The all new edition of my book Naked Trader 3 is out now !!!

Markets change so I have learned a lot since 2007 and it is all in the new edition.

But lots of new strategies including my top 20, lots more mistakes to avoid, loads of new trader tales, cartoons and a bit of fun too.

Those who bought NT 2, there is plenty of new stuff in it for you and if you are a beginner, you can buy NT 3 without having to buy NT 2.

I hope you all enjoy it - and can tell I put a lot of effort into it and I really hope if it just stops one person from making the mistakes I did it will be worthwhile.

Indeed I hope the book is worth it even if you read about other people's stories, it is amazing how so many make exactly the same mistakes.

Anyhow if you buy it I hope you enjoy it! Click here:
http://books.global-investor.com/books/818560.htm?ginPtrCode=10453

** My book about spreadbetting , you can order it here:

http://books.global-investor.com/books/401334.htm?ginPtrCode=10453

Welcome to my Xmas and New Year Edition of the website - this is the last update this year - I'll be back again with the first update of 2012 on Friday January 13th when I return from a South African adventure!
So may I wish all readers a very happy season of goodwill. If only that would last all year round. I know some of you have been with the website and before that Sky and Channel 5 since 1998 ! Thanks for sticking with me for so long.
I was even youngish when I started writing about shares and now youth has gone! Hey, well there is plenty to compensate. I'll try and keep the website going next year though to be frank it is tempting to quit. But, going once a week has helped reduce the workload so we'll see.
Thanks to some of you asking what present to send me for Xmas. The answer is please don't! Give the money you would have spent to a Big Issue salesman. They really need it. If you can afford it, buy a big issue from them for £20. It means a lot to them. And you know your money is going directly to someone in need. That's where a lot of the money I give to charity goes.
And thanks to all of you I met this year who came to seminars. I enjoyed them all and meeting you. Indeed I met a lot of very interesing people indeed, some very talented in their area of expertise. I hope some of you end up making some extra money via trading or investing, and one or two perhaps even into full-timers.
I also know a lot of friendships have been made at the seminars this year. Indeed I have made some friends and I know some trading partnerships have been established. Good luck to all of you - even though many of you had the stamina to stay on while I talked till late in the evening! I hope to meet some more of you in 2012. (Next seminar Jan 27th, see somewhere else on the website for details).
Just a note that as from Xmas Day I won't be able to answer emails promptly as I usually try and do, though I am taking my laptop. However, if you ask me something I can cut and paste like seminar bookings or the advfn offers that should be okay as it only takes me a few seconds. If you give me your life story you'll have to wait till I return! The answer you seek from me might be in FAQ (click FAQ button above).
We're leaving late Xmas Day for Heathrow and our plane to South Africa and we can't wait! Well, I could do without the flight but will hopefully be so stuffed I'll end up going to sleep just when you'll be watching the Downton Abbey Xmas special!
We land at Capetown on Boxing Day then drive around four hours to some friends who we're staying with for a bit, they have two kids near Christopher's age so that's fun for him... and my friend is a trader so we will have plenty to talk about....
Then we are off to a lovely hotel nearby that specialises in kids. We hope to do a safari, experience some adventures, I guess this one isn't a beach holiday!

We also are going to tour some vineyards and hopefully have some great food which you definitely get over there.
Towards the end we're driving back to Capetown for a couple of days by a pool to relax before coming back home and heading back to the... er ... dark and cold.
Goodness knows what else we'll get up to on this holiday but we hope to discover lots of new things and certainly see a few wild animals close up, preferably not getting eaten in the process!
Relatives are coming down for Xmas Day with us and then staying on here to spend some time in London and the sales... We also hope to convince grandad to paint Christopher's room while we are away which appears to have stuff written on the walls. Ahem.
We went to Westfield on Saturday night to see Arthur Christmas, a kids film with Christopher and what a great movie it was... plenty for kids and adults too... go and see. Very heartwarming but not schmaltzy.
Westfield was heaving, shops and restaurants, you wouldn't imagine we were going through hard times.
Plenty of shopping going on there - also an ice rink, it was all rather jolly.
What else? A school fair, carol concert and a nativity play - Christopher sang very well!

However I made a bit of a boo boo when I dropped him off at school on the last day. Being five minutes too early is always a nightmare as it means smalltalk with one of the mums usually. I'm terrible at it. Remember with small talk never tell the truth.

Three mins got filled with Xmas hols smalltalk but I started to feel desperate as to how the last 2 mins would be filled. She made a game stab at it. "Did you enjoy the carol concert?"

To which I stupidly honestly replied: "Standing in a cold draughty church for an hour really doesn't do it for me..."

She looked aghast. Quick man, pull yourself out of trouble. "Um, er of course the children's singing was absolutely delightful!" I added hastily.

Looked like I was about to pull thins back and to the relief of both of us the gate opened, phew, I could leg it to the car and out of smalltalk trouble.

(If I was being even more honest I could have said there was an annoying woman sitting next to me with tedious verbal diahorrea syndrome).

We went to see Fulham beat Bolton... afraid Bolton were terrible .. they have one crazy fan who spent the whole game with his shirt off and it was freezing...
And both of us are off to watch Fulham beat Man U this week! Well, if we can get one of their players sent off anyway (preferably Rooney!).. we have great seats behind the goal.
The night before that we are off to one of the six theatres my sister owns in the West End, the Vaudeville for the press night of "Swallows And Amazons".
It's all about pirates so Christopher should enjoy it though he will have to stay up late... My sister has lots of good shows on at her theatres at the mo, see the website nimaxtheatres.com.
Because we're off to Heathrow Xmas Day afternoon we are pretending Xmas Eve is Xmas Day and having our Xmas dinner then. Which might sounds a bit confusing but it means we can get our last minute packing done Xmas Day without worrying about dinner.
Our cleaner is going to chuck out the tree so at least when we return all the xmas stuff will have gone.

