The question should be answered in 2 parts: -how long before you were profitable? -how profitable are you? Are you profitable from the beginning and do you make 25% a year? Or did it take a few years and do you make 100% a month? There is a hell of a difference between these two ways to get profitable.
Self taught from 30 books/experience. Started extensive full time trading this year january, Swing trading for awhile in the past. Daytrading Stocks to sharpen the entry/stop/exit techniques for 30 days Noticed it wasn't correlating with nasdaq switched to Futures NQ trading July for 30 days with a 5 tick stop lost. Traded futures for 30 more days August with a 2 tick stop lost and was profitable. Became a price action expert. Switched back to stocks to take advantage of retards. Consistently Profitable from start of September, located in journal section. Now giving chuckles to the supposedly 3-4-5-6 year experienced traders on my thread who still have a hard time figuring where to enter and how to directional trade. I know my style of trading is the most relaxing & <b>scalable</b> type of trading out there. While there are other styles that can make more money in the short term, I'm kicking back and smoking a F while waiting to take out targets at my leisure. To help out the starters: So which part do you think made me profitable so fast? Thats what you will have to work on.
Current account has 10K or so in FX. Equities has 1600 MUSAW warrants (merger arb). And an undisclosed amount in a money market fund (it has more than the combined sum of both the FX and equity accounts).
This is the way I stress test my models: I evaluate the absolute optimal environment for the model. Then I create the absolute dismal environment for the model. After this the model is tested on the dismal environment's data which nets several key statistical numbers. This data is later used to create multiple simulations (typically monte carlo sims) to obtain return and risk data. This allows me to understand what I can expect when the models come under great stress (aka when the market conditions is absolutely unfavorable for them).
DUde.. thats nice for a young kid like yourself... But I dont think you are qualified to claim that you are a profitable trader and start giving advice to others... ET seems to get a lot of these newbies that make a few thousand dollars and already experts designing models.. --MIKE
How do you determine profitability? I use return on equity. As for success, I shall use a commonly quoted number. 95% of all traders fail. Aka they make less than zero. Anyone who has been able to make more than zero has something to contribute especially if they can put together a record that spans a few years. As for designing models, I have presented ideas which have worked for me and others who have now been able to build on it to bring in more profits. I do not consider myself an expert model maker. I consider myself a profitable model maker.. BTW as you consider yourself to be an "expert model maker" why dont you share your great market wisdom with us? Surely you must have amassed such a great market knowledge that we would be smitten by your prowess. I find it funny how I could continue a knowledgable conversation as well as present my views with a risk manager from a bulge bracket ibank, my mentor, several knowledgable folks here on ET (riskarb stands out), as well as my interviewer at a fund here in NYC and not be looked down on because of my age.
I would disagree with this. I believe the correct statement should be: ET seems to get a lot of these newbies that lose a few thousand dollars and already experts designing models which are later sold to the masses (who are typically people in their middle, old age). Moral: Wisdom in the market place at least in cases is highly noncorrelated with age.