I think your both your confidence and insight would improve dramatically if you taught yourself to code and backtest a strategy that mirrors your personal way of seeing market moves unfold. If it were me, I would not make the move you're considering until you've done that and understand the broad-strokes statistics of the methods you'll be using.
Make that 7... Also... Ignore the 7th persons advice... Just plain wrong about systems bs. I don't want to even try to justify if with an argument.. Ãcoute pas!!
What is up with all these people talking about systems? I think that throws new traders off. It certainly threw me off. It is my belief that if you have a high enough intelligence/IQ, the only way you will be able to trade is to apply common sense, perhaps economic knowledge and watching the market and build experience (2 yrs is good). The fact is that no system that is available to a retail trader even has the remote possibility to be profitable (other than by luck), because everybody is looking at MA's, RSI's and whatever. I think to be a discretionary trader (considering mechanical is out of the technical baggage of virtually all non-fund-employed people) you just need to be smart. There is only one thing that matters, and that is that you're smarter than approx. ~51% of the money. To be honest the only advice on doing it or not would be that you should do it if the market absolutely fascinates you, you can sit in front of a screen for a trading day without being the least bit bored and you are totally optimistic (yet self-critical, don't overdo it) even in the face of complete financial obliteration.
because systems or mechanical trading is what market makers and professionals at hedge funds used... HFT machines and blackboxes. why do you think hedge funds only hire people with computing..for quants etc. manual trading or video arcades could be obsolete like pit trading ...80% of all trades are already automated trading... i mean withoug HFT machines or system traders there would be no volume. amateur or hobby traders/investors don't use the tools that professional use. professional traders don't trade or invest like that. professional traders have professional tools..tools of the trade.
If Laissez Faire's trading method could be automated, he could get some sleep, continue to get pay and BENEFITS (good luck on getting health insurance once you get sick), build a stake worth having a full-time employee, and not be stuck in a prop-trading role, which I take it, many dislike.
Do you really think there are profitable systems that retail traders can just buy? Seriously? If this is true then give me and everyone on this site a link to these systems. We shall all purchase one and become rich. What trader would sell a profitable automated system? They could do nothing and make money forever. Why sell? Extremely naive.
I was wondering the same thing: What kind of job would you be quitting? If you're in business for yourself, you probably take on risk every day (e.g. the restaurant business, owning a store with inventory, etc.), but few businesses pose trader-sized risk. By that I mean that traders tend to risk much more on a daily basis than other types of entrepreneurs. If you can make decent money doing a low-risk or risk-free job, I would keep that and forget trading altogether. Trading is the riskiest of all businesses (legal ones, at least). It's not unfair to call it gambling--edge or no edge. Notice how it has the feel of gambling? Sure, you've got your stop in place on every trade, but you still need to hope that your stop doesn't get hit every trade until you're broke: Death by paper cuts. Don't think that happens? It happens. Plus, it's extremely annoying to lose frequently. Losing once in a while, like a real estate agent whose deals fall through periodically--that's disappointing--but livable. With trading, one loses all the freaking time, and there's always that lurking fear that the losing streak will never really end, that the market will throw you a bone once in a while, but ultimately, you just lose. In this economy, where many folks would practically sell their souls for a solid job, you want to throw it away to trade, a risky pseudo-profession with dubious potential for reward. My motivation to trade is to be able to make money irrespective of what others think. There's tremendous freedom in being able to pay the bills even if everybody hates you and thinks you're stupid. Funny thing is, many jobs are like that (e.g. government jobs--nearly impossible to get fired, etc.) Maybe you want to make twice or three times as much money as you did yesterday simply by clicking the mouse. That's extremely seductive and enticing. The problem is it's not that simple. With greater size comes greater risk, and Murphy's law is more valid in trading than anywhere else. Or, maybe you want to trade for ego, like, I fear, so many of the folks on this forum. "I'm such a bad-ass. Where 97% fail, I succeed. That makes me oh-so special." Ego must play no part in trading. The markets will humble all those who haven't been already. Unfortunately, that can be expensive therapy. If you need to be humbled, go hit on a supermodel. Who knows, maybe you'll get laid in the process (something I assure you will never happen if you're home trading in your underwear all day). I would just ask you to 1) take time out to confirm why exactly you want to trade, and 2) find out whether you can achieve that same goal in a far less financially risky way. If so, let me know. Good luck to you and all of us.
Hello... "professionals at hedge funds", "HFT" and "blackboxes" which have or are tools that are not at all available to retail customers. Or do you think they use MA's, RSI or really anything you can find in a reasonable retail charting software? *snigger* I never said algorithmic trading wasn't a large part of trading these days, just that if you're looking for an edge in that field you need to look to be hired by a fund or have so much $$$ to start your own (but then you wouldn't be posting here would you). Also, the more people who are working on algos, the more the edge will diminish (i.e. the smarter you have to be). The only edge you may hope to gain as a retail trader is experience. It doesn't really matter where you start in order to gain it, because I can almost guarantee you that you will not end with it. Show me anyone who is consistantly profitable (3+ yrs) who is still using basic technical indicators as a main strategy and I'll recant.
yes there are systems for sale. it works best with hedge funds who have large capital. and the ones they sell for retail is too expensive for retail clients or retail traders don't care about automated trading as it's too technical for non-pro traders... like $5000 dollars and training fee..you could spend $10,000 just for the system and training.