Hi everyone, I’m relatively new to trading and currently feeling quite overwhelmed by the sheer flood of information out there. I’ve spent the last months digging into the topic and trying to find a clear path forward – but honestly, it’s tough. There are so many conflicting opinions, and I feel like it's hard to know what (and who) to trust. Here are some of the things I’ve come to believe so far — feel free to challenge or correct me if I’m wrong: Most of the trading information on the internet (especially YouTube) is garbage. Almost no one is truly transparent about how they make money in trading. There are countless different approaches, and everyone claims theirs is the best (or only) one that works. Most traders don’t make real or consistent money — at least not nearly as much as it’s often portrayed. Indicator-based strategies (especially the simple ones all over YouTube) rarely lead to consistent profitability. It seems like most professional or institutional players rely on systematic strategies, but even those only slightly outperform the S&P 500. My current challenge: With all this information, I’m unsure which path to take as a beginner. I don’t even know what a realistic goal or expectation should be — in terms of return, learning curve, or profitability. So here are my main questions to you: What is your personal trading approach? (Systematic, discretionary, quant, algo…?) What would you recommend to someone starting out now? What do you consider realistic expectations in terms of returns, risk, and time commitment? Are my current impressions off — or do they reflect the reality you’ve seen? I’d really appreciate any advice or insight you’re willing to share. I'm just trying to figure out a grounded and focused way to approach this without falling into the hype traps. Thanks in advance
Honestly and realistically, your best bet to make money in the market.... is to not trade it, But Sell courses, education and subscriptions and ad revenue content on social media. The Con is On. You can certainly make a ton of money in the market, but the probabilities are very slim you'll discover the Holy Grail yourself. Not just any clown can pull the Excalibur sword from the stone. You have to be worthy and deserving.
Nice summary. Stick to people who talk about the nuts and bolts of trading. Risk Management including sizing and scaling etc. People who talk about risk management are the ones who actually have something protect. i.e. they are the ones with actual realized profits. People who are making money talk about the nuts and bolts of trading. Those that talk about how much they "Make", are usually so amazed they made a few good trades or a couple of good ones. Stick to the nuts and bolts that enable trading. Then refine and choose your own path and style. Best of luck.
What is it you want to trade? If you already believe that most professionals can't beat the S&P, what makes you think you can? My advise as always is to study why traders fail then don't do any of that stuff. I trade stocks, I buy stocks that are going up, I sell them when they start to go down. I don't hold losers in my portfolio. It works for me.
Simply do anything other than trading. The trading success rate is extremely low. However, if your passion for trading is high, Work extremely hard on your left and right brain till you sweat blood. You actually have many of the answers correct; indicators are useless/worthless there are tons of conflicting/useless info out there on the internet most traders don't earn $$$
Your post and reasoning seem to be different to those of other beginners. Your post is very well written, and it appears that you’re analytical, focusing on the traps (i.e., risk-averse), open to input (humble), and even the way you formatted your post suggests that you might be organized and pay attention to detail. Judging from this, I’d say you might have a higher chance of succeeding than other beginners. Here are few answers: Most of the info on internet is garbage, but there is some good stuff as well. For example Michael Covell has some good interviews with Market Wizards such as with Charles Faulkner https://www.youtube.com/@TrendFollowing/videos That people aren't transparent about how they make money in trading shouldn't worry you. Good traders don’t need to prove themselves to anyone, while bad ones often brag to impress others. If someone’s approach resonates with you, do your own backtesting and adjust a few things to fit your personality. Deciding between discretionary and quant/algo trading is a personal preference. A good rule based discretionary trader will have superior returns and much lower drawdowns in comparison to quantitative trader. The drawdowns with systematic (computerised) trading can be a huge problem. A hybrid approach can work well. You’ve probably heard that around 90% of small businesses fail. Trading is a (difficult) business, yet most losing traders treat it like a hobby rather than like a business, so the high failure rate in trading is not surprising. Be realistic, it takes many years to become good, there are no shortcuts. Making money in the stock market was relatively easy since 2009, and so be aware that the strategies which worked in the bull marked will most likely fail once the market changes. (depending on how /what you trade and the time frame) Study ‘Trade Your Way to Financial Freedom’ by Dr. Van Tharp. Following the principles outlined in his book will put you ahead of many other traders. It’s not the book most new traders want to read, but it’s the book they NEED to read.
Thanks for your reply! I’d actually like to diversify and trade different markets – probably a mix of stocks and futures. I’m not expecting to beat the S&P 500 right away – that wasn’t my point. I was just surprised that so many institutional investors underperform it. Makes me wonder why people don’t just invest in the index themselves instead of giving their money to funds that can’t outperform. But I do believe that with smaller capital, you can be more agile and potentially achieve better returns than large institutional players – simply because you can move in and out of positions more freely. So if I understand correctly, what you're doing is basically following the trend?
Thanks for your answer, You made some great points. I’ll definitely try to stick to the basics, especially risk management and position sizing, and build from there. Appreciate the advice!