Written by Douglas Estadt

Last year I "lost the noise." I didn't receive financial news/information from any sources that couldn't show me exactly what they were doing with their own money.  That didn't quite get me to a 500% verified return for the year, but I got close. 

This year I resolve to do better -- and not repeat the mistakes I made during 2009.

One of the biggest recurring mistakes I made during 2009 was selling my entire position out in one block only to watch it go higher shortly thereafter. I did that so many times last year, it was awful. While I will still be selling quickly in these unstable times to take profits often, I have learned to "ladder" my selling. I sell in pieces, so if the stock shoots up shortly after I first sell I still have some left to take advantage of the higher price.

My first new buy of 2010 was CTEL which is an interesting little company in Hong Kong that has wired the complete area with fiber and delivers a 100 MB internet connection both upload and download for about 34 US Dollars a month (which is essentially the same price the incumbent provider there charges for a 1 MB connection). They have a smart and enthusiastic management team that I heard present last fall, and I have certainly traded the stock profitably before. I think that the positive signs in Chinese manufacturing yesterday will cause an uptick in China and surrounding economies and CTEL will be a quick beneficiary. Check out our recent video about the stock:

And no, that's not a misprint.  I really did post nearly 500% returns last year. I'm not asking you to just trust me, either; you can track my moves and see what I do with my money. Visit Covestor and Covestor Investment Management -- http://cv.im/models/profile/douglas-estadt -- to get the data directly from my brokerage account.

As I post here on Top Stocks through this year, you'll be able to follow every investment move right there.