God knows what other stuff she will throw out, I just hope my tax return and receipts will all be safe in a drawer.
I've had a very good year personally and really enjoyed it at a lot except for some visits to casualty!
Plenty of highlights. Among the standouts was a superb holiday to Florida and Disneyland which was simply great fun. The new year in South Africa was a delight. A brilliant week at a castle in Devon, and a long weekend at a music festival were among the main highlights for me.
I wish I could say the half-term visit to Tenerife was among the highlights but a tummy bug put paid to that.
Naked Trader 3 was published and I was really pleased with it - the feedback on it has been brilliant which is very rewarding. And some good reviews too.
Probably the highlight of the year was a birthday party on a boat with some close friends - the weather was sensational and it was a brilliant evening I'll never forget..,. and the next day some of us saw Fulham beat QPR 6-0 on another beautiful late summer's day.
Lowlight was getting a fishbone stuck in my throat and being told I would need an emergency operation. Lucky for me it fell out just before the operation. Phew!
Banging my knee when I stupidly tripped up running was a horrible week. In plaster was not a bundle of laughs but at least it's healed up now.
It's when things go wrong with your health you realise how little money matters and you concentrate on the very basics of life, which is staying alive!
I really enjoyed being a late parent again this year. Christopher brought yet more joy to my life.
I remember a lovely long summer where we were out doing things every night till dusk fell. He's a lovely lad - not academic at all but I'm happy about that. So many academics end up passing exams but then have awful lives.
So of course the best thing, spending time with my son was free.
And I built up my money pot nicely which is rather good given I hope I never have to work again.

However it is hard to know where to put money where it might be safe so next year I plan to use a lot of the money I made into buying a new property. We shall see!
I really enjoyed the last seminar and bowled over with the feedback.

I have to say I was pretty flattered when I looked up at 9pm and so many of you were still there. Indeed I think if I hadn't run out of steam at the amazing hour of 10.30pm some of you would have still been there in the middle of the night!

I just got a mail from one delegate who tells me there were some of you STILL at the bar at 4.30am still buzzing from the day.

And I thought I was the one with stamina!!!

So thanks a lot for staying the course and for being such a great crowd.

Glad also on the day there were some trades available to do live, and also some to place directly onto the market, and I think doing that seemed to help you.

A pleasure to meet some of you and chat over lunch and the breaks - what I love about trading is it is such a leveller and I love to see all kinds of people who wouldn't normally meet begin friendships and I know many have endured from seminars past, it is wonderful as trading at home can be a lonely business.

And the concentration from those of you who came was marvellous. I know I obviously make a profit from these events but the real reward for me is seeing people getting a greater understanding of the market. Realising it is not just about finding the right company it is all about timing.

And if I think, as I say on the day, that I help many of you to understand who your opponents are in the market, create a trading plan and avoid the silly companies and I know from emails afterwards you got this, that is a terrific reward.

I hope some of you go on to great trading success.

If you missed this seminar or couldn't make it, I've booked a date for the next one - the date is Friday January 27th.

Many of you said you couldn't make it in December so the end of January seemed a good date!

So booking for January's seminar is now open! The good news is as I am only just starting to take bookings there is a very decent early bird discount on offer!

For details on the new Jan 27th date , email me at robbiethetrader@aol.com with "seminar interested" in the subject line. I'll send you everything that I cover and all about the day itself.

Do not forget to claim the decent early bookers discount!

Beginners and improvers welcome! Come and spend the day with me, the markets and some lovely people - and of course, lunch!

If you mail me I will then send you details and a full agenda of what is covered. Also more details below somewhere.

My seminars are designed for beginners, dabblers and improvers and deals with everything from how to look for winners, how to research, spreadbetting, level 2 use how to time trades and short, how to use advfn properly and run your portfolio without having to spend money on systems and tipsters.. and tons more.

A lot of the day comes directly from the live markets and I show you many of the tricks I use to get good prices live. And there might even be the odd live trade or 2!

For those of you who've been to one of my seminars already and would like to improve further, there are two follow up seminars planned for next year.
Follow up with me is on March 8th where we do level 2, research and stock picking, timing and placing live trades all day. Always an interesting session. The last one went really well. For details mail me with "follow up" in the subject line.
Technical Analysis seminar: on Saturday Feb 18th learn with top trader Susan how to use TA to take the emotion out of your entry and exit points - I am there too all day to back up with a bit of fundamentals! It's always best to learn from someone who really trades not a rip off merchant in a suit who doesn't! And Susan has been trading successfully for more than 6 years. Email me with "TA seminar" in the subject line for details. There is a special offer if you'd like to book both. Mail me for that with "both interested" in subject line

Want to know what my last monthly elec/gas/phone/broadband/mobile phone bill was for me and Mrs NT?
What so you reckon? £250? £300?
Nope, wrong. Nothing at all. In fact, a CREDIT of £67 on my bill!
How so? Well, Utility Discount Warehouse offers 10% off your energy bill every year as long as you have 1,500 Telecom Plus shares.
But how do you fancy getting that same whopping 10% discount off the whole of your energy spend for the whole of your first year? Ie your last month will probably be free! You don't need to own any shares, just sign up with UDW services and do it via myself, and you also get my weekly email which is the website stuff direct to your inbox PLUS exclusive higher risk trades made for my pension!
All you have to do is take four services - choose from homephone, broadband, electricity, gas, mobile phone and the amazing discount and my email is all yours. AND you can't lose as there is a "double the difference" promise. That is you are guaranteed to save money by swiitching or they will give you back double the difference.
So by signing up you get the UK's cheapest home phone, homephone and broadband bundle, mobile tarrif and cheapest gas and electric. AND instead of getting loads of different bills from different companies there is just one bill for the lot!
And if you think switching is a pain in the bum, think again. It's easy, a few clicks on a website. On top of all those savings there are loads of other ways to add even bigger savings too.
Want to go for it? To sign up via me and get all those benefits and my email go to this web address only
www.utilitywarehouse.org.uk/fabdeal

and sign up directly there - you can also read about alll the services and how much you might save!
Once you have signed up, just let me know and tell me what your customer number is (they will send you your number) and you get my email! I get ongoing commission in return, you save money!
I use all the services myself, and have done for many years. You get a UK call centre with calls answered quickly and a monthly bill.

