The attraction is sinister. I know that when someone tells me they love the market to bet against them ever making it as a trader. The market holds the strongest attraction to those least suited for it. That is how it survives. The first step to success is to view the market just as a tool to make money, not as an obsession. I had the same experience as James when I worked for the FOF. Out of dozens upon dozens of verifiable and vetted guys with track records (many found right here on elite trader) who tried out for the trading jobs-- every single one but ONE failed to make the cut. Remember these just aren't guys with blogs who claim success, they showed proof of success, yet failed to be profitable. The one guy who made it had a real edge-- information-- it was legal information, but info unavailable without his connections. Mavericks statement about misplaced talent is brilliant. This is seen here with all the super smart people who have become cranks ( or worse- charlatans) when they try to apply engineering ( or other corporate skills) to chart reading etc---- Just so i am not viewed as negative here, which I am not, there is a place within the market for everyone-- It may not be trading, but your skills can be used in some capacity. Learning what you are best at should be the goal if you are just starting out. surf
Surf, you should interview this man, he's in your area. He seems an interesting story and an opposing point to Altucher's morbid view. If memory serves wasn't it Altucher who made a statement a decade ago that the markets wouldn't exist in a decade, technology would flatten them to nothing. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-11-05/fastest-growing-family-office-rides-rise-in-ultra-rich.html
Great article. Thank you for the suggestion! But i don't think he disagrees with James--- can you point that out to me, please? Once a real estate developer in Venezuela, Dornbusch has been managing money since 2002. He started CV Advisors -- CV stands for “Clear View” -- in 2009. His clients are most interested in preserving capital, not making tons more of it. With that in mind, CV aims to return 6 percent to 9 percent a year. Lately, CV has been buying investment-grade bonds to get there, sticking with fixed income while other managers warn that inflation will return and destroy performance. this sounds like it completely agrees with JA's article. what am I missing?? I also believe that the markets will go completely flat one day-- in fact, i think i am the one who said this-- But this is a LONG WAY OFF... we may live to see it, we may not.
Sure they can. Once they are able to be predicted, even the slightest extent, it will have to go flat ( very narrow range at first) or they will cease to exist all together.
Surf, an asset by definition can be monetized and transformed. There is an economic purpose for that asset. These assets can spin off cash. They can be borrowed against, they can be delivered, etc. If they all stopped moving it would imply one, there is zero risk to holding an asset which obviously is preposterous. Ask anyone holding cargos full of WTI in the north atlantic right now. It also implies that the cash flows from those assets can be arbed risk free which is just as preposterous. I think you are trying to make a different point here but you're not sure how to express it. You cannot get rid of risk, you can only transfer it. And whoever you transfer it to is going to expect payment. The economic engine is very complicated.
Don't worry, even if that scares off the few remaining suckers from et, you can easily roll this over into a trannie porn site and mint money.
What will happen when the markets are able to be predicted with any degree of certainty? A new paradigm will emerge rendering the above current picture mute. We are headed in that direction. In school I came up with a new economic system called Fortunism. It took economics and reversed it-- rather than scarcity it started with abundance-- rather than work, there was nothing but gambling risk created by the powers that be. Markets became irrelevant because they could be predicted. Everyone would win millions plus in lotteries, but you just didn't know when it would happen-- I know very fanciful, but I like thinking about stuff like that. surf