Have you ever joined a trading group? You know, the kind that meets once a month in your local town or maybe an online group or chat room? Are these groups a good idea and can they really help you? Well, it really depends on what you are looking for. In his book High Performance Trading, Steve Ward writes “There are only really two technical keys to achieving success in trading—firstly, developing a trading strategy with an edge in the market, and secondly, developing the ability to consistently execute that strategy.”
Most people join trading groups both on and offline in search of the first of these two needs, a trading strategy. But if everyone is searching for these, who in the group will be the one to share their ideas? Unfortunately, these groups tend to be made up of traders all in search of a strategy. For those who have a strategy already and want to improve their success, these groups tend to offer little value. Eventually most of the folks with a legitimate strategy leave these groups. So now what?
The good news is that there is no shortage of ways to find a strategy. Just go to any book store or search the internet and you will find many, many people offering to teach you trading strategies. Whether technical analysis, fundamental analysis, trading options or futures or options on futures, equity day trading, equity swing trading, currency trading and so forth. You name it, you can find it. But what happens when you find a strategy and now you need to focus on the second key according to Ward which is the ability to consistently execute your strategy. This is where another type of group that can help you. It is called a Mastermind Group.
What is a Mastermind Group? According to the Web site, TheSuccessAlliance.com: “Mastermind groups offer a combination of brainstorming, education, peer accountability and support in a group setting to sharpen your business and personal skills. A mastermind group helps you and your mastermind group members achieve success.” It is a group that helps you get to that next level. Putting together a group can be challenging and might take time. But in the long run, these groups can be very effective in helping you break through barriers, provide motivation, keep you accountable and help you stay on course.
So the next time you think about joining a trading group, make sure you know what you are looking for and need as a trader. It is not enough to be exposed to a solid trading approach. You need to work to continually hone that approach as well.
Seth Freudberg and Michael Schwartz
no relevant positions