I get quite a few mails asking what magazines or news services I subscribe to etc. Well, hardly any!
However I do take (£8.99 a month though take the yearly option at 20% discount to that) a daily email which is my main source of news about such things as broker upgrades, main news items, analysis of stocks and markets, forthcoming company statements and events, stock recommendations and targets from the top brokers, what kind of earnings expected from companies and a whole heap more useful stuff.
I sometimes get ideas from this for companies to watch or monitor or even buy. And it's handy to get a summary of what the brokers are saying and looking at future earnings etc.
It usually arrives around 5ish every day.
I contacted the people that put it together and they offer a free 14 day trial of it to my readers - so you can cancel after 14 days if you don't feel it's useful enough.
Once you cut and paste this link into your browser, click "uk 14 days free trial" then I would go "yearly option" which gives a 20% discount making it just over £7 a month, as you can still cancel seems worth it. Hope you find it useful like I do. It's one of the few paid for news services that has really impressed.
http://bit.ly/eBPXuG

I do also get the Investors Chronicle delivered by the newsagent every Friday. It's always worth a read and brings to my attention things I may have missed.

An interesting email from a reader. The thrust of it was he was going to buy a share after doing a lot of research but then it went up 12% and he hadn't bought it yet. So he felt angry.
How does he stop/halt the feelings of anger?
Well, you have to take the emotion out of trading. Which isn't easy.
I suggested he should read this book.. by Jason Zweig
http://books.global-investor.com/books/256158.htm?ginPtrCode=10453
This is the one to read on psychology. Great read.
Fancy getting the naked trader updates direct into your inbox? And a bit before it gets updates on the net including news from my pension trades made from my SIPP?

All you have to do is take a phone or energy service from the Utility Discount Warehouse at www.utilitywarehouse.org.uk/fabdeal.

I get some commission and you get the service! On top of that you ought to make some amazing savings on your phone, broadband, or energy use or all! There's even an internet phone where you can make free calls from wi fi hotspots!

Prices are guaranteed lower than the top 6 suppliers but even better you can get huge discounts on your energy/phone bill if you shop at places like Marks and Spencers, Boots, Sainsburys and a whole load more. 5% of your spend comes directly off your billl. Many are saving a fortune from their energy bills.

So save a few quid, and get my stuff in your inbox! A win win? Mail me at robbiethetrader@aol.com with "mail service" in the subject line and I'll send you details.

Spreadbetting firm Tradefair Spreads has upped its offer exclusively to Naked Trader readers to a £100 credit. This offer is exclusive to me and not available anywhere else...
I've been using them for a few weeks to check that I'm happy with the service. As you know I don't take ads or allow referrals on the site unless it's a company I've used and I feel confident about.
What I like about it is it's easy to use, spreads are surprisingly tight on the smaller companies and interestingly an automated stop loss is applied to each trade - so beginners know what their max loss is from the outset.
Anyway they now offer a £100 credit as long as you deposit £100. You get the credit after you placed 5 trades (Terms and conditions apply)
If you'd like to apply for an account with Tradefair Spreads and get the freebie click this link:
http://www.tradefair.com/promo/spreads/nakedtrader100/

I use IG Index for betting on the very small companies, the only spreadbet firm I can find that does the smaller ones making it possible to trade AIM cos tax free.

To sign up and get an excelllent weekly education programme use this link:

www.igindex.com/nakedtrader

Many of you enjoy the cheap advfn toplists bronze deal through me as do many of you with the cheap level 2. However many of you say you want a half-way house to include real-time share prices always on.
So I'm pleased to announce I've managed to seal a new deal with Advfn for its "Silver" service - that's always on real-time share prices for a good saving (Bronze toplists etc are included in this).
The deal is via me you can save £30 for your first year by paying just £145 inc vat via me instead of £173.71
Just mail me for full details if you'd like it with "silver" in the subject line.

They've just re-published "The Zulu Principle" by Jim Slater who's written a 2008 update at the beginning.
This is a brilliant classic book. Reading this is a real pleasure and it was a great idea to republish.
Jim believes like I do the best gains can come from smaller stocks and in an easy to read style takes you through how to evaluate smaller companies that are about to become bigger ones - he uses some excellent examples.
Really this is a must read for all more longer-term investors or anyone looking to grow their money... a number of you have also written to me about this book and praising it.
Here is the link to buy it:
http://books.global-investor.com/books/167207.htm?ginPtrCode=10453
Here's a very topical one: The Little Book of Bull Moves in Bear Markets by Peter Schiff.
The book is all about how to keep portfolios up in a down market. He focusses a lot on how to play commodities and win with some sensible advice especially on natural resources and precious metals. He is very much a realist and there is no rubbish here: some straight talking and some interesting strategies.
Everyone who invests should think seriously about keeping portfolios up in bad times so this book should be read.
Well worth picking up at this link:
http://books.global-investor.com/books/271958.htm?ginPtrCode=10453
To order my new book Naked Trader 2 for next day delivery click this link... or the cover of the book top right!
http://books.global-investor.com/books/27120.htm?ginPtrCode=10453
Several people have asked me for a recommendation on a book which shows how to study accounts in a reasonably easy way. The one I like the most is http://books.global-investor.com/books/15717.htm?ginPtrCode=10453 by Robert Leach. Ten crunch questions to ask before buying any company.
It' s a decent easy-to-read book with several key chapters and it's highly recommended. It's one I keep and dip into from time to time. To order, click this link... http://books.global-investor.com/books/15717.htm?ginPtrCode=10453
The best book on charting and easiest read on the subject is http://books.global-investor.com/books/15618.htm?ginPtrCode=10453 by Alistair Blair. Click here -> http://books.global-investor.com/books/15618.htm?ginPtrCode=10453
Another good one is the second edition of http://books.global-investor.com/books/23792.htm?ginPtrCode=10453 by Peter Temple. Included in this one is how to use spreadbetting, CFD's warrants and trackers to reduce risk. And there are some decent trading strategies too.
This is an excellent book for new investors and also experienced ones. It explains all the things you may not be sure about in the markets and will explain the tools that are there. To order The Investors Toolbox by Peter Temple (new edition) click the following link for delivery in 24 hours... http://books.global-investor.com/books/23792.htm?ginPtrCode=10453

