Imagine that a star fund manager, with nearly a decade of stunning results, decides to completely retool the way that he does things. Would you think that he’s crazy? Would you call him a has-been? Or would you draw a different, more instructive lesson—that this is the reason why he’s stayed a top fund manager? The FT recently ran a … Read More
What I Learned From The Best Trader at Citibank
In my senior year of college, I hit the jackpot. No, I didn’t win the lottery. I did even better– I got the job I wanted in the markets. Let me repeat: *the* job. Note: the lesson is that if I can do it, then anyone can! Ever since I was 14, I knew that I wanted to be a … Read More
What’s Your Number?
If you hang around long enough in the investing or banking communities of New York or London, you’ll soon hear the infamous question: “What’s your number?”. The first time, you answer by rattling off your phone number; then you realize that the question has nothing to do with speaking on the phone. “Your number” is usually the number at which … Read More
How to Become One With Your Trading System
We’ve all heard the sad excuses after a bad run. The lame rationalizations. “I know it was through my stop, but I thought that it would come back”. “Yes, I saw the signal, but I just didn’t believe it” “I don’t know, I just froze” When someone is struggling, one way to lessen the pain is to rationalize it … Read More
How To Tell If A Trading Book Is Useful
As part of your desire to learn more and improve as a trader, you have probably checked out some books on the subject. Some of them, like Market Wizards, are truly inspiring and excellent reads. Maybe some of them have been helpful but most likely a lot of them were bad. Similarly, if you go to a bookstore or browse … Read More
What Is The Best Preparation To Be A Trader?
You want to be a trader. Maybe you’re just starting out in the working world or maybe you’re considering a career shift. Nonetheless, you know one thing will all of your being—you want to make it as a trader. There could be a host of potential reasons, all of which make sense. You want to swing around huge positions and … Read More
“Et Tu, Bruno?”: Lessons for Traders from JP Morgan’s Recent Loss
London’s “Whale” got harpooned. After being in the press for taking outsized positions in the credit derivatives market, it finally ended for Bruno Iksil, aka the Whale—and badly. JP Morgan’s recent multi-billion dollar trading loss caused a huge amount of angst in the financial press over its prop trading activities and risk controls. As traders, we should pay attention – … Read More
How to Bounce Back From Failure in Trading
This is one blog post that I hope you never have to read. Why? Because it’s all about failure. The word “failure” has tons of connotations. Shame. Guilt. Disappointment. Anger. These are things that we try to avoid at all costs. If the world were perfect, you would never run into failure in your trading career. I hope that you … Read More