I have traded both from an office and at home, I much prefer trading from home, no distractions and the ability to be more introspective about your own trading and methods. Iam a consistently profitable day trader and have been for many years, the isolation does get to me from time to time and I do miss the cast of characters in an office but my P&L suffers when I trade in an office environment. I have often thought it would interesting to have a group of other solo at home traders that would get together once or twice a month in a social atmosphere to share ideas and talk shop.
hey guys since you are profitable at home, I would like to know which brokers you use, size of your capital (if you want to share) and your average weekly/monthly profit
I trade from home and I am happy. I get on the computer when I want to and get off the computer when I want to. I like not having to answer to anyone. No one is harder on myself than me, and no one works harder. You know that I am a die hard trader, because when I die I am going to go long on the way up to heaven....and if I go to hell; I'll just short on the way down. I have thought off and on about trading remotely for someone, but I not sure that would be a good thing. I have my own particular style of trading. I know those guys do bullets and baskets and triscuts and taskuts...thats not for me...I am just a straight forward stock trader, either short or long. Simple. I do enjoy talking with other traders and it would be nice to get together with a bunch of you guys one day. I do not know any other traders in my area, so there is no one around to share an honest days work with. EliteTrader is it for now.
for all the responses and suggestions. I'm coming to the conclusion that, ultimately, you have to be able to deal with your emotions on your own -- other people could provide a short-term crutch at times, but best to deal with the problem at the root. Some of you have suggested forming a chat room for those trading alone at home -- sounds like a great idea, being able to bounce ideas off each other, share trading tips etc. From past experiences however, they can just as easily hinder ones trading -- ppl could get more "attached" to posted trades and perhaps slow their loss cutting; argumentative posts can cloud your objectivity; etc. I think a casual room, with a small number of regular posters capable/not afraid of admitting mistakes/changing their minds would work best. Count me in as well if you guys want to give it a shot.
I think you can create a new chat room right here on elite, don't know how to do it tho. Looks like click on chat room button on main page, when you're in the chat room click on rooms tab, click new and set one up.
The problem with the Elite chat is that some have trouble getting in due to Java conflicts, and you can't log the session.
I trade profitably from home. I sincerely believe home-based trading is the best choice for lots of people. With that I must say that a big regret of mine is not starting out trading in an office. The learning curve in this business is brutal, and I almost destroyed myself trying to learn to trade in a vacuum my first and even into the beginning of my second year. The office environment can offer, from what I've heard, a jump-start on the many novelties regarding this strange business that a new trader has to deal with. A very big factor in my success, I believe, is having the initiative to seek out advice in forums such as ET. The amount of information on this site, and others, is staggering. If someone is willing to hunt and peck around the virtual trading communities I think just about anything you need to know is there. If not it is then available for the asking. Just like everything else however, you have to work to learn, and some just aren't willing to do that. Currently I trade with Echotrade. Although I don't use the "professional" bells and whistles such as bullets or conversions often, I very much appreciate the leverage when I want it. I'm pretty much a plain vanilla trader, mostly long, sometimes short, no spreads or options trading and the firm is a no hassle way to get this accomplished. Additionally its a more personal experience than being with a big retail firm as I can pick up the phone and call a general partner and have a discussion regarding problems or concerns. My primary goal in trading has been autonomy. I'm not trying to get rich, just looking for a way to step out of the 9 to 5 business world and be my own boss. Trading from home, both retail and "pro" is possible. It really depends upon what you are looking for.
I had the same problem getting into the chat because of a Java option that I enabled while playing with the IB demo. BSAM helped me with this: Open a browser>click Tools>internet options>advanced tab>scroll down to about the middle>UNCHECK Java (Sun). This did not appear to effect anything, but I am using the IB software downloaded to my computer, and not the browser based option, so I don't know if there is a conflict there. I don't know if this is the answer for everything, but it worked for me.
I truly enjoy trading out of my home office. I've never traded at an office, but have worked in an office environment for many (many) years. The real benefit of trading, imho, is that you can avoid the commute, don't need anyone around you, and generally manage your day and time as you want. The "aloneness" can easily be worked around by having online friends and participating on e.g. Elite.
I trade porfitably from home as well. I don't want anyone being next to me when I trade. Even when my wife comes inside my home office I get nervous because I just like to be alone when a trade is on the line. That's just me. I set up my office exactly the way I want it with multiple monitors, chair, special lighting, all my trading books - all things you can't do at an office. I also like to listen to classical music or talk radio when trading - again things you can't do at the office. And yes, I even crank up a game of solitaire or Tetris when the market trands sideways. Who cares - nobody's watching. I don't trade in my PJs like the commercials like you to think. I shower, shave, dress normally etc and trade as if I was at an office because it puts me in a "professional" frame of mind. I couldn't imaging sitting at my desk unkempt or "just out of bed" like many of those homeworkers show on TV. Another reason I wouldn't want to be near other traders is when someone sitting next to you does well on a trade it may spur you along to "get in the game" and most likely you'll make a poor decision rather than taking part in the good cheer. I have a set trading plan that may not jibe with the next guy's. Who needs it. I've always liked working independently and this game is just the ticket.