I'd like to start this thread for current and former institutional i.e. sell/buy-side traders. Specifically, your thoughts on trading in the current environment. Feel free to post your thoughts and lets see where it goes.
hey bondtrader, I think the VOLATILITY that people on CNBC hates so much is actually GOOD for prop trading. In fact, it's probably here to stay for a while, because of the prevalences: 1) active hedge funds 2) active quant funds 3) active prop trading desks 4) more active mutual funds Even previously before staid pension funds are getting into the game. The wild swings are results of lots of buy and sell programs swinging around the market on a daily basis moving billions in and out. just my observations in the last few weeks. It's just the matter of getting on the right side of the market! haha -99
The market has been great for trading, lately. Volatility is a great thing. Panic selling and then panic buying is even better for a trader ready to pounce. I only wish I had returned to trading size (for me) sooner. Which stock(s) is Janus going to have to liquidate next? (By the way I do not feel bad for this attitude, I believe Janus knowingly and willing duped the public by following a short term strategy that would inflate their returns in the short run (and thereby attract hot and stupid money). I will bet that Janus new that their strategy was doomed to failure in the long run. Congress should be looking at them too. Here was their plan. Hire young well educated arrogant market fools to run your funds and plow money into the market in a highly concentrated matter. Let the public pile into the funds. Get big fees for a while, Let the owners spin off the company and cash out in a big way. Watch the market and the Janus shareholders implode. That in a nutshell is why I chose to trade and not "invest".
I've been making money hand over fist for six weeks buying curve and early yesterday morning somebody came into Eurex and flushed the 2-yr Shatz. Flattened the Shatz/Bund spread by 45 tics in a heartbeat. Ouch. Oh my flaming rectum. I wonder if JPM was finally unwinding their monster corner on the German 2-yr paper. I know they've carried it through two rolls. Maybe the supply coming from the US 2 and 10-yr auctions and the equity bid got them going. Who the hell knows.
Sorry for taking so long to respond but the weather has been too nice to work. Agreed, volatility has been great for trading the past two months. Thank god for bad news. LOL. Bone- Have you ever seen this site? http://www.eurobondonline.com/strategyge.htm Good luck to all.
Bondtrader: Yeah, this guy runs a PC repair business in Glencoe, and is soliciting investors to buy the real estate he's currently leasing for him, and to start a hedge fund. I look at his spread charts on occasion, but generally find him to be a day late and a dollar short with respect to what I'm doing in terms of time horizon. Some of his ideas are in fairly illiquid markets wiht prohibitive bid/ask spreads, like the Swap futures market at the CBOT. His concepts and methodologies are sound. Market-making capability would really let him capitalize on his spread-trading strategy, and I assume that's why he is soliciting funds.