Great thread. I could explain why I post on the P/L thread but Eric, Lescor, and Shreddog covered my thoughts. Thanks also to those who recognized me in their posts. Obviously trading has been a lot of fun lately and if my numbers can help inspire anyone then that's great.
There is no calculation on return on investment ... leverage and regulation is not the same for a trader(prop pro or arcade) then a retail or mutual fund... But i must say i am really "impressed" by the regularity of some traders ( not the $$ in 1 day but by the regular green side ... specially in the futures) ...you guys keep ur hedge alive.
Actually, the information fell right into my lap. I didn't put any effort into busting him. Why'd you get so pissed at <i>me</i> last year? Lots of guys were PMing me, asking if your blotters were real, and all I could tell them was I didn't think so, but couldn't prove it. Then the truth just happened to fall into my lap, so I decided to satisfy everyone's curiosity. I'm sure if our roles were reversed, you'd have done the same thing, right? BTW, during this awesome volatility I've been tempted to start posting some of my numbers again- They're actually not as interesting as last spring for some reason- A lot of winning days between 125 and 155 grand but nothing above that. No massive losing days though. I had a few much bigger winning days last spring, but took a 400K hit one day in the middle of the run, as some of you recall. I should have had a breakout career day (600K+) yesterday (Thurs.), but got shaken out of my longs, 45 minutes before the close. I found out the same thing happened to MANY top traders, so I shouldn't feel too bad about it. I'd also fully disclose that until this awesome volatility started 3 weeks ago, I was actually down 390 grand on the year. Kinda like the Jesse Livermore pattern: Clean up in volatile markets, and bleed the account during regular slow times...
<i>"correct. Imagine 10% a month continuously reinvested. In 15-20 years, they could eliminate the national debt. Show the top 10% CTA official records that they average 10% a month..."</i> How many times will this same tired bullsh*t be rehashed in ET? Answer: equal amount of times to the other bullsh*t of tech analysis doesn't work. * Again, it's a stock traders' mentality. Retail traders working modest account sizes relative to money managers aren't comparable. If I couldn't make at least +50% per month during dead periods and +200% to +500% per month (per month.. not year, month) as an active day trader, I'd quit. Who wouldn't? Who in their right mind would sit in front of the screens day in & out, enduring the boredom = stress = fatigue for ten freakin' percent per year? +10% annual is fine for traders working $10mil accounts or part-time investors. I've had many days (not years, days) recently where +10% of account balance is the morning rake. Obviously there is a rather low ceiling of liquidity before such gains wither. In the ER2, that would probably be 20 contracts max before slippage negates the approach. In the ES, I'm guessing 200 contracts will meet some slippage issues at times, but it might be 400 - 500 contracts before playing the -$100 / +$200 (or better) per trade game is nixed due to slippage on ins and out. Don't know personally, but I'll find out where the upper threshhold is before this time next year. Regardless, money managers running more than $5mil would dilute above stated results. Retail traders (like us) working five and six figure accounts, day trading actively can return 100% to several hundred percent annual. Does everyone understand the dramatic difference between professional retail traders working modest accounts and professional CTAs working >$5mil in the emini futures world specifically? No possible comparison. Please drop the flawed logic forever.
Strongly agree and I'm often amazed at why some still use that type of flawed perception. Heck, we all got bills to pay and/or families to support. That type of compounding for a retail trader is not possible unless you have no debts, still living at home with mom & dad for free along with trading for free for that entire 15 - 20 years of trading. Mark
The reason for the flawed logic is clear ... the author is none other than ... drum roll ... but why use his name again.
The P/L thread is an inspiration for me - thanks to all the traders who make the effort to post. I'm looking forward to the day i start posting to the P/L thread as well.
Actually it is correct if you keep the entire quote in context... Heck, we all got bills to pay and/or families to support. That type of compounding for a retail trader is not possible unless you have no debts, still living at home with mom & dad for free along with trading for free for that entire 15 - 20 years of trading. With that said, I'm very interested in a detailed explanation how a retail trader can compound 100% of his/her profits...year after year while having to pull some of those profits for living expenses??? Remember now...we are talking about retail traders. I await your reply because I am a retail trader that supports my family off my profits for +15 years. Mark