Tronic...lets start this way in my response: Please don't take this as me "flaming" you. (by the way, I had never heard that phrase before, I assume it means to attack or harrass, etc)..
First off, I am a professional trader who gets paid a handsome salary, one that makes me give 150% to my firm. I supervise all and handle a decent number of all the orders that come into my firm. I handle about 100 plus tickets a day myself and supervise the rest. I am also a options, sales supervisor and principal. We have been around for 20 years and through that we know this person, that person, people on wall street. We've been around, successfully. While we are a relatively small firm maintaining a unique market approach, I am speaking from experience having seen traders come into my firm, speaking daily with many professional traders at other firms, having readers and posters email me with questions and concerns, etc....
So when I say 9 out 10 (I think it was 9, not 8), I am obviously going from first hand experience, not any survey or study. If you need a survey or study to corroborate anything you say on this thread, this thread would be empty. Nonetheless, whatever I say, I say with great sincerity and integrity and DID SO, in this instance, not to minimize the great opportunities in trading but to point out the significant downside that exists as well and to point out to those unkowing individuals that there is such a downside. Most on this thread know that, (hopefully you do) and simply read it, said "yeah, he's right, but I'm keeping my discpline and doing things right and will stay the course", but there are newbies to these threads who simply read, made this, made that, 40% here, 180% there. Ever notice that noone posts their losses as easily as they post their big wins? Yet I will tell you that I get about 3 or 4 calls a day from posters and readers-only, who are concerned and upset about a bad trader....half the times its "I bought xyz for a trade, took it home, gapped down, then we had the 550 day, and now I'm out 8 points....Do you think we;ll get there in a few days?" How much of your assets are in this one stock..."130% I averaged down"...do you have cash elsewhere "no, its all in this market and this account"...
Sure this is an extreme case, but I swear, I must have gotten 10 calls in the past two weeks with scenarios EXACTLY LIKE THIS, give or take the stock and the percentages..Maybe its only the 8 out of 10 that are calling me since they are truly concerned and have every reason to be so, and the 2 successful ones have kept themselves in check. I am glad to talk to these people and often am straightup, somewhat harsh about their lack of understanding at their role in safeguarding their families money.
I would be curious to know how long you have been successful because most successful traders know they are, to quote IRBY quoting a movie "one trade away from humility", and that knowledge keeps them 100%, all the time, on the right side of the line. Many traders have reasonable if not great success for a period of time than they get complacent and cocky. They start to feel they control the market when in fact the market does its own thing. They take stocks home, they put all their money into a few, if not one or two stocks, then a press release, or a -550 days, a three week bear slide, a shift and sentiment and suddenly they have los 20%, lost their confidence, questioning their profession, and start risking even more trying to make it all back in a trade or two.....
Re...doing your research and spending you evening reading the charts. Always, the more info you have the better but a true trader could care less about research and fundamentals..you must be referring to being a "position or swing" trader or an investor. A true trader keeps in touch with the market but charts, research etc. simply get them in trouble and are usually a justification for having kept a position. Don't mesh the two...keep them seperate or you WILL find yourself with a disaster de jour on your hands one day.
Re: Attorneys..As far as your immature and unprofessional comment regarding attorneys, which I find offensive as I used to be one, there are a tremendous numbers of attorneys that do honorable, caring and morally beneficial work. Some work in pro bono centers, as state, city and district attorneys, public defendants. Yes, there are those who simply go after the cash, the big money. Doesn't sound too much different than a trader. Hey, if you could spend a few years suing a tobacco firm and get 100 million for your efforts, wouldn't you? I think to an extent, most traders, who like trading as it is solely about making money, respect and somewhat envy attorneys. Attorneys usually just make bigger cash on each "ticket" and do far fewer ticket. I personally left the profession because I found it broing and non-dynamic, working on the same case day after day for an extended period of time.
Yet the attorneys that bring these big tobacco firms to the ground, regardless of the appropriateness of what they will earn for doing it, will make a name for themselves, will be thanked by thousands of plaintiffs now and for years to come.
The last I checked, with the exception of a few big names likes soros, buffet, cramer, and a few known for thier immorailty, like miliken, boesky, traders don't have a reputation in society because they contribute very little. I have no problem with that but don't whitewash it either.
I think you would have a tough time drawing a line between attorneys and traders. Actually, trades simply trade to make money without any DIRECT benefit to society. Atleast these horrible attorneys, whether they collect 25, 30 or 50% of the settlement, tries to get something for the client.
An honorable individual usually does honorable work in whatever professional they pursue whether it be medicine, law, finances,etc. Scum will be scum.
Anyway, just thought your comments deserverd a retort...ps. I like that joke about the whore...by the way, the man talking to the whore could be considerd backing away. He had a 200,000 bid for a little sschtuppie and backed away. He should have used SOES...lol....
regards,
steve@yamner.com |
