Not him. Being gullible comes at a cost in the trading business. I don't see many or anyone here denying that success or huge success is possible, but there's no doubt a huge amount of fakers in this business, so it's wise to have some healthy skepticism. Particularly when someone is selling something or getting something out of it. For the latter, that can be someone who 'teaches' for free and in return gets 'admiration' and 'recognition'. Of course, such an individual is doing his fellow man a huge disservice if he's teaching and guiding someone along a path that leads to nowhere.
Let's just say I have information which leads me to believe he may not be that successful as a trader and leave it at that. Feel free to PM me if you're curious. The thing about directional trading is that it's a very marginal business. At least if you day trade. By that, I mean the margin for error is generally low. You need excellent timing and entry. That's why someone can come across as very knowledgeable and experienced, but may still not be a successful trader. Huge difference between calling and analyzing and actual trading. Simple example: You can get direction and the big picture right, but still get stopped out / chopped out by being too early or too late. One simple solution could be to trade with very low leverage, but by doing so, you can't expect to make meaningful returns, unless you're happy with 10-20 % per year. And if that's the expected outcome, might as well invest your money or do regular buy and hold without leverage. Active trading only makes sense if you're making superior returns. Unless you happen to really enjoy trading and watching the market on a regular basis.
If he was as successful as he claimed,kudos to him for scaling way back. Dan Zanger did the same thing. Regardless,guys like Zanger and Kris are unicorns.Their appetite for risk is un- worldly..
Healthy level of( (skepticism + open mind) * (due diligence+ critical thinking) = superpower. The above applied to backtesting and building a statistical model is the path that produces those superior results.
Unless you have an extreme edge, I think that's the only way to make super returns. Einar Aas who I referenced earlier blew his entire fortune on one single trade idea. Nothing is known about his actual trading history, but I imagine he's been an extremely aggressive trader and that it worked out to his favor until it one day didn't.
The above describes me. Little to no leverage and happy with 10 to 20%. The reason I move in and out of the market rather than buy and hold is that I have to live off my returns. Drawdowns are a concern. If I need cash during a drawdown I would be forced to sell at a low if I was holding. As it works out, I'm usually in cash in a drawdown which gives me the opportunity to participate in the recovery. But yes I enjoy watching the market and trying to take advantage of the opportunities it presents.
I'm not so sure I would say Kris' had an appetite for risk so much as I would say a TOLERANCE for risk. He wasn't a wild gunslinger cowboy but he did have extra large Teflon-coated cahones. I saw him take some absolutely huge positions on single stocks.I mean once his account reached 25mm,50mm,75mm it's almost like he was just playing a video game using Monopoly money.