I came across this 7 page report and found it very helpful in understanding what Trading forego's, and entails, for alot of those that have embarked on this venture, and those who await their moment of entry. Professional Report Ronald L. Johnson Investment Consultant 1424 Seagull Dr. Ste.107 Phone 727-771-7020 Palm Harbor, FL 34685 Fax 727-771-0980 Day Trading An Analysis of Public Day Trading at a Retail Day Trading Firm Speculative Trading Analyses There are two main issues in any speculative trading account: Will the account consistently make money? Will the account lose all of its capital? The Rest of the 7 page report can be found below. http://www.nasaa.org/content/Files/Day_Trading_Analysis.pdf
FWIW, we took the stage with the NASAA many years ago, and agreed with their assessment that the public probably should not be daytrading...it should be left to trained professionals. The public has so many obstacles to overcome. However, this is still America. I think this report is about 10 years old, not sure, couldn't find any date? I have a quasi "rebuttal" that was prepared by Donald Luskin posted on my website from about that time frame (2001) ... http://www.stocktrading.com/luskin1.shtml I agree that most of the public will not make it. The report says 70%, could well be higher...perhaps as high as the success/failure rate of all new business ventures (90%). Trading is a business, and must be treated that way. As a small side note..."Traders" don't fail or otherwise they would stop being traders. Those starting new business ventures may have a tough go of it however. I was happy and proud to have 10+ year long, career traders attending our Retreat...staying up on things...working hard to keep their trading business thriving. On a side note, during our Retreat over the weekend, we had several discussions about how bad the job market is, and will likely continue to be. Our traders were thankful to be Entrepreneur's... where your boss is you!! Anyway, "eyes wide open" - as with any Business venture you may want to get involved with. All the best, Don
Don Bright, Thank you for taking the time, to respond. I read the article on your webpage. I like the part where he makes reference to poker. I would have chose chess as the example, only because I enjoy the challenge and to play. "Poker, on the other hand is not gambling. If you are a skilled player, poker is a form of investing because you put money at risk with the rational expectation of earning a return. Even if you are an unskilled player, the possibility of becoming skilled through study or experience is always an option for you. If you choose to remain unskilled and play anyway, then you choose to treat poker as gambling -- but that does not make the game itself into a gambling game." http://www.stocktrading.com/luskin1.shtml JC