Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Strategies & Market Trends : DAYTRADING Fundamentals -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Dave O. who wrote (18078)	1/4/2010 6:42:57 PM
From: Eric P	Respond to of 18137

I'm kind of intrigued as to who has made it over the longer term and what traders who were doing well washed out. Reasons? Lack of adaptation to changing markets? System quit working? Used on (fill in the blanks) TA, fundamentals, story stocks, .... Sadly, we'll probably never know, as those that wash out of trading likely don't read these sorts of forums. Among my personal acquaintances that no longer trade, most found that as the markets changed, they were no longer able to be profitable. Their niche in the market no longer worked. We have seen many changes over the last decade that would easily have destroyed various trading strategies. Some such changes that come to mind include: 1) SOES system changes, limited market maker obligations to only 100 shares every 15 seconds, instead of 1000 shares more frequently. 2) Decimalization 3) Loss of bullets 4) Increased efficiency of the markets 5) As you point out, long-only (or short-only) traders being destroyed by markets going chronically in the other direction 6) Higher market volatility blowing out traders that couldn't handle it 7) Lower market volatility bleeding out traders that couldn't handle it 8) Inadequate capitalization - traders that failed as a result of insufficient funds to carry them through a 'slow' period. => Traders should ideally be tightwads until they have a very large pool of capital to prevent this problem (although I think I already spoke of this in my list of "Characteristics of Successful Traders" about a year ago)