**** BOOKING FOR FRIDAY JANUARY 27TH NOW OPEN

Fancy spending a day with me, learning all the ways I have learned over the years to find good shares and play the markets? Well, you can at one of my seminars!
Booking is open for the Naked Trader seminar on Friday Jan 27th

Price is £550 plus vat. There is an early bookers discount available.
That includes three course lunch, coffees, snacks etc.
The seminar is mainly aimed at beginners and dabblers though improvers are welcome too.
Topics covered using live market feeds all day include: Market psychology, level 2 - a simple guide to how to use it for better timing; how to value companies; finding companies that are about to rise. I will also cover techniques for handling events such as the recent meltdown and volatility.
Spreadbetting: How to use it to gain an edge and go short. Market makers - how they work and how to beat them; how to stop losing money and make it instead and plenty more.
How to plan trade entries and exits - how to research companies and understand reports, plus all those niggly questions you always wanted to ask. How to set stop losses and targets. Charts and how to use them.
Also covered: Market maker tricks: How to spot tree shakes and use them in your favour, How to tell when NOT to buy a share. I use live ADVFN all day with lots of level 2 and looks at all kind of live market data.
The idea behind the seminar is SIMPLICITY. I don't use jargon or fancy words - everything is in PLAIN ENGLISH! No question is too stupid and the event is held in a friendly relaxed and supportive environment.
The idea is you will come away from the event I hope a wise and better investor with lots of new ideas. I try and translate complex topics into easy bite size pieces. I also aim for it to be entertaining as well as instructive.
If you are interested please e-mail me at robbiethetrader@aol.com with "seminar interested" in the subject line and I will send you full details of the event including comments from those who have come to previous seminars and you can then decide whether you would like to come. See you there!
One seminar attendee Clare wanted to write a testimonial about her experiences at the seminar which follows now!
"I've just come back buzzing from one of Robbie's seminars. What a day! He's just brilliant, and manages to pack an awful lot into one day, and with his enthusiastic and humorous delivery the day just flies by. There are no gimmicks, no sell, no "˜get-rich-quick' promises, just his own solid, sound approach which he has learnt over the years and which works.
He shows you how to minimise the risks and maximise the profits and points out the banana skins on the way. Where the seminar really comes into its own is when he teaches using live level 2. Hearing him talk through his thought processes and reasoning is invaluable, and really brings home everything from the book. He has endless patience answering peoples' questions, and really seems to care that everybody understands.
On top of that, you meet some really nice like minded people and swap e mail addresses, you're plied with
chocolates and coffee all day, have a great lunch and spend the evening getting tiddled with Robbie in the
bar afterwards! You might even get to see the amazing crocodile boots . . . .
Don't worry about the cost, it's easily worth it, and you'll soon make it back with your new-found investment skills, and in what you're no longer losing. If you're thinking of going along to his next seminar, whether you're a novice or an experienced trader, don't hesitate ""just go!
Thanks Clare, did you want the tenner in cash, or will a cheque do?

I've started using Tradefair for spreadbetting - I like the auto generated stop losses which help to maintain discipline and that's good for beginners I think. And exclusively for Naked Trader readers they upped the offer to £100 credit.
So there's now a £100 credit on offer for anyone opening an account via me. You get that after 5 spreadbets (terms and conditions apply)
To get the offer, click here:
http://www.tradefair.com/promo/spreads/nakedtrader100/

Thanks so much for those of you who've emailed me telling me you enjoy my rants otherwise known as Naked rambling.
I never really cared if no-one read it as it's fun to get it off my chest, a bit like free therapy so thanks for reading...
It's been a terrible year for news. I have just never ever known such a relentless barrage of .. horrible news.
Robert Peston was on a lot which is always bad news. Of course we had the riots.
Worst thing I saw all year was streams of people paying for coffee using credit cards. We are still living on the never never and I am afraid it is my generation's fault.
Greed and the I want it now mentality has been passed on to those growing up with dire results.
And I am sure we are all asking what is the point of the awful Nick Clegg and the Lib Dems? We just can't afford to be liberal at the moment.
They'll get wiped out at the next election and that will be that. But to be fair all the current crop of politicans are simply awful.
While Clegg is the worst, the others aren't far behind. David Cameron appears to be a hammy actor though Ed Milliband is worse. (Though not as bad as the other Ed. Balls to him)
Just when you thought Michael Foot was probably the worst ever Labour leader along comes Ed. They must be wondering in the party how on earth they can get rid of him.
Mary Portas has reviewed high streets for the Government. Just looks like a publicity stunt. She didn't really come up with much.
My views on high streets are. Well, one argument is forget them, they are finished thanks to the internet, high rents, and market forces. Leave them to the chains and turn the empty ones that will never be filled again back into housing.
Or, do what the French do. Zone them. Give a third to independents with regulated lower rents that they can actually make a profit on and rents can only increase with inflation. Some high streets might survive but only ones in well-heeled areas who want to support upmarket butchers and the like.
However I am afraid the high street is finished in its current form - expect just a small amount of the big brands and charity shops. Most will continue to go to out of town supermarkets and the internet.
TV this year was mostly terrible, however there were one or two highlights.

