I've seen a few different approaches thus far in my short career. I want to talk about & compare the following: (1) Specialize in one product, e.g., STIR futures spread traders fighting for the tiniest increment (at least locally, I've not seen many survive). (2) Specialize in futures specifically and pick something active within that universe and build some basic fundamental skills (basic plays and tape reading and product familiarity) (3) Even broader than (2) is what SMB calls 'Stocks In Play' but I'd call 'Products in Play'. This means search the entire futures, stocks (from India to Australia), cryptocurrency, horses, sneaker universe for anything that's highly catalyzed with news, volatility, volume (directional order flow specifically) and get involved. This goes beyond just order flow and into the realm of spreads also. Has anyone given any thought to which approach would yield the best results both in terms of absolute dollar value and long-term growth (monetary and educational) for an individual trader? From my perspective the advantage of (3) if done in stocks specifically with the SMB approach, an individual trader has the chance to carve out a niche and potentially build an account quickly. The disadvantage of (3) if done in other non-stock products and without building fundamental skills and plays is the difficulty in transitioning to new products when the edge fades. I've only seen people disappear when they approached trading with (1). Perhaps some do well, but I have not met many. I'm curious about (2) and why people chose to restrain themselves to futures which offer a much narrower subset of products from which to chose? Seems like a hard way to account build, but perhaps understandable for reasons of there being lots of supporting software and less headaches in the setup. Has anyone moved between multiple approaches and have any thoughts to bounce?
Hey buddy, I'm building a framework for Crypto that is very similar to the stocks in play in (3). My theory is being a master of a few decent trades across a range of products is the best bet to build an account. I did begin with futures, but I found the same premise you discussed that limiting yourself to one product is not ideal. You have to be a master of multiple trades in Trending/Ranging markets. I'm likely to have an opportunity at a prop firm in the very near future, so I'll be hopefully able to take advantage of the discounted fees as we know Crypto is an expensive temptress. During my small retail stint doing Futures I didn't enjoy it fundamentally as Crypto. I feel you should be at least interested in the product outside of trading. Believe it or not, the set up is not as easy as you would think. Sierra Chart can be a nightmare for beginners, AMP Futures can be another headache and then getting a Rithmic connection (Pay twice if you use an orderflow tool like Bookmap alongside Sierra Chart!). But there is a lot of good Futures learning resources. But from what I've heard from others more experienced than myself that Equities are easier to trade than Futures (Especially in Australia). I see in another post you're interested in learning Spreads? I'm under a current mentorship with a 7-figure spread trader, I've been looking at potential spreading opportunities in Crypto. It's not my main focus (Outrights), but I'm still doing further research. Haven't met any others who have that interest, so I'll definitely be following your posts with interest
I think that's optional. If you find you enjoy trading products you're interested in for reasons other than speculation/intraday pricing inefficiencies/opportunities than that's a good goal if your purpose is to maximize enjoyment. But I don't think it's a good goal if your purpose is to maximize earnings. Those two goals won't always overlap. Yeah, I am guessing it goes back to the original post. There's less directional order flow in futures, less potential catalysts, during strictly Asian hours. A universe of stocks will always have something or other that has a catalyst (news, earnings, big technical level, large volume of directional order flow). Yeah, I'm interested in understanding market relationships better.