I would like to see if there are any trading groups out there that work as a team during the trading day. Daytrading is mostly a one-person sport but I have seen some traders get together and trade as a team and form their own trading business (so to speak). This is not firm or office specific, nobody cares about that and you can just leave that out. I would like to know about the private groups out there and how they are doing. I am interested for two reasons: 1. Different trading styles work at different times in the market, right? 2. If you composed a team of average daytraders that worked different styles and really worked together and taught each other; would the team (and individual team member) make more than the average successful daytrader?
I think this is a very good topic. I have been wanting to find a good team of traders that shares ideas in CA. I think it would help because as you said the market changes and what is working now might not be working later. The groups I have seen want their group to be pure to their particular style. That is beneficial while it is working, but when they run into a rough spot they have no place to look for new ideas because they have insulated themselves so much. The group of people I am thinking of were kings two years ago and now are stuggling to get back in the castle. With a mixed group of trading strategies, you always have new ideas and different ways to look at the markets. The other thing I find is that the groups are very protective of what they are doing and fear sharing because they think it will effect their performance.
I do not care to learn their strategies, just would like to know if any traders are doing this and how it has helped or hindered, right?
Well it helped the group at the time. It helped pull up the traders that were less aggressive and helped push the top traders in the group. A lot of it was a competitive thing. Hard to "give yourself a break" on tougher days when someone sitting two seats away made bank that day. Obviously the money was there to be had -- you just did not make it. It might be of a hinderance because some start believing that they won't make money unless they stay with the group. It is also good to have more than one pair of eyes on the market. Your stocks might be dead yet someone else might have a stock moving that you would normally not look at.
I think you misunderstood my post...I whole heartedly agree with you. Our office works that way... I just meant that I was not asking anybody else out there for their strategies...
I did not think you were asking. Basically what I was saying is a close minded group works like a close minded trader. It is great as long as what you are doing is working. The question is what happens when it stops working. I was with a group like that where it was great when things were clicking. Now things have changed and they are still sitting around hoping the old days come back. I decided to leave because they shunned any new ideas because they were so set in their ways that worked for them in the past. They are floundering right now. Truthfully so am I, but at least I am open to learning. They are waiting around for the next extreme move rather than learning how to trade the market now.
1. Different trading styles work at different times in the market, right? 2. If you composed a team of average daytraders that worked different styles and really worked together and taught each other; would the team (and individual team member) make more than the average successful daytrader? From my own current experience, using the perf data from the team fund, this is true. Actually, the more diverse the backgrounds, the more everyone seems to learn(we have NYSE,NASDAQ,Euronext, MONEP, GLOBEX, LIFFE and FX traders here). As a sidenote, the increased performance may also be due to the 'team fund' environment, since everyone has to be able to justify his/her trades to the others. Just my experience... OHLC
I am thinking more of a team that is composed of different trading styles, like spread traders, scalpers, intraday positions traders, etc. all working together. Between all of them, one of the strategies has to be working. Anyone out there do this?