Best Drama: Boardwalk Empire (Sky Atlantic). Supreme drama, I know you didn't see it, get the DVD!
Best comedy: The superb Curb Your Enthusiasm, yes know you never saw that either, get the complete series on DVD! It shows Ricky Gervais how it should be done.
Best popular drama: Downton Abbey, though it did appear to turn into comedy in the last few episodes but still watchable. I'll have to record the Xmas special as will be on a plane when it's shown.
I am desperately hoping Bates gets found guilty!! I can't stand the goody two shoes any longer!
Worst of the year? So much! Ch 5 trying to put some life back into dead format Big Brother. The terribly disappointing Life's Too Short. Last week's comedy awards featuring Jonathan Ross who is about as funny as a road crash.
Then the awful X-Factor. Same old format, same manipulative story lines, same crap singers.
I gave up after a while but saw the yawn inducing final where ten minutes material was dragged out into tedious hours and after all that it's won by four girls who can't sing with an awful song. Big changes needed. I would sharpen it up and cut it right down to half an hour.
I see there is a show on ITV this week entitled
"Westlife: For The Last Time"
To which surely the only rejoinder can be: "Thank f*** for that!"
The spreadbetting firm I use for sports betting is here:
Via this link Open a Sporting Index account and there's £100 cash offer - please check terms and conditions which apply.

http://www.sportingindex.com/?tpid=6755
Do remember if you do bet you ought to treat sports spreadbetting as entertainment - and expect to lose! Also with spreadbetting work out what your max loss could be and make sure you can afford it! In other words if you say backed the favourite at 15 for a fiver and they come nowhere your max loss is £75.

Chris writes :
Chris the builder from sunny Wigan here, fan from day 1, (well about day 323 but who's counting eh?)

Anyway....I feel the need to say THANK YOU again for staring at me via (the first book) on Waterstones bookshelf on that faithful Christmas weekend a few years back, then the seminar at posh Heathrow that i drove to in my van! Ha!

Patience is free, watched my portfolio turn to poo, then back into gold, bought another house with profits, ISA is crammed with good earners, and KENTZ? Need I say another word? Here's one... wow, and another, did I mention thank you Mr Burns

Thanks Chris, I remember you well! In fact I remember you giving me some "humble builder" type nonsense and so glad you've done well and I helped with the book and the seminar. One thing you picked up is the ability to hold onto the good winners for yers to get the real rewards.

I'm happy for you. Great thing about trading is it doesn't matter who you are, what you do, or how you perceive your "status". We are all equals in trading and that is just great.

Duane writes:
Wanted to say a big thank you to you and Mrs NT for an amazing day of learning and fun at your seminar.

The way you explained the share trading from start to finish was understandable and really interesting, well worth the seminar fee!
It was great to hear such down to earth and honest assessment from a successful trader like yourself. The way you explained everything was good revision from your book and gave further insight into successful share trading.

I particularly liked your live trades and going through your accounts when you gave snippets of why you invested in certain shares and why you kept/dumped them. Also helpful was the way you searched for prospective shares and within minutes discounted them or put them on a short list for further examination and correct entry points. Amazing!
You could really tell that you loved doing what you do and your energy levels to keep going till 10pm was well....... I had to leave at 9pm I was shattered!

Thanks again Robbie I am keen to put into practice what you have taught me. Even though you make squillions from your trades and I am sure don't need to do the seminars for financial gain, but please keep doing those seminars for newbies like me!

Thanks Duane! Don't expect to be doing them foreever but very rewarding for me to help people so expect to carry on for a while longer.
Gabriel writes:
If you are reading this, you are perhaps considering going on one of Robbie's Seminars. You maybe asking yourself (like I did) the testimonials are all well and good but once the euphoria and excitement of attending a Seminar has died down ..... and I am back home in my normal routine and faced with the "graft" of putting it all into practice... will I become a better trader and be financially better off?
Let me tell you that in my case it certainly has!
Book your place pretty sharpish....... is what I say !

Thanks Gabriel!

Terry writes:
Fantastic seminar.

I have always been sceptical of the public testaments you see on web sites
saying how great an event was. Now I'm one of those people!. I
genuinely believe that the tips and techniques as well as the overall
approach you demonstrated will radically improve my trading performance

Thanks Terry, well all the testaments are real but know what you mean and glad you feel it was worth it!
Stephen writes:
I read your book and did the course - and I wasn't sure if I'd recoup the cost, it's been 2 years and I've made £38k + saved a loss transferring a Jupiter ISA heavily invested in BP. I can't tell you how important this is or how grateful I am. That's just me, who knows how much people have made with your help and saved by not making mistakes. I wanted to get into shares as they recovered after the crunch, but I assumed I had to put a large amount in one company I thought would make a big jump.
But what happens when you make £1m on the website, will you still do courses? I don't know how you do your ISA and SIPP investments, write the website, books, courses and answer e-mails. But please don't give it up. Couldn't you do the courses and have a standing website which gets updated with your trades say once a month so people can see what you do..

Stephen thanks so much for such a nice mail and much appreciated! Dunno about the future, I feel like I'm getting jaded. It's possible I might just reduce it all at some point to twice a month after going weekly - that would probably help. The other problem is other people's angst is getting to me and the email workload becoming overwhelming. I think after ten years it might be time for me to quit. Anyway good luck with your trades and hope you make a lot more.

I have 3 great offers from ADVFN.

SAVE OVER £120 !
First great deal: If you want level 2, through me it is only £350 for your first year including VAT!
This compares to £473 direct from advfn inc vat so this deal saves you over a whopping £120! ADVFN level 2 also includes all the live trades made through Plus Markets which I find invaluable.
To accept this great deal just e-mail me at robbiethetrader@aol.com with "Level 2 offer" in the subject line and I will tell you how to get it. Level 2 gives you access to all the market maker positions and the order book and I would not trade without it!

More on level 2 in my book and I spend hours on it at my seminars. So if you get level 2 and want to learn how to use it properly live, book my seminar!

