My friend day trading for 8 years. Quit his job and started with $500k capital. Oh yes he had great days like most day traders, like most poker players and roulette players but guess what? He lost in the long term and after 8 years closed his account. Why? Because day traders think short term, they see short term and have short term memories. The most successful traders of all time are not day traders. The only famous day traders are shills who sold the dream. Guy like Larry Williams who was more of a sales man than a trader. The reason why selling the day trading dream is because it is instanct cash and people are greedy and attracted to quick riches. If you told people they will have to wait 2 months to make a trade and read all the analytics, they wont bother with trading. If you told people to emulate the most successful; traders of all time they wont bother. But as a position trader I love day traders, these suckers provide liquidity so they do have a use.
What a stupid post. If my friend can't do it no one can!! I started 10 years ago with 1/10 what he had and still provide for my family very comfortably. The long term guys are the only ones who can talk about it without destroying their business. This is why you hear about them.
And can you, as a very successful trader, give us an idea in what range your yearly return is? So that I can see were all the money goes that I lose as daytrader. As I give you my money the least you can do is tell us how much money you make out of my misery.
I wonder how much of your friends money (500k) had other day traders on the other side...slowly taking it away year after year. In reality, 500k in 8 years with no job...probably a bulk of that money he used for trading commissions and living expenses unless he was living at home with mom & pop.
people should start trading forex: no qualms as any profits is from Central Banks who handle trillions per day. So anything is just tiny: no bad feelings winning via trading.
What instrument(s) and strategy was your friend trading? $500K is alot to lose. You only need a small fraction of that...to determine if you got what it takes. There's money to be made all over the marketplace. One way isn't automatically better than another. Your friend lost, because he was ill prepared.
I have seen this many times where some guy thinks how hard can this possible be if so and so does it. His first mistake was not learning everything you can FIRST about what most can't do, and if you can't prove to oneself thru back testing than you are a fool. Regardless of what Larry Williams has done, you can't take it away from his 10,000% return one year, very hard to do and his daughter doing hundreds of percent following years. There is so much physcho bullcrap going on when you trade and you start believing even Pigs can fly at some point. I am sure your friend never thought at doing one lots in simulated till him was able to 1000% return, just cause you have the money, that does not mean anthing. What many beginning day traders will seldom realize most of their losses will actually come from commissions, they do add up big time, you do ten one lot trades, and that is $45? Five days in a week and that $225, and a month $945, which is what a mortgage payment for many. Long term makes the gap money, commissions are very little and once in a trade in stocks you can be in years and not have any other fees. There are many many many more longer term investors than day traders as well, people have jobs they want or have to go or they own businesses. When I first started I only did long term cause commission were so high, and glad they were as it forced me to learn price action. If you can't read Price, you doubtful you be able to day trade.