Wow, I guess Im not the only one who depends solely on trading to live. I asked that question because I havn't met many people who have the balls to do it, its kinda refreshing to know Im not alone. Also I wonder if that extra pressure of being the sole provider for my family(and the risky way of doing it) hinders my ability to perform. Anyway, thanks for the posts.
Superb thread. I trade full time in the UK and it is my only source of income. I can relate to a lot of posts on this thread.
Things to consider for investing time in strategies/products 1) Scaleable. 2) Product that trades in every time zone. 3) Sattelite and ageing latency don't affect strategy. 4) Spending time away from the screens is viable. 5) Non labour intensive e.g use auto stock scans or indx futures. All above related to mobility, quality of life and building on/maximising financial, time and other resources. Maybe also a strategy that can withstand 9/11 type shock as that is the biggest risk as you are probably exposing a significant proportion of your net worth. Buying cash equities as they come off an all time low fits that criteria, 200:1 leveraged FX probably does not.
I wish i could post on this thread "I trade full time" - guess time will tell thanks for keeping me motivated guys
trading YM, full time retail. profitable but the income isn't that big yet. my method is good but i have a slow brain and make a lot of mistakes. we'll see what happens. no wife no kids and a lot of good times
So far, it sounds as if everyone uses Interactive Brokers as their primary (as I do). Does anyone use someone other than IB? I really want to make sure I (we) aren't missing a better option either for primary or backup accounts.
JZ- I don't know about you, but fear seems to be a pretty powerful motivator for me. No wife or kids here, but will have a mortgage soon. Bills aside, I think it would equal ultimate pain in my life to ever have a boss again and lose the freedoms I enjoy now. Knowing this makes it a bit easier to maintain discipline and work hard....which I think makes me a much better trader than if I had never had a**hole bosses/coworkers in my life.
I'm in the process of moving my primary account to MBTrading. I have never held an account with IB. - Spydertrader
For pit traded options, which don't have elec liquidity on IB, I use Xpresstrade, at $24 option trade which I think is outrageous. And the spreads are insane. I asked in another thread about this outfit, but didn't get any results. Cheers !
Hey I found transact futures recently, they seem to be a pretty good deal, I was quoted 1.84$/RT all in for US Fixed income futures, and their front end, which seems great, is free after a small # of RT's per month. I may go with them. I have heard of remote traders paying around 1.30$/RT for US bonds/notes, so I am looking into that. Does anyone have experience trading with transact, or does anyone pay less than 1.84/RT for bonds/notes? Also, for futures traders who trade from home, care to share what is working for you? Thank you