down. If the stock goes down to $90, you lose 20% (not 10%). When you buy on margin and the stock goes up, you compound your gains. When you buy on margin and the stock goes down, you compound your losses. It’s simple math and magnifies the risk you are taking.

Research Whether you are looking for undervalued companies or fast growing companies, you absolutely should do some research. If you are going to buy individual stocks you are taking on a level of risk I have not really discussed so far. There is market risk inherent in every stock, but at the individual company level there is additional company risk.

What happens if the company has a major lawsuit against it? What if the star CEO quits? What if the managers fail to recognize a shift in customer preferences? What happens if another company figures out a way to provide the same product or service faster, better, and cheaper?

You get the idea. You need to stay on top of what’s going on at any company you purchase individual stock in. You need to understand the strategy, the cash flow, earnings prospects, management philosophy, competitive landscape, competitive advantage, etc. – just to name a few.

Selling Short

This shouldn’t scare you, but you just need to be realistic about what it means to put your own money into an individual company – you need to understand what you are buying. For those of you who don’t want to take the time to do this, I highly recommend sticking with Mutual Funds – that’s what they are paid to do and they can diversify away individual company risk (but not market risk). Even better since most Actively Managed Funds don’t beat the market indexes over time (due to expenses), you could just buy an Index Fund (in accordance with your asset allocation plan) and be done (except re-balancing your asset allocation every so often).

You may have heard the term “Selling Short.” This is betting that the price of the stock will go down (not up).

The way it works is you borrow a share of stock and sell it, then buy it back later and return it. In our example we have been using company ABC at $100 per share. You borrow a share of ABC and sell it for $100. If ABC goes down to $90, you buy the share back and return it to the person (or company) you borrowed it from. You have made $10 per share. If the stock goes up to $110, you buy it back and return it to the person (or company) you borrowed it from and you lose $10 per share. Selling Short is risky because the most you could ever make is 100% (if the stock went to $0) and there is an unlimited loss potential if the stock just keeps going up. Also, the market tends to go up over the long run, so the long term trend is working against you.

When to Buy and When to Sell

Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs)

This is a very tough question. The psychology that most individual investors exhibit is usually similar to gambling in Las Vegas. Most people are not quick enough to sell a losing position and they buy after a big rise in share price. You need to be very disciplined and set buy and sell targets based on your research and your investment goals.

There are also significant tax implications, so you really need to check with your tax advisor when you are setting up and implementing your investment strategy.

ETFs are a relatively new product and are “half stock, half mutual fund” (my words). They are like a stock in that you can trade them all day long instead of only at the closing price (allows you to react quicker to changing market conditions as well as have more control over your tax liability). They are like a mutual fund in that you pool your money with a lot of other people and can buy just about any market sector you can think of (Healthcare ETFs, International ETFs, Energy ETFs, etc.). a share of stock at a pre-determined price. This sounds confusing, but I’ll explain.

Margin Trading

Advanced stock trading includes trading on margin.

Continued next week 15