USDCHF Breaking out of downtrend

Discussion in 'Forex' started by Aaron Copland, May 1, 2008.

  1. :D

    You're right, just a plain chart doesn't look too impressive when someone comes round either!
     
    #11     May 25, 2008
  2. The OP's trade actually worked out well, 2.5 cents rally!

    Where next, 1.0150/1.01 then up to 1.0850/1.09?
     
    #12     May 25, 2008
  3. Tell me who is the real winner in the Investment/Finance Industry?

    A private trader who trades for a living making consistent profits
    with his pathetic $100K or less acct (by working really hard
    on research and coping with the stress of trading)?

    OR

    Someone who wiggles his way to the top in an institute,
    loses a few hundred millions/billions, appears on TV , raises a few more hundred millions, loses again and gets a $50mil golden hand shake to move on to another big hedge fund/firm and repeat the cycle?
     
    #13     May 25, 2008
  4. Rhetorical question, right?

    I wonder what Leeson or more recently Kerviel would say (even though they didn't get the $50mil golden hand shake....yet) :)

    Who did you have in mind?
     
    #14     May 25, 2008
  5. I am just stating a fact that all traders should know.

    There is probably more that meets the eye in the cases for the 2 rouge traders above.
     
    #15     May 25, 2008
  6. I guess it's a matter of opportunity. Trading a (pathetic???) 100k account from home is within reach.....

    From what I remember both trader's positions would have come right if the respective banks had supported the drawdown instead of bailing out at the worst time, that was certainly the case with Barings and Leeson anyway, not sure about Kerviel/SocGen.
     
    #16     May 25, 2008
  7. Tell me how many people remembered Larry Williams who turned $10K into $1mil in a year(1989?) esp if you are not a trader?

    Now show your name card if you are like CEO of one of the big investments banks, does anyone question your ability to generate "alpha" as they call it in the investment industry?

    If I trade like shit but people still keep pumping in $ for me to trade, then I am truely a great trader!

    If you make good returns but people still questions you about your trading ability, then it's better not to trade for others.
     
    #17     May 25, 2008
  8. I think they may question ability after what's gone on lately!

    As a small fund manager most investors simply go by their own experience, if a manager consistently makes decent returns for his clients then they're happy obviously. In time the fund grows along with commissions.

    So now the question is would you rather manage and be solely in control of your own small fund and not have anyone to answer to apart from clients or would you rather be a small part of a bigger machine over which you have very little if any control?

    The risks are the same, it's not your money in either scenario (as long as none of the clients are wise guys :) ). The returns could grow to be comparable.
     
    #18     May 25, 2008
  9. Very good question and comments on your part. But that's not my point here. The real question is are you THERE yet so much so that even if you lose, people still believe and trust in you?

    When you received questions about Drawdowns, alpha, beta, etc, it simply means the person (fund allocator, interviewer is no longer interested in YOU and definitely not giving you funds).

    Does anyone questions George Sorros, Donald Trump & Warren Buffet drawdowns?

    I realised that there is a difference between a good trader/investor and a great one and it's definitely not in the performance or creditability!

    Are we THERE yet?:p
     
    #19     May 25, 2008
  10. Ah right, I see what you're saying I think. Trump, Soros, Buffet are kind of household names, most people would invest with them even without looking at how they were performing simply because everyone knows those people make money, it's a given.

    Are we there yet? No, well I'm not anyway! I guess it's all relative though, if I lost 10% next week would clients panic? I doubt it as over time they've made money, but would a new investor give me funds just by my name alone, no, definitely not!

    It's like anything though, we automatically trust and feel safe with what we think we know. But then when big names like Northern Rock in the UK or UBS, Citigroup, and Swiss Re are mentioned in the news, multi-billion dolllar writedowns, banks having to be bailed out of trouble by Central Banks, housing markets collapsing, and the R word, you suddenly realize that perhaps they're not so safe and trustworthy after all, maybe the only safe place for our cash is under the mattress! If by 'are we there yet' you mean have we lost confidence in the banking and investment system then I would say yes, we're there pretty much!

    I think I've lost the thread a bit here, what were we talking about again?
     
    #20     May 25, 2008