When you explain what you do, be sure to add that you provide no benefit to anyone but yourself--that you just try to use your money to create more money.
For a moment, I thought you were describing lawyers and politicians -- as I suspect that the majority of them really are.
Hi Thunderdog, Not sure what else it could suggest other than private with the words Private Trader on it. My tax accountant got one when I first met him, my real estate agent got one when I first met her, the private ski instructor for my toddler got one when I first met her et cetera... Just useful to hand out when people ask for your phone number and/or email address instead of carrying around a pen and paper. Also, the other person can write on the back of my card. I tend to not misplace my cards in comparison to misplace piece of paper with something scrible on it. NihabaAshi
i got tired of trying to explain, so nowadays i just say i do financial stuff. when they ask further i say: something with stocks. that's usually sufficient
And try options on index futures ... Yes the abstraction is alluring to many with an alchemical bent, making something from nothing.
I'd tell them I'm a money manager, as of this time I have enough under management. However if I were to take in new money at a future date, they'd be the first to know.
In the past, I generally did tell people I was a trader. I do not volunteer it any longer, mostly because I got tired of explaining it to people who either had no clue, or thought they did but didn't. The most "interesting" response I ever got was from my mother-in-law the first time my wife told her I was quitting my full time job to trade full time. She responded something to the effect of, "Are you sure you want to do that? There are a LOT of suicides in that industry." It was then that I decided I would never volunteer being a trader to those I knew had no experience with trading themselves. Instead, I went back to being a "Freelance Designer." I took a break from trading for a while several months later. She knew I had "quit" trading, but when I started trading again, I told my wife that I didn't want her to say a word to any family members. It's just easier that way since none of our family has experience trading and they were generally very negative about it, and I decided I didn't need their negativity jacking with me psychologically. Regardless of how much I tried not to let it affect me, I know it did at times.