Deal two is ADVFN's bronze subscription - normally £74 pa - available from me for only £50! (inc vat) That's a saving of over £30! You access to the premium bulletin board which contains my discussion forum with direct access to chat to me and some very good traders. Plus you get ADVFN's premium top lists which I think are a must for finding great stock picks. That includes great lists like ex dividend dates, market maker buys plus chart breakouts and downs. All as explained in the book.
To take up the offer, e-mail me at robbiethetrader@aol.com with Bronze in the subject line and I will tell you how to claim the deal.

Bronze is included inside the level 2 deal.

Deal three is ADVFN's silver subscription - for those of you who want all the benefits of Bronze AND always on real-time prices.. no more using the back button and getting frozen out!

The deal is via me you can save nearly £30 for your first year by paying just £145 inc vat via me instead of £173.71
Just mail me at robbiethetrader@aol.com if you'd like this deal with "silver" in the subject line.

Want to try out broker Selftrade superb trading system for no risk? You only have to trade once to get £50 bunged into your account! You get £50 and I get £50.
All online deals are just £12.50 with no funny small print. Charges for phone deals are higher, check terms and conditions. They also charge £35 plus vat pa for all accounts. Follow this link...
http://tinyurl.com/57hp4n

MARKETS
Well, I thought I'd begin with rounding off the last trades for the year, review of my trading year and end off with some shares I'm watching for 2012.
2011 proved the hardest year ever. The volatility was astounding, with the first week in August quite bonkers.
However I did manage to make some money largely thanks to some of my longer-term holds which still did well and also shorting really helped me to bank some cash too. I also got rid of losers as fast as possible which really helped to ensure my pot didn't suffer. More on all that in a mo but let me wrap up more recent stuff.
I am off to South Africa from Xmas Day for 3 weeks so quite careful with any new buying and also I have sold some things and expect to make one more clear out of shares before I go leaving me with taken profits and a whole heap of cash for the new year.
January and February usually aren't great months so I don't want anything too volatile open for the first bit of the year. I'm kind of looking to be careful for the first bit of 2012 and then have decent firepower ready for later in the year.
Right before a look ahead to 2012 a wrap of recent moves...
I've bought some IP Group (IPO). A fascinating one that is hard to weigh up but looks interesting enough to take a chance on with 5,000 shares at 74p.
The company is in effect like a very big Dragons Den dragon... it provides money and expertise to up and coming companies and has a massive and varied portfolio of companies. It's also doing very well, and although it's already had a good run, I'm going to back it for more rises.
I was amazed to see Carpetright beginning to rise after results. The results were dire but buyers came in and it began to rise strongly so I closed out at 412 for a profit of £2,380 to add to the other profit on it made recently.
I guess part of it is, ahem, shorters closing! However looks like a wonderful chance to get in on a new short on these quite soon as I still think they are worth 3 quid and not 5 quid, perhaps it could be the short of 2012?
Half profits were taken on Supergoup which nicely hit the 550 target and profit taken at 544 for a profit of £1,100. However kept hold of the rest of the spreadbet on it and they look undervalued still after results and looking to buy more on a bad day. Nice planned trade made at the last seminar which worked out brilliantly.
The quick swing trade in Dignity worked well at 842 for a profit of £170.
Yule Catto rose strongly however encountered a lot of sellers after it sped up towards 180 so I exited at 175 and 174 on the spreads at a total profit of £690. Sellers continued in however it surprised me by heading right back to the support area of 152 so I nabbed a new spreadbet on it for £30 at 153.
Devro went at 257-5 for a profit of £3,626. Nice share but hasn't gone anywhere for ages. Afren went at 86.5 for a profit of £450 as it couldn't crack 90. New Brit top up didn't work and sold at 781-5 for a loss of £118 and buy back at 725. A little topslice of Ms brought in £940 and the final bit of Domino was sliced off for a profit of £360 (looking for a repeat trade there).
Phew. All of that adds up to a profit for the site of £9,598 pushing website profits up to near £990,000 getting me closer and closer to the magic million profit mark.
As I said I expect to probably close more out before I leave for South Africa and back in January with tons of cash!
LOOK BACK AT 2011
Phew, well it wasn't too bad, and actually made some profits in a bad year.
Continuing to cut losses fast and run the good ones worked even during the volatility.
I made some very good money by going short using the SUK2 for my ISA (see naked trader 3 for more on that), FTSE shorts using spreadbets and shorting some individual companies. I don't have the time or energy to put up the ftse short trades here and they are too short-term.
However I feel I could have made a shedload more by simply sticking with all the shorts I took out - I closed most of them way too early costing me thousands in lost potential profit.
The one that irritates most is Blinkx! I was certain this was wildly overated and shorted it at 175ish - it went to 150 where I closed out. two weeks later it was 70p!! It's 50p now I daren't look. Arrrrghhhh!
At least I hung onto the Ocado short for a decent period and that worked. In real life I had some massive shorts on it, closed some out but still hold some big ones though as I write it can't be long before I close them out, profits on the short well over £10,000.
Carpetright too proved an excellent short. Nice short too on Linkedin though probably the best closed short of the year was Betfair, a great short that one.
But plenty of "if onlys". If only I had held onto the Home Retail short and oh that Mothercare short! Why oh why wasn't I more patient, the profits on that if I had held on! A lesson learned I hope.
Onto the biggest 2011 cock ups for me.
My worst trade was a loss of over 3 grand in a CPP spreadbet. Never saw that coming and not much I could do as it tumbled overnight when it announced an investigation into its selling practices. As a trader something like this will always happen once or twice a year. I still would not have seen that one biting me in hindsight.
Other terrible trades were anything that lost me over a grand - step up Harvey Nash and Character (though got some back on that one). Both entered too high and was too slow to take the losses while small. My own fault.
However in a tough year I'm still happy I in the main kept losses in the low 100s while closing out some profits in the 1000s.
On closed trades some lovely profits on Charter and Laird banked, both on the bid block. And plenty of nice trades closed out making me between £2 and £3 grand each.
Some great profits currently stacked up in unclosed trades.
Biggest three winners in the portfolio are: (rough profits!)
1. Telecom Plus profit £92,000
2. Dialight profit £43,000
3. Microgen Profit £27,000
And big dividends too! However there are some longer-term trades I should have taken profits in and didn't, so I lost some paper profit but I don't claim to be always right.
So my share of the year has to be Telecom Plus which has soared to another high this year - up an amazing 70% in a bad year and still looks good, in particular the dividend rise of 25%. This is my big income earner, with more than £300,000 worth in real life the yield brings in a fantastic income every year - I should pick up around £13,000 in divs in the next year. Total profits here are well in excess of £90,000 and way more than that personally. I don't expect a massive rise in 2012, but a tenner will do nicely!
Second biggest winner long-term superstar Dialight has been steady for a long time. But it is in a rapidly growing market. Much is in the price admittedly but with patience there is a tenner to come. Well, I have been patient all the way from 150p to 750 and as those of you who have to my seminars have seen from my accounts my profits in real life are something like £70,000. For the website profits are more than £40,000 - and of course there have been dividends on top.
And Microgen has been a lovely winner, first bought this one live at a seminar a couple of years ago and it's done nothing but rise and trebled for me. I reckon more to come next year.
