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Robbie Burns
Robbie Burns's columns :
17/10/2007Oil be Blowed!
04/09/2007An August Of Panic
24/07/2007Trailing Stop-Losses
21/06/2007Should you follow Directors?
10/05/2007A Big Plus for ADVFN Level 2 - or is that Level 3
16/04/2007Murky May on the Way?
02/04/2007Time for an Easter Clean?
19/03/2007Rollercoaster Ride
30/01/2007Make Money from Sparkling New Shares

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Robbie Burns – The Naked Trader

Robbie has been trading full-time since 2001. His book "The Naked Trader" (which also has useful information on how to use advfn) has become one of the biggest-selling finance books, reaching the top 150 books on Amazon - order it here. Trades made for Robbie's website have amassed profits of more than £300,000. You can read about his buys and sells daily at www.nakedtrader.co.uk.


Move up to Another Level

16/04/2008
People often ask me why I go on and on about Level 2!
 
"It can't be that much use," they say. "Especially for investors with a longer term view."
 
I have to disagree strongly! Level 2 helps me to decide whether I'm buying something at the wrong time or trying to take profits when there is no need.
 
Howso? Well, Level 2 shows you exactly where the market-makers are sitting and it also shows you all the buy and sell orders above and below the current price. So you can "see everything" that's going on in the market place. Without it now, I'd feel blind.
 
So let's say I fancied buying a share that was 450p to buy but I could see there was a massive seller wanting to sell at 451p! Chances are the share won't go up much short-term anyway. And chances are also it might start to dip as everyone can see a big seller there. So it would persuade me to wait a bit and perhaps try and buy a bit lower. Without Level 2 I'd have no idea there was a seller there.
 
Another example of where Level 2 is invaluable is if I was thinking about taking profits on a share but I could see a big buyer in the wings, again it would stop me selling too early.
 
Even if you are a longer-term investor surely it's better to try and get the best entry and exit prices possible.
 
Although Level 2 costs extra, I think it is worth every penny as my returns are way better with it.
 
If you get Level 2 the best thing to do is play with it with your favourite shares and gradually get to see how it works. Don't expect to be able to grasp it right away. It might even take you weeks to get used to it.
But one day you will have a "eureka" moment and realise how fantastic it is. Luckily ADVFN offer a number of free trials on different Level 2 products.  
 
ADVFN Level 2 is the one I use - I like the layout best and it's the only Level 2 service where you can see live trades coming in from the rival to the LSE - PlusMarkets.
 
So on the smaller stocks you can see all the trades coming in - not just the LSE ones. (There's a + sign by a PlusMarket trade). ADVFN calls this "Level 3".
 
To get ADVFN 's Level 2 just press "upgrade" and then take a look at the options. If you do get Level 2, good luck with getting used to it but after a while you will realise why I think it's invaluable!

You can read Robbie’s daily market comments together with his latest buys and sells at his website www.nakedtrader.co.uk