As a trend following stock trader, this past year could hardly have been much better, with just one signal being generated for the past 13 months and zero whipsaw signals.
My written rules dictate that when the trend is up, I should be buying strong stocks, and buy strong stocks I did this year. Please refer to this spreadsheet which has all of my closed out trades for 2013.
Although this past year was highly conducive to trend following stock traders, it is important to remember that this year was not typical. Periods of drawdown and whipsaw trading will return at some unknown point in the future, so it is vital to remain disciplined and manage risk.