Coastal Energy has been a lovely near doubler and one I intend to stick with for next year as it could be a really hot share for 2012, as it has been already for 2011. This good news story just keeps getting better and better and I am looking for well over a tenner here, perhaps up to 1400 now - I've now pretty much doubled on the first buy not that long ago and nicely up on the topup. Fantastic share.
Alternative Networks has been a top notch share for me, again doubled on it and made a lot of profit on this one but expect to continue to hold long-term for a decent capital gain and nice income too. I expect another rerating sometime next year. In the meantime some great dividends to come. It's also nicely defensive.
Kentz has had a brilliant year, some long-term spreadbets on that one that have paid off and more than doubled. It seems stuck around the mid 400s for now. Not sure why as it still looks cheap - some huge contracts, plenty of visibility, long-term work and a whole heap of cash - I hope this will be a big winner in 2012.
BTG is hovering around three quid and remains a nice doubler for me this year. A nice long-termer and another I'm keeping hold of.
Entertainment One has been a star for me this year and another doubler. Still waiting on bid news here I actually think a bid is now in this one for next to nothing! To me the shares are pretty much worth 190-200 quid each without a bid and I would now imagine any bidder would have to pay nearer three pounds than 250. Talking bids contined rumours, Gulf Keystone is in the frame according to the papers so that could provide a good profit if it happens.
LOQ has been a tremendous share in 2011 and another doubler. Potential for more in 2012.
I suppose you could argue it is a bit foolhardy to hold on to some of the big winners for 2012, but running winners is the way to big money.
One other thing to mention about 2011 is the rise of the robots - programmed algorithms that buy and sell shares in effect to manipulate prices in their favour and hence much more volatility. With the machines taking over sometimes prices can move by idiotic amounts quickly so expect another "flash crash" at some point next year.
LOOK AHEAD TO 2012
Well, let's face it for right now 2012 looks a bit scary. There seems to be lots of horrible news and little good.
But you could have said the same when we entered 2009 - it was dark and gloomy then but from March the markets took off. We have to remember markets always look forwards and you could argue there is a lot of bad news already in prices.
I guess much will depend on what happens in the Eurozone next year and whether or not it can be sorted out. If it can't we could end up in a mess but the ability to be able to short via spreadbets is fantastic.
I can't tell you what will happen because I don't know and nor does anyone else really. If you read stories written by "experts" they are only b-s*itting you because they don't know either.
But they have funds or newsletters or tipsheets or software to sell you so they need some good headlines, preferably fear driven ones to get you to subscribe.
My plan for the moment is to keep some cash back and not have to heavy a stake in anything in case liquidity dries up making it hard to get out of something. Follow the market if I can and not second guess it.
Staying away from companies with big debt and concentrating on ones with low debt or cash in markets which could go well.
And in general I am going to continue to avoid anything too volatile. They are just too much like hard work!
And important for this year again will be to plan every trade and axe any trade fast that is going wrong before it goes very wrong.
Next year, at least the beginning of it I'm going to treat with extreme caution and if things go pear shaped then I shall use the power of spreadbetting to make money from the downside.
I guess we have to hope somehow the economic mess is sorted out a bit.
However some shares could still go up and I'll look forwards now to next year with:
TEN SHARES I AM WATCHING FOR 2012
More specifically I thought I would share with you ten shares on my radar for 2012. I am no forecaster, I am in some of these already, and some I have yet to get involved in, they are simply shares with a story attached.
In most cases these stories will either end up real and the shares could soar, and in some cases the story won't work out and they could plummet. I am keeping an eye on them all next year and hope they all might make profitable trades at some stage. The key would be to exit fast with small losses should the stories not make it and try and run up the ones that do come up with the promised goods. And if the whole economy sinks to oblivion next year then all bets are off anyway.
They are in no particular order of merit! Just to remind you my comments are my own opinion and I am not advising you to buy any of them and I am not a tipster. I could be and probably will be totally wrong on some of them. If you try and follow me into them you could be buying a stinker and you may not have the experience to get out fast if they go wrong. Always do your own research and make your own decisions based on your own experience of the markets.
However I think all the following have potential upside and all have either got some cash or debt is low.
Innovation Group (TIG) Quietly building this one, continues to win lots of new contracts and has a good balance sheet - looks cheap and could have a storming 2012.
Monitise (MONI) Tricky to value as it's not due to make a profit till 2013. However it is in the right area of the market, paying for everything using your mobile - it has created some giant partnerships, one with the mighty visa. A potential big player in the future. Some could argue though a "jam tomorrow" share.
Carclo (CAR). Make or break year for this one. It's all down to whether its touchsceen techology takes off or not. If it does there is tons more upside. However, a failure would be punished. A gamble, but one that could pay off. Already doubled my money here so can afford to be patient, wait and see.
Vislink (VLK) - this company is transforming itself and concentrating more on defence - providing cameras for unmanned "drone" aircraft. If drones continue to take off this new angle could go well for the company and with plenty of cash looks little downside for now and potential good upside. One broker targets 36p. I've nipped a few.
Kentz (KENZ) - An overlooked oil services company that has bundles of cash - it's joined the ftse 250 and looks undervalued. Possibly that's because it has a lot of contracts in the volatile middle east but that aside, there could be tremendous upside to this one in 2012 especially if it uses its cash wisely.
Iomart (Iom) Cloud computing is the new buzzword - if cloud computing continues to be the next big thing then this looks the best company to be in. Obvious risk if it doesn't but a potential doubler.
Computacentre (CCC). Looks oversold, management promises a successful end of year and it's got a massive cash pile. Also appears to be bottoming out.
Filtronic (FTC). Definitely a gamble this one for small money only. Only valued at 17m and it has 4m cash - a load of directors bought shares in November which brings some confidence its change of tack could bring in dividends. I would guess this one could either be double or half the price by the end of 2012 !
Yule Catto (YULC) I wonder whether this could be a bid target next year? Given its massive recent slump could it go the way of Charter and get snapped up while cheap? I'll be considering tucking some away next year on a bad day and holding for the potential takeover. Even without it begins to look cheap. Downside of course if we have a terrible 2012.
BAY Bayfield Energy. A high risk oil play but it is headed by Finian O'Sullivan who took Burren Energy from 200p to 1230p - so obviously an excellent guy to have on board here. If he can pull off the same trick, the kind of share that could double or more in 2012.
And my favourite potential short: Carpetright (CPR) - Gone back to over five after dire results, I expect to get in here with a short as I just can't see this one having anything other than a horrible 2012.
So there we are - I'm off for my hols reasonably satisfied overall. I know I could have done better with more running winners on the shorts. And I took some unneccesary bigger losses too. But overall wins were much bigger than losers and I am still here!
I'll be back in January, I hope you all have a wonderful festive season and remember, money isn't everything.
If you had a bad 2011 I am sorry, but you have to be in the game to win it. If your strategies aren't working it can be best to get out and come back again another time.
Enjoy yourself this festive season with friends and family, have fun and laugh. Life is short, enjoy it. Money isn't everything, I just tried to make a lot without a job to buy me time, which is the most precious commodity on the planet.

