sle, i am just relating to guys i have become friends with since say 2000 (through my cousin who works in the industry)...a pretty decent group. from what i am told they are earning a lot less (and most struggling bigtime)...but when they earn (big if ) again ; its a very nice chunk of change. some are highly educated, others just landed there by the old "who you know thing". from how you describe yourself i would surmise if true you are on the next level above these guys and probably worked very hard for it. congrats. regarding a guy trading his own money, i'm not trying to sell myself or prove anything..just very thankful so far...especially now.
I'm averaging 2 points per day trading ES right now quite consistently It's very possible. Maybe after the first of the year ill post a journal. By consistently I mean, averaging out.
You live in fantasy land and/or are a noob. Why do all the real professional traders say its impossible, yet you do it? Please stop fooling yourself because you are tricking anyone else. Franz
Actually, Mav, While it is true Pablo Picasso didn't make a living drawing lines; he made it "drawing outside the lines", so to speak. He did not die penniless. He died a wealthy man.
Well, that's the new normal - an average sell-side trader is earning less because the business is more competitive and and an average buy-side trader is earning less because there are fewer opportunities. At some point pretty much every business becomes a commodity and does not make the crazy returns that it used to, it's the way of life. I don't consider myself a success - there are plenty of guys my age that have enough cash to retire, either via positioning themselves well career-wise or taking bigger risks at some point. I think the best way to describe myself would be that I am outstandingly mediocre - I know my stuff, I do it well, I get paid some, I don't blow up. That's not really the way to make a name for myself or to get to big riches. I am just saying that it's a hard game, much harder then the one I play, infrastructure-wise and psychologically. I got my IT needs taken care of, I have access to all sort of OTC products that make it easier to express views, at the very least I could be down a buck one day and go home knowing that it's no big deal. The only exception would be that it is easier to make better ROC if you capital is relatively small. I have been out of the dating game for a while, but from what I remember, it's the lower class working women that are gold-diggers, while snobbish 5th Ave types have gotten the material needs taken care of already.
That's why when a guy is trying to date "out of his league" looks-wise, the lower class women are easier to impress where the mere mention of wall street is an instant panty dropper. Lower class women: "omg, the young turk millionaire Gordon Gecko!" 5th avenue women: "look, just another analyst who couldn't make it as a PM in his 10th year and living in a cheap west side condo still making only 330k"
lol look at this thread. It went from talking about trading your own money vs. a analyst job. Its turned into a argument where its is FACT that its impossible for anyone to make a living trading your own money on the ES, and nobody is a profitable trader unless they are spending 80 hours a week in front of the monitors. And its also fact that nobody can get tail in NYC unless they live on the the upper east side a loft overlooking central park. Lol what a thread. for the people doubting your ability to get laid if you live in brooklyn. Ive personally taken girls out of the Penny Farthing bar on 13th street into a cab, back to clinton hill. Surely a $25 cab ride is in a budget. If you think there is a risk of getting shut down in the cab, you can possible frequent the bars in soho, from there its only about 10 minutes. Or u have spots to party at in brooklyn. Bottom line is that there are plenty of tail in NYC to go around for everyone. There is a endless supply of horny girls who work in retail who are looking for a rich guy and are willing and ready to take some D just to see if they can mooch off of a guy for awhile. when you're on a date with a girl and she says "yeah I lived in NYC for a year" that means, "yeah I lived in NYC for a year, I partied 4 days a week and probably slept with 60 guys during that year".
I dont know what to tell you. Its not impossible. Thats the biggest issue with most people today. Instead of spending hard work perfecting something, people give up and say i cant do it. You have no idea how many hours I've spent looking over charts, writing down plans, testing out ideas. The road to success involves getting knocked down many many times.
For any sustained period of time virtually no one can make two points a day with the consistency of a "salary." That is 10 points a week or 20 points every two weeks without fail.