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
5 ways our top traders are working to improve
I was on the West Coast last month to present to the Scottsdale (Phoenix) Traders and Investors Meetup Group. After my presentation, an astute and succeeding retail trader approached and asked, “What do your top traders do to improve?” At SMB, our top traders have been homegrown. We hired them. Trained them from scratch. Provided capital, technology, coaching and … Read More
Bring a consistent you to markets to improve your trading
Trader wants to improve his trading consistency. (Please assume Trader has some edge in markets.) Trader might double down on their efforts to perform better during market hours. If I just focus better. If I just take only A+ trades. If I just wait for my trades more patiently. If I just use this indicator. If I just size … 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
A trader struggles with added risk
Here is an anecdote from our proprietary trading desk in NYC. A consistently profitable trader (CPT) shot me an email this week to chat about struggling with a recent bump in share size and risk. He felt he had taken a step back with his trading after being given the opportunity by the firm to take a few steps forward … Read More
A loud coaching session on the desk
Yesterday we had a loud, unscheduled coaching session with the newest traders on our desk. There were raised voices and language not suitable for network TV. By my count this was the third time these newest traders did not meet an acceptable level of AM preparation. I am not suggesting they did not prepare. I am not suggesting they did … Read More
A solution to improve your patience as a trader
Dr. Brett Steenbarger, the Coach K of trading coaches, generously visited our firm today and spoke with our traders. I asked him to tackle four issues during his discussion: I want to take my trading to the next level If I could just wait for my setups If I could just stop taking lesser trades Define the competitive trader I … Read More