So, what does a good trader make per month?

Discussion in 'Professional Trading' started by bat1, Mar 2, 2013.

  1. xandman

    xandman

    Traders encompass a wide range.

    There are outright gamblers. The true believers who expect to make in excess of 30% annualized every year. These guys usually come from more speculative side of the business. Perhaps punting forex or as a pro who used to have an edge on the floor and access to capital/resources.

    However, there is also a very grounded group with a traditional investing background who have taken up trading to generate excess returns that cant be acquired from a traditional portfolio.

    Outlandish return expectations, without pro affiliation, will indicate that you are more gambling than trying to "trade for a living".
     
    #61     Dec 31, 2013
  2. sle

    sle

    Bah, 7 figures (e.g. $1.5 * 10^6) is a take-home for a decent derivatives trader at a bank or an ok-ish PM at a large fund. 50 million in assets is actually a very small fund these days

    Plenty of small businesses do way better RoC-wise, because of the constrained capacity. Your local Burger King shop is probably returning 50-60% at least.
     
    #62     Dec 31, 2013
  3. xandman

    xandman

    C'mon Sle, you must be kidding us. I can't tell.

    But 50 -60% on Burger King? Why would we be wasting our time here. Buffet would just buy Burger King.

    There is a security market line is the middle of our solar system. Taking leverage out, returns of every asset class will gravitate towards that line.
     
    #63     Dec 31, 2013
  4. cmb

    cmb Guest

    we go from discussing whether or not a 150k account can return 20%, to tripling a 10k futures account with your net worth 1mm, all the way up to a 50mm hedgefund accounts to scalping burgers at burger kings.


    Just all over the map today!
     
    #64     Dec 31, 2013
  5. xandman

    xandman

    Admittedly, return expectations are an exercise in mental masturbation.
     
    #65     Dec 31, 2013
  6. sle

    sle

    Burger King as a company does not do anything even close to these RoCs. However, a single franchise owner who is managing the place himself, can easily do that or better. There was a study that NYC street hot dog vendors achieve 100%+ returns on investment. The problem is lack of scalability, obvioulsy - the results are there becase of the "reverse economy of scale".
     
    #66     Dec 31, 2013
  7. cmb

    cmb Guest

    people here are supposed to be prop traders, NOT grandpas measuring their portfolio annual yield. whether they show up at a london office, or sitting in ur basement in Dover. show up with a 10k deposit and scalp 200k shares a day and leave with 500 to 2k and not have a clue of what your annual return is...
     
    #67     Dec 31, 2013
  8. But the salary is subtracted from the ROI calculation. His time is valuable.
     
    #68     Dec 31, 2013
  9. sle

    sle

    True and not. To make a proper economic argument, you should subtract a expected salary that the enterpreneur can command via regular employment. For a street-vendor or a BK franchise owner, I'd imagine, salary expectations via regular employment are not too high.
     
    #69     Dec 31, 2013
  10. xandman

    xandman

    I will definitely look into that hotdog business. I have a lot of friends in Manhattan and have access to certain culinary delights that will draw them like catnip.

    I acknowledge that reverse economy of scale you presented. There is definitely a structural issue in the market which prevents a roll up and causes outsized profits. Like any market, the less benign the structural issues are, the more chance for outsized profits. I hope I don't need mob contacts.

    So far, growing Chicago Kush in the suburbs is the best alpha. And, people love you for it.
     
    #70     Dec 31, 2013