And as they say the best things in life continue to be free.

Hope Mrs NT will provide one aspect of the best things in life are free department while Christopher is busy with the kids club at the hotel!

I wish you all a great festive season, and try not to row too much with your relatives, count to ten and go do the washing up.
I've been getting e-mails regarding my use of direct market access and who I use. I've tried a few and for me the easiest system for me is here:
http://www.igmarkets.co.uk/?QPID=1079&QPPID=1
Direct market access means you can place orders directly onto the order book bypassing brokers and market-makers with a chance to buy at the "sell" price. I would suggest you ensure you know what you're doing first but IG does provide much education with its "tradesense" educational tool which comes with it.
I also use its spreadbetting service too along with other firms like Tradefair because it now provides trailing stops which to me is a pretty sensible way of trading. Also with this link there is an excellent education programme and it offers the biggest range of smaller shares.

www.Igindex.com/nakedtrader
As usual before opening accounts please read all the warnings on the sites. You can lose a lot of money if you're not careful so pay close attention to them and make sure you always understand what you are doing and what your potential losses are.

I've also started using Tradefair for spreadbetting - I like the auto generated stop losses which help to maintain discipline and that's good for beginners I think. And exclusively for Naked Trader readers they upped the offer to £100 credit.
So there's now a £100 credit on offer for anyone opening an account via me. You get that after 5 spreadbets (terms and conditions apply).
To get the offer, click here:
http://www.tradefair.com/promo/spreads/nakedtrader100/

If you want to get the contents of The Naked Trader website into your mailbox instead of waiting for the update to come through, plus exclusively news on the progress of my SIPP from the old Sunday Times column inc new higher risk Aim buys made for that, e-mail me at robbiethetrader@aol.com with SIPP in the subject line for details of how to get it.

Want to quit the rat race? Try and start a new source of income so one day you can tell the boss to stuff it? You could do what I did to escape my grotty office job and become an independent distributor for the Utilities Discount Warehouse.
You get to sell great broadband, phone packages and energy to friends, relatives, contacts and anyone else you find and you get cash for each sale but more importantly you get a cut of their spend EVERY MONTH for as long as they are a customer!
It's called residual income and is a far better way to enjoy a ripe old age than relying on a pension. Because even after you stop selling the money STILL comes in!
I still get paid EVERY MONTH for sales I made back in 1999! Every time a customer uses broadband or the phone or switches on a light you get paid.
It's a great business and backed by a stock market company (Telecom Plus), a dedicated team of advisors.. and me to help you on your way!
Not only do you get paid out every month for each customer you can take on distributors. encourage them like I do and get paid on their sales as well.
One day, say you could made redundant, needed a year off or wanted to retire early can you imagine what joy it is to have the regular income coming in. It's wonderful.
You have to work at it, but if you do genuine repeat wealth could be yours. I did it. You can too. For full details, why not email me at robbiethetrader@aol.com.
An overview is also available at http://www.telecomplus.org.uk/fabdeal you can sign up directly there but do tell me!
****
Trade tables follow! Trades are current open and recently closed trades. Closed trades feature the closing price and the amount I won or lost. All others are open. Trades get updated a little later than the narrative. Trading costs are ignored, however I also do not add in dividend payments and with the kinds of companies I buy, dividends tend to equal or outweigh costs. Spread rollovers ignored for web purposes. Tables as accurate as poss however a mistake or two can creep in and very occasionally if I forgot I sold or bought something it will be added at a later time.
Trades first reported Wednesday afternoons under "Markets" section..