Hi all, I'm moving from spreadbets to futures (STOXX) and I wondering if I should be looking for a mentor to help me with what I think may be a difficult transition. So first question: 1) How do you find a mentor? 2) Do you go for someone trading the same instrument/time frame or doesn't it matter. 3) I'd see a mentor as someone to discuss trades both good and bad with, do others have different views about what a mentor should be?
watch how much time and money you would allocate to a mentor. Also he/she must know your circumstances and state to be of any help at all. Often people I mentor (and I don't exclusively do it for traders but any home based business) do not know how to ask the right questions. i.e. you should have an idea what you want out of this relationship. What I do is use e-mail to do my mentoring. It is generally not even mentoring but a written report/analysis of a subject with unlimited follow-ups. Lucky to you I have been a floor trader and futures broker with active contacts in Chicago. I am a good friend with Bobby Kern(CTA) and Victor Lespinase (the commentator for the WSJ futures section). If you want to chat off-line - please check out my profile and web-site. P.S. I hope this is not too much of a commercial and you don't delete me. I just want to help. I will not steer anyone wrong, no self-serving agenda here.
Helen, I am not a mentor, and I am no longer really trading futures after a few years of doing it (more interested in stocks right now). But seeing as 1) you are a Hatfield gal and 2) my wife has the same name as you!, I would be willing to chat with you about my experiences in this regard on both sides of the Atlantic. Sending you a PM with my contact details.