Trading Gurus,

I want to sell a stock (MSFT) and move into another one (INFY). Is
there a better way to do this than buy and sell at market? Ideally
there would be a credible web-site/software that can analyze recent price
trajectories and recommend the best way to switch my portfolio.
I am hoping this question is easy money for someone who knows does it
on a regular basis, and hence my pricing.
Thanks
Abhijit

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Clarification of Question by funmoney-ga on 18 Jul 2005 14:41 PDT

research_help-ga:

The fact that one has to sell before buying is obvious to pretty much
anyone reading this I'd think.

I am looking for some software to tell me something like:
Based on prices and trading volumes over the last 3 months,
place a limit-sell on MSFT at 25.8. Once that executes, place a
limit-buy on INFY at 71.5.

Can one of you trading gurus help me with this, before I place a
market order to sell MSFT and buy INFY?
Thanks.

If you want to move funds from one stock to another, the only way to
do this is to sell the first and then buy the second.  No web site or
software will change that basic fact.  Whether you buy at market or
limit or whatever doesn't change this either.

unless of course, for example, you have a 100% equity position in the
one you own. using the buying power available from position one,
position two can be initiated. now you own them both. you can then
sell position one later, when you get around to it. so that might be
another only way. you might be able to do some positioning using
options strategies that would allow you to acquire or at least control
the right to acquire position two without first selling position one
but that would require another only way and i think there is a limit
of one per post.

The best way is to use a limit order when executing the trade based
upon technical analysis of the stock charts. To get a good feel for
this as its done
on a daily basis go to wallstreetwinnersonline.com and you can learn this technique.

Keep in mind you can keep your current positions and use options to
change your up- and downside exposure in the respective stocks.
Depending on tax issues, this may be a much cheaper way to go about
the transaction.

It sounds like you're tired of MSFT. You could go short a call. Use
the option premium to go long a call in INFY. You can do all sorts of
things with the strike prices, but one path is to make a 'costless'
trade by having the two premiums offset (as close as possible). (You
could also buy an MSFT put if you want to make sure you can get out w/
a set level of profit.)

Under this strategy, you may find yourself still in MSFT and not in
INFY, holding both, or holding none. So it may not apply if you are
doing this for portfolio balance concerns. On the other hand, this
strategy frees you from tieing two decisions together into a single
trade. Supposing that half of your strategy is good and half is bad.
With this path, you can only execute on the good half in most
scenarios.