I'm a passive trader, and not high volume, but prefer to trade the trend. As of now, trying to short is too late, so I am looking for some long entries. Although I am staying out of things as there seems to be chaos.
Not sure I can help you since, since I am not "trading the trend". Generally speaking I wouldn't advise not to trade because there is chaos, if anything, the opposite is true as long as you have a long time horizon, and are well diversified (Buy when there is blood in the streets..)
MONTHLY UPDATE JULY 29 REVIEW ⢠Personal account value as of July 29 close was $ $680,626. ⢠Incubator hedge fund value as of July 29 close was $111,519. ⢠In July there were 2 clouds hanging over the market, Greece/Europe in the beginning of the month, and the debt ceiling by the end of the month. Both of them seem to have eased âfor nowâ. Over the end of last week I have adjusted some of my sector exposure a little. I have reduced some of my exposure in gold and in 30 yr treasuries by closing out about 10% of my positions due to the huge run up. Also on Friday I have aggressively increased positions in mortgage backed securities which took a dramatic hit last week because of the fear that the US might actually default. In all other sectors there was no change in strategy. While the July return was negative, I expect the 3d quarter performance to be in the same range as the previous quarters. ⢠Going forward with hedge fund: I will probably increase the size of the incubator fund by around 30% during the 3rd quarter and start gathering some âpoints of interestâ in the fund in the 4th quarter. Looking forward for your comments and advice, hope to have next report August 31.
Also I am looking to open a new brokerage account and would like to hear some advice from you guys. I am considering either optionexpress or thinkorswim, both of them you can trade a wide range of products and I hope I will be able to negotiate a good commission rate. Which of the 2 would you recommend? Or do you have another good option besides IB? Thanks
Depending on what instruments you are interested in MB Trading could be an option. Commissions are quite competitive. Very firendly to automation. Doesn't allow trading any non-US stocks, futures or options. I understand they still clear with Penson. So, any criticism of Penson clearing is still applicable.
Obviously not great... VIX had the biggest 1 day % increase since 2007, and the market had the worst week since end of 2008. Having said that I would think that to be a really successful trader you most experience something like that on your own skin, to see how the market can make an nasty turn even when you dint expect it. I have been trading since Dec 2008 and thatâs was my first storm. In any case I appreciate all your advice you have given me. I will have a detailed report as usual on August 31
Hope you didnt get confused..just realized I was not logged in with my username (I am out of the office the weekend and have used someoneâs computer). Obviously not great... VIX had the biggest 1 day % increase since 2007, and the market had the worst week since end of 2008. Having said that I would think that to be a really successful trader you most experience something like that on your own skin, to see how the market can make an nasty turn even when you dint expect it. I have been trading since Dec 2008 and thatâs was my first storm. In any case I appreciate all your advice you have given me. I will have a detailed report as usual on August 31