Why are you here? Isn't this a trading forum? Isn't it called elite TRADER. Not elite PASSIVE INDEX INVESTOR
I'm sorry you have had bad experiences trading, but your conclusions aren't consistent with my experiences. I do find that it is possible to prove and transmit skills and there ABSOLUTELY is a skill set to learn. I know where you're coming from and I went through a period when I thought I couldn't learn to trade because no one actually could so it was basically impossible. The reason for this was that I had run into several people making claims and selling things that didn't have value. In retrospect, some of the problem was with me. I just wasn't ready to do what it took for me to be successful. I did run into a few people who became mentors and I spent months and in some cases years practicing trading skills. Each new kind of trading I learned required a new skill set, for instance I once spent a period of half a year doing speed drills 2 hours a day. Tell me there's no skill to be learned? Not true. The cry that all trading success is due to luck always comes from academics or traders who have given up. My record is impressive enough but I know people who have had maybe one or two losing months in the past 15 years doing over 100 trades a day. Just not possible that kind of success is due to luck... especially when these people are able to teach students who then become successful. I am willing to put my math knowledge up against pretty much anyone's and one of the things I do with all my trading tools is to test them for "luck". I only trade things that show a clear edge over luck. These edges do exist you just have to find them. It's just the hardest profession in the world. It is a TRUE profession and hard work is rewarded. That has been my experience at least. Your mileage may vary.
Good then I wish you the best of luck or skill in the future. The fact of the matter is index investors rely on traders to painstakingly remove market inefficiencies for us so thanks .
Jesus is right (isn't he always ... lol). It makes no sense for you to be here for nine years. The posters here have made the decision to seek superior returns trading and not sit passively. Some will win and some will lose.
I've lurked the site on/off for years reading wall street news, economics etc. I started this thread to help others, it's just that simple. I'll leave the bragging about returns for another time.
just incase that wasn't a troll post....that strategy sure did work out well in 2008 or the past 10 years for that matter. ha Sure, gamble your money on holding equites tied to economies with a fiat currency and declining economic environment. Great plan. Even the industries claims it works over the long run is actually manipulated with things like survivorship bias and the very real, humbling fact that for periods of 10 to 20 yrs the US stock market was flat. See a long-term chart of the Dow in the 60s and 70s.
pik⋅er    ânoun Informal. 2. a stingy, tight-fisted person; tightwad. 3. a person who gambles, speculates, etc., in a small, cautious way. I have a good sense of humor and I figure I'm a little tighter on controlling costs than others here.
actually... to a trader a "piker" is a trader who has no clue what they're doing. as in "did you see that piker sell up there? what a moron!" or maybe when you're trading really badly on a day... "oh sh*t, i can't believe i'm so stupid. how can i be such a piker?" so... yeah it's not a great name!