Al Brooks is a retail trader as in "self-employed". In contrast, professional traders are either licensed, salary as in working for a firm, health and dental plans from their firm and so on. Simply, there's a huge difference between calling someone a professional trader versus a retail trader. Too many traders been abusing that term "professional trader" when in fact they are retail trader (self employed).
A pro trader (aka professional trader) is anyone able to make a living (i.e., pay their bills) from their trading endeavors....licensed or unlicensed There are tons of "licensed" traders who can't trade their way out of a paper bag....a mere "certificate" doesn't distinguish the amateurs from the pros
he doesnt have to call trades. he can show his trading screen with his account blanked out and just show P&L and positions in real-time, like Robert Hoffman has been doing for years. No after the fact needed. Heck, he has been making youtube videos of these! Where is the NFA LOL. I only know about one trading room that does this. There are hundreds of trading rooms. Do you know why? The answer is in front of you
The issue of profitability has nothing to do with being called "pro trader". There are "retail traders" doing very well in trading their own money (profitable) while calling themselves "pro trader" in error. Then that same trader has one bad year of losses...he/she don't say during that bad year of trading that they're NOT a professional trader if he/she believes profitability is the determining factor of being labeled as a pro trader. Simply, regardless if you're profitable or losing...if you're trading you're own money... You're retail trader. Therefore, if you're working for someone as in getting paid a salary, you're a professional trader regardless if you're making money for that firm or having a bad year in losses. Heck, if you're a pro trader and you have a bad year...you won't get that Christmas bonus and if losses continue, you'll soon be out of a job or transferred elsewhere in the company that doesn't involved you trading. * Trade your own money = Retail Trader Make money consistently...you're still a retail trader. Lose money consistently...you're still a retail trader but one not making any money. * Paid a salary by someone or firm = Professional Trader Make money consistently...you're still a professional trader. Lose money consistently...you're still a professional trader but you'll be out of a job or transferred into another department that doesn't involve you trading. P.S. There are some "professional traders" trading at home via remote but they still must go to their corporate meetings, still must get reviewed by the compliance officer and they are still salaried. As for "prop traders"...I'm not exactly sure if they're considered retail or professional.
he is a walking contradiction. he will always say a bear channel is a bull flag for example, then when a buy setup comes he says, dont buy against a channel. or better to wait for a break out pullback, then the break out pull comes and he'll say, wait, the bears want this, the bulls want that, its comical. or the breakout takes us to the top of the channel, then he'll say dont buy top of trading range. twilight zone.
I'll have to go with Hurricane on this one. To state that one has to be working for someone else to be considered a professional makes the definition of trading professional to be unique as it does not apply to any other profession. This serves no other purpose than to dilute what separates the professional from one who is not.
Prior to the internet boom or .com day's of the 90's...everybody knew exactly what was a "professional trader" (e.g. floor trader, bank trader, institutional trader, hedge fund trader, private corporation trades and so on). Yet, when the Etrades and Scottrades showed up in the 90's along with every Job Bob opening a discount trading account along with quitting their jobs...we had a new type of trader...called "discount trader" by the industry. Yet, that term didn't stick too long for use and we quickly became known as "retail traders". Slowly, in the span of a few years" after being called discount traders, some profitable retail traders started calling themselves "professional traders" because they were consistently profitable along with thinking they had access to the same resources as the big boys. Retail traders are self-employed or entrepreneurs if you want a business label slapped onto it. By the way, I'm a retail trader from a family of traders (pro and retail) along with having close friends that are professional traders. They would laugh if I ever refer to myself as a pro trader when they know I'm only retail. You really see the difference when (assuming you're trading for a living) you go to your bank, mortgage agent, buying a car, house or something that requires you to fill out financial paper work... If you put down job title "professional trader", it will prompt them to ask for you to fill in the missing information about your employer. In contrast, put down "retail trader" or "self-employed"...they will not ask for information about your employer. Same with many countries tax info. Tell them you're a professional trader and they want to know whom you work for because they know the difference between "professional trader" versus "retail trader" (self-employed). Thus, it's some of us retail traders diluting the term "pro trader" that was designated for traders working on Wall Street long before the 90's. With that said, if you're retail with a very large trading account, renting an office space, treating your trading like a business like any other firm/company...I'll cut the person some slack and let him/her call themselves a "professional trader".
are you seriously obsessing over and writing diatribes about whether someone uses the term "professional" or "retail" .....seriously? I'm referring to myself as a "professional trader".....now sue me
I'm obviously very happy with the term given to me by Wall Street, banks and tax accountant...as in "retail trader". Secondly, I never called "you" a retail trader considering I don't know if you work for yourself or anyone else. If you review my message earlier message very carefully, I called Al Brooks a retail trader along with stating he's NOT a professional trader...comment was not about you considering I don't know anything about you in reference to your now sue me comment. You took it too personally...seriously. You Al Brooks ? Yet, if you work for yourself, you're a retail trader to me. If you don't trade you're own money and you work for a financial firm...you're a professional trader to me. Yet, being called a retail trader by Wall Street is nothing to be ashamed about nor get upset about. It's not a degrading term. At least Wall Street stopped using the term "discount traders" during those famous Scottrade commercials of the 90's and the term retail trader seems more appropriate and now commonly used on Wall Street. P.S. These are not my definitions (labels). These are labels given by the industry itself similar to "equity trader", "futures trader", "derivatives trader" and so on.
98% of retail traders are small traders More than 90% of small traders lose! They just lose! http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-...-seen-profiting-at-small-firm-expense-1-.html subscribed to al brook and lose. schmuck (small trader) lose, while the hero wins by not subscribing to any 3rd party educational/system vendors. Hero will always win becase they are not a schmuck