Too bad zh cut up the article. If you google it you can find the whole thing which is more coherent. This part is probably what most traders think about-- I can see why these kids would want to do this.... make six figs a year while your friends are making a fraction of that and struggling to start lives--- but the trading income has no guarantee, and could run out at any time. Scary thing to do with no other income coming in. The best bet would be to live cheaply and keep stashing away profits, and then use that to invest in some other income generating venture such as real estate. Another idea is come up with a side career that could be done part-time. That might make long term survival more likely.
Guess it depends. I know at least one ET member who is past 70 and still actively day trades (several instruments using 5-min chart, something I hardly can do simultaneously in my 35 ). Of course he doesn't depend on day trading financially anymore, but still does it every day both as a sole career and a hobby.
Interesting that the real professionals in the business, such as in the article, never see such things. They only seem to exist on the Internet. surf
You mean institutions? Yes likely they don't see such cases. But financial eco-system is more than just institutions and retail traders are not less real, just different niche.
Huh? A prop firm is not an institution. A day trader not going prop ( unless he is wealthy or already has access to millions and is dumb enough to risk it ) is similar to someone staying on the penny slots in the casino rather than progressing to black jack. Many successful strategies takes tons of money and these strategies are simply unavailable to retail.
Right. But many strategies are also available to retail. Why would a retail trader who is already successful in say, day trading ES want to go prop? I don't want to go prop either. Currently do OPM under CTA exemption to reduce my own capital risk exposure and think about going CTA, yes. But why go prop? Maybe I miss something.
Ok, I forget that posters on elite are the best in the world. You do it all by looking at charts and are the the exemption to the rules. I can't argue with this. surf
Never claimed to be the best. Just honestly say what's possible or not. Yes it is possible by just looking at charts. And there are quite many of such live "exemptions". They are just satisfied with their own results, that's why you don't hear much about them in the press and don't see them working for someone else. I didn't spend 8 years to learn trading in order to be someone's employee.
Nothing in life is certain How about one who spends 10,15,20 years working to make another person rich and then one day is laid off due to economic downturn or because its cheaper to outsource or pay a 22 year old fresh out of college less?