Traders often want to trade bigger. Today SNAP offered an example to me of when and how. I was short Shapchat ($SNAP) intraday and scrolling through the SNAP positions of our other traders on the desk. I felt like I was not big enough in my short. I started to think where I could add to my winning position. First, … Read More
I just need to eliminate my ehh trades
Last night, I was reading the review of one of our traders, Trader A, who wrote, “I just need to stick to my plays that make me money (ETRM, TWTO, GLYC) and just faze out those ehhh ehh trades, I will become very consistent and very profitable.” To Trader A, I responded, ” When u say get rid of ehh … Read More
The power of Team Trading
Last night Team SWang, a collection of traders with unique skill sets that trade for firm, met for drinks and food to discuss ways that they could improve. They are one of the top teams at our firm, based on PnL and improvement. Their team leader, SWang, encapsulated how Team Trading can help traders: “I didn’t know a team … Read More
5 trading lessons from monthly reviews
At the end of each month, firm traders are encouraged to complete a monthly review of their trading. While reading firm reviews for April, 5 lessons stood out. Let’s discuss them. 1.Don’t turn bad days into worse One developing trader is working on limiting losses on his bad days. The thought is every extra dollar not lost on his bad … Read More
I want my business judged on MY trades!
I have been mentoring a futures trader recently. In a daily review (below), he provided feedback that mentoring encouraging him to focus on his best trades was powerful. I am working with a developing equities trader, who is very profitable when he focuses on his trade. He can tell you what it is. He writes in his reviews that … Read More
7 ideas for improving your trading consistency
I was recently a guest lecturer at Stony Brook University sharing my knowledge of trading and trader development with interested students. At the end of my lecture, a student approached and asked, “How can I improve my trading consistency?” We have polled our trading community for the top trading issues they would like to solve, and trading consistency consistently makes … Read More
How do I start as a trader?
Recently I visited Pace University investment club to talk about the life of a proprietary trader. We make an effort to reach out to college trading clubs and college investment clubs and meet their members. Some of our best traders have come from these clubs. Also, college students rarely get to interact with a professional trader so sharing our experience … Read More
The danger of the overconfident trader
Yesterday I wrote about a trader struggling with added size and risk. In seeking a solution for this trader one possible area of focus was overconfidence. How does it happen? Why is it dangerous? What can we do to combat overconfidence? You trade well. You are seeing screens well and the market is trading in a way that allows your … Read More