OK, not to pull a "Dick Cheney" here or anything LOL "I will stand by what I said, no matter what" ..LOL. Yes, of course we have more than 5% of our new people who "make it" to become seasoned traders. I though I made that clear when I gave the 50% to the second year, and maybe a few more lost during the second year. OK, and I'm not denying that I am "glass half full" type of person, but with proper training and hard work all this can be done. Don
absolutely , I'm sure far more than 5% of your traders go on to be successfull , myself and one or two other posters took issue with the original statement that implied that more than 5% of "brand new " traders WERE profitable at that time , when "brand new ".They may well go on to become profitable , but profitable when brand new , that is surly less common than going on to become profitable after some time has passed .
Here is an interesting piece of information from Barclays....average RoR little over 1% Any other takes, OptionPundit www.OptionPundit
I think I'm repeating, not correcting...but, heck, at my age, who the hell knows? LOL. Original post: Just to address the title of this thread...5% of traders who make money.... Hmm, now come on guys, let's get real with this. Even if only 5% of brand new traders make money (it's more than that, IMO)...so what? To think that 5% of traders make money is silly....if you don't make money, then you're not a trader any longer. I venture to say that more likely 90% of seasoned traders make money (there are always a few who "hang on" when they shouldn't, LOL). and here's my "repeat" LOL...yes, "even if only 5% of NEW traders make money" - not "5% of traders make money" - how long are you really a "trader" if you don't make money? After a year or two, I would guess 90% of "traders" make money, or they would no longer be trading...that's all I'm saying. If I have 100 new people start, about half are still here in year two, and we may lose a few more in that second year, but by the third year, you're either making money - or you would likely decide to do something else. Oh well, the numbers are still the same, and yes, more than 5% make it...and I'm sure that 90% of seasoned traders make money (or they would stop trading, right?).. OK, back to work .... Don
Hmm we are discussing the title but not the real subject of the thread. Probably my fault - having been reading too much tabloid press recently and thus acquired their story naming techniques. In fact there is no contradiction - it could perfectly be that 5% of traders who make money are with 1) Morgan Stanley 2) Goldman Sachs 3) Merrill Lynch 4) Lehman Brothers 5) Bear Stearns 6) Don Bright Now that everybody is content, the real question is: how much insider info is there? How is it affecting little guy's chances? Is it at all possible to win the game if the cards are marked?
"if you don't make money, then you're not a trader any longer" Don, ever hear of the True Irishmens fallacy? You cannot simply redefine a trader to be someone who makes money just to make your point. Thats like saying nearly everyone who goes to vegas is not a gambler and not gambling. A really bad trader who is losing money is still a trader. He is still trading, but is losing. Using your definition, there is no such thing as a losing trader, and thats just silly. Some traders win, and some traders lose, but according to you, all traders win. Thats right, 100% of traders win, because if you are losing, you are not a trader. I know you want people to believe that a high percentage of people who try trading will win, because its good for your business, but anyone who really knows the game see's right through that. I seriously doubt more than 5% of people who try tading, eventually succeed. Probably closer to 1% or less.