Let's put it this way, forget trading, very very few occupations can consistently make you 70K a month, and 70K a week? That is NBA money. Look, if you made 3.5 million a year doing ANYTHING, it is totally unrealistic to expect to make that much money in another career. I mean, who are we kidding here? As for whether trading is snake oil, 12 day traders at my firm made seven digits last year, 6 broke the 2 million mark. Our number one trader in hedge fund division made 30 million last year and earned an engagement with owner's cousin How many people can play at that level? Very few. Just like there are very few people who can make 3.5 million a year.
I am really only referring to stuff that you use in a level playing field market. TA and so forth. You guys have the edge in leverage and tools such as bullets. However I have absolutely no idea how a Brit like me would either get to trade this way here or persuade the INS that trading pro in the States would be "of value to the US economy"! I have asked Don Bright already to get a Brit that he knows to email me for details of this.
Funster, Why don't you try something else. There are a lot of games in this business, and most professional traders I know, don't make their money on pure directional trading, that is suicide. Find a group to teach you spreading or arbitrage; put in a couple of years not months and you will have the skills to identify the monster opportunity when it comes up and the technical resources to be there first. That is what matters. Quit looking for the holy grail, it doesn't exist. Talk your way into a group that churns out consistent profits, don't look for someone to teach you for a fee. Those that can't do, teach. Find a game with an edge. To quote someone, who I have forgotten who they were, who stole part of it from someone else, who I have forgotten who they were, when asked about their trading style said, "We pick up nickles and dimes in front of a steam roller.". That is the best summary of what we do. As for moving to the states, are you crazy, you have the best edge possible; trading US markets with no tax. Move to the Caribbean, live by the beach and trade tax free as a non-US person. Capitalize on your opportunities, as a non-US entity, you are not subject to Reg-T. I will trade you passports.
Can you develope a sustainable edge in the futures over an extended period of time. Refering to the above post can directional traders who day trade stocks or futures without adding spreads or other tools to their arsenal of weapons develope a edge? Im currently daytrading the emini via simulator and finding it tough to make money even on a simulator. Im trading the same number of contacts as I would if my account were real. Its a tough game to say the least. But could one not find an edge by playing certain setups in stocks or futures on a purely directional trade basis? Best regards, Trapper I have only been on the simulator for a week and Im close to break even.
anything besides making directional bets is not "real" trading. the bets have to be made because that's where the risk comes in, and thus the return. can there be in edge in directional betting? of course. is it easy to find? of course, not.
Traderkay, Is that what you really think floor traders, market makers, trading firms such as Timber Hill, IB's parent do?
Then stick with it, by all means! If you're breaking even after only one week, you're doing fairly well, IMHO. A lot of beginning floor traders, initially, don't shoot for kills; they just try to scratch.
You can call us traders or typists, for all I care, as long as at the end of the week we are net positive and can wire money out of our clearing firms to meet the payroll. The real point to Funster was that there are different ways to get an edge, i.e., faster/accurate data, faster/reliable telecommunication connections, intra market arbitrage, cross market arbitrage, delta neutral trading, etc.. It is very difficult to just trade direction, not to say it isn't done successfully. We trade a number of directional scalping strategies, however, there is usually a underlying hedge.
Metooxx What other type of trades are you talking about regarding the floor traders? Do the floor traders say of the S&P make the biggest percentage of their profits by directional trading coupled with good money management or by incorporating other strategies that would supplement their income and reduce risk. Please elaborate further regarding this matter. Interesting thought. Finding an edge in trading is only part of the battle. You must still be able to pull the trigger when the time comes. Best regards, Trapper