Yes, I had this same argument with my uncle, who felt that the trading phenomenon of the last 5 years has "ruined" the markets. I vehemently disagreed, but I did grant him one point: that traders have added to momentum, which increases volatility, which in turn causes panic buying/selling and for the most part, unnecessary losses. Liquidity may save a few pennies on fills, but volatility costs a lot of people big bucks, as anyone who trades knows all too well!
My point, mainly, does not rely on this however. Pit a trader sitting in a darkened room, alone, in front of a computer, 10 to 12 hours a day, with nothing to show at the end of the day but an increase or decrease in one's pesonal account...against a bricklayer, or policeman, or teacher, or doctor, or accountant...and then ask what possible contribution trading makes to society.
Again, trading adds very little. But what one does after one trades successfully can make a lot of difference.
Trading is a means to an end...not an end in itself...
(an exception: when it brings genuine pleasure, and that pleasure "spills over" into one's personal relationships...just as happiness in most any pursuit justifies the pursuit itself)
JMHO's...TC |
