Top 3 Tips on How to Avoid FOMO Trading (Fear of Missing Out)

Here you are, casually sipping your coffee and watching the clock go by while you wait for the market to open so you can buy a few shares of your new stock pick. Remember, you chose that one after deep research and careful planning.

And then “WHAM!” Twitter notifications start flying. GameStop (ticker: GME) is once again rocketing to the moon after some livestream on YouTube unleashes a huge buying spree. “MUST. GET. IN.” — you, probably, after you get your emotions shaken and stirred by something called FOMO.

🔔 What’s FOMO?
FOMO is an abbreviation for Fear Of Missing Out. This little four-word phrase can throw your investment rationale, thesis and analysis out the window so it could settle in your prefrontal cortex where your brain goes to make life decisions.

In this blog, we’ll talk about that little gremlin FOMO and what steps you can take to prevent it from overriding your emotions and decisions. And for the sake of your time, we’ll keep it short. Let’s go.

💡 Tip 1: Plan Your Trade

Plan your trade in advance and don’t sink into the moment. Knowing your entry, take profit and stop loss before you move into your position will eliminate the urge to rush in when things get hot.

🔴 Problem: News Releases, Earnings Reports

We all know how intense markets can get when there are news reports coming out. Company data such as earnings reports or some of America's top economic events, such as the widely anticipated nonfarm payrolls, or the Federal Reserve’s market-moving interest rate decisions can spur volatility and cause trading instruments to seesaw and fluctuate in both directions. And because these events are well-known in advance — the Fed only meets eight times a year — these moments can be an attractive invitation to make a profit.

🟢 Solution:

Plan your trade and understand that news reports and earnings releases are a double-edge sword and even if the data supports a certain narrative, i.e. lower inflation = higher gold prices, this isn’t always the case. Take a step back, regulate your breathing and keep your emotions in check. Wait it out until the noise tones down.

💡 Tip 2: Avoid Revenge Trading

Revenge trading is the trading you do when you want to get back at the market after getting smacked in the face with a loss. Next time you stare at a losing position, notice if you feel the urge to jump right back in and make up what you lost. That's revenge trading.

🔴 Problem: Losses and Missed Opportunities

Taking a beating from Mr. Market can be a painful experience. Yet, not taking the loss the right way can lead to even more pain and wiped out funds. Whenever you’re staring at a losing position, you might be tempted to sell out and jump right back in an effort to make back what you lost.

🟢 Solution:

Avoid revenge trading. Recognize that pesky feeling, which — whenever you lose money on a trade — makes you want to pare back your losses with one quick trade. That quick trade could be a) more aggressive (for more potential profit), and b) cost you even more money because you’ve been impatient.

💡 Tip 3: Don’t Chase the Pump

Any pump usually has a strong pull, because it makes gains look easy. All you need to do is catch the speed train (or get onboard the rocket ship) and, boom, you're in profit. Although, it's not as easy as it looks.

🔴 Problem: Pump and Dump Schemes

Quite often we see some little-known stock or a cryptocurrency with a small market capitalization perform some outstanding moves. It may shoot higher by 100% or more and that may trigger some FOMO in you, causing you to panic-buy and then watch your investment evaporate like snow in water.

🟢 Solution:

Don’t chase the pump. It’s simple. A pump can play with your decision-making capabilities and cause you to make irrational choices out of the desire to join the volatility train. But many of those pumps end up as dumps. Pump and dump schemes are real — the gains go as quickly as they came and you don’t want any of that.

Final Considerations

Forming a deep emotional connection with the market isn’t a bad thing. This place is your passion and you’ve chosen to participate in it, together with its ups and down. What you should pay attention to is how you react to its changing moods and whether you behave logically or illogically to get what you want.

Acting illogically can lead you to trip up so you want to distinguish that. Use your emotions to get rational inspiration and excitement about what you want to accomplish.

📣 Your Turn!

Have you ever tripped up over a FOMO trade that hurt your account? What was your trigger and subsequent result? Let us know in the comment section below!