I really love asking this question to people. You know why? Because it really answers a whole lot about where we are currently in the trading spectrum. Who am I as a trader? Well let's see. I'm an aggressive risk taker, that's for sure.. I have goals and ambitions to slowly make more money by dollar cost averaging my winnings and draws. I am a patient and fun loving person. I plan on giving half my proceeds away not only to charity, but to one learning trader. I'll probably start the donation process in the next few years.. Who are you as a trader? -BnB
I am in question why so many citizens on ET try and spark humor on topics that call for utmost honesty and respect.. hmmph. I'm not giving this $ to anyone. Once I have it, it will be reserved for a hard working trader who I know worked hard for it.
A hard working trader won't need you're money, he'll have his own. Who am I as a trader? I balance trading time and keep it to a minimum so I can spend time with my family, it's the only reason to trade and make a ton of money, to be able to save it and spend it with family. I certainly won't ever need your money or anyone else's handouts.
Who am I as a trader. Let's see, my goals are good intentioned. I want to be able to buy my parents a house here in the states and also put my sister through college. The glamorous lifestyle does not motivate me, I'm driven to be financially independent and by the freedom that comes with it. I am also an aggressive trader. I like volatility and the percentages. My time frame is about two days to a few weeks, I like the bigger moves. For me, it's all about capital growth and I want to aspire to be the kind of trader that can do 300%+ a year. I like simplicity and feel that many times simplicity is more elegant than something complex and can get the job done better, easier. I have the background to become a decent mechanical algorithmic trader but I dislike quantitative methods. My personal view is that you rarely hear a programmed system doing 300% a year (my goals anyways) simply because it can't cherry-pick trades. I think quant analysis is too complex for something that can be simple, and discretionary traders are not dead and will not be dead for a long time. LTCM was run by a bunch of quants with doctorates, but they never really knew how to TRADE. I'm talking really trade, like have a thorough understanding of edge, money management, risk management, and emotion - the pillars of good trading fundamentals. They just got too greedy and didn't understand that the trade can go in your direction eventually but you can still be wrong on the trade, especially if you are overleveraged. LTCM would have come out with a gain in their ball-busting trade if given a bit more time. My strengths as a trader are that I'm able to take bits and pieces of info from different sources and put it together to make something great. I can abstract things into higher theory. I understand that an edge is ANYTHING that gives you greater than 50% in trades. So while basing trades on elephant migratory patterns could have an edge and be plausible to trade, the edge is not big enough for someone like me to think it is worth it. In general I have a very thorough understanding of things and I'm pretty nonchalant about trades, although I get a bit more emotional when actually in a trade. I also notice what works and what doesn't quickly. It took me only a year from the time I discovered technical analysis to become profitable, although I had more time day-to-day than someone with a 9-5 job. My weaknesses as a trader include being too stubborn. Although my stubborness is one of the reasons that made me profitable eventually, it also caused me to lose more money than I should have by overleveraging myself when I jumped hard into trades. I'm still relatively inexperienced and while I have entries down pat, I'm trying to figure out good criteria for exits and how to keep it from conflicting with my timeframe. I spend too much time on ET and the yahoo finance msg boards - never posting, but always reading to have a good laugh about how the newbies have it completely mixed up. However, this is a really bad habit and probably influences my thinking to some extent. I have a lot of character weaknesses too like I'm not 100% comfortable in social situations with strangers and stuff like that, but not important things when dealing with trading. I think I'd probably be limited in being a CEO but my skillset is fine for a trader. I actually really like this question too, because trading is one of those unique professions that forces you to soul-search and understand exactly who you are. Profitable, experienced traders probably understand themselves better than the way most people do.
Would you happen to know where Catwoman is? I seem to have misplaced her. http://www.spiritone.com/~darren/graphics/julie1.jpg
Eartha Kitt is the one and only Catwoman http://www.imdb.com/gallery/mptv/1394/Mptv/1394/3285_0151.jpg.html?hint=nm0457755
Don't ever lose that sense of humor. Neither Eartha Kitt nor Lee Meriwether came close to Julie: http://www.spiritone.com/~darren/graphics/julie198.jpg http://www.spiritone.com/~darren/graphics/julie196.jpg http://www.spiritone.com/~darren/graphics/julie216.jpg