Hello EliteTrader members, I made a thread on another trading forum, and was advised by a member to post here, as this site may prove to possess more qualified people within the profession. One area people seem to be concerned about, is my lack of formal education. I was under the impression, that this profession (trading and hedge fund management) was more about performance and providing results, rather than having a piece of paper. I am a profitable trader, who is in the process of building a portfolio of live statements as proof of my results. Statistically, these results are an average of 15% ROI per month, risking 1% of capital per trade. I thought this is what mattered in the industry, and is what would dictate my success, but people seem to think otherwise. To put everything in context, I will attach my full post from this trading forum. I thoroughly appreciate any advice you could take the time to pass onto me. Thank you. " I am 18 years of age. I became immersed in the world of trading/financial markets a couple of years ago. I instantly fell in love with it. Ever since, I have had a burning desire to become the best, and excel beyond all others in this field. Some may call what I have an obsession, but what they think is irrelevant. People can call it what they want. I have a passion for this and I plan to pursue it to the fullest. The further I went down the rabbit hole, the more I discovered my passion for this profession, and my insatiable thirst to succeed within it. I dropped out of High school, and decided to devote all of my time to becoming the best. Ever since, I have been studying (whether it be literature or the charts) for over 15 hours a day, without exception. In fact, some days I'd lose track of time and forget to sleep. Mind you, I live in Australia, and hence, London/US open is later in the day for me (London open 5PM, NY open 10PM). Where do I see myself ? I will open a Hedge Fund and I will win ( Do not confuse this statement with a destructive EGO, as undoubtedly, some of you may point out). I have discovered, tested, and fine-tuned a profitable system to suit my personality, and have begun building 6 months (Or however long it may take) worth of live statements to prove my reliability and profitability, to potential investors. This will then lead to the acquisition of investor funds, and the beginning of building my business. My question is to those of you who have experience in this profession or in this field. What do you suggest I do, in terms of specifics, to ensure I get to the top? I will do anything that is required of me to achieve this level of success. My strengths are in Technical Analysis, but I have very little Fundamental Analysis knowledge. Perhaps this would be a field to study in order to enhance my results? The reason I have little to no Fundamental Analysis knowledge, is due to the fact that I do not trade the news (I trade the reaction to the news). But I make no judgement upon Fundamental Analysis. I am not wise, nor experienced enough to know its potential benefits, which is another reason I am making this thread. As I have said, I am willing to work as hard as it takes. 15+ hours a day of study is a given for me. If you tell me that I need to go days without sleep, then I will do it without question. This is thoroughly enjoyable for me, and I do not see it as work. Note: My focus is majorly in building my own business. Getting into investment banking, or working for someone else in a proprietary trading environment, is not the direction I want to take myself in. I want to focus all of my energy on my own business, so that I may compete against these firms/investment banks, not work with them. "
had to take a few nite classes to finish high school and tried a few classes at junior college,but it wasn't for me,40 years later i have often missed the polish that would have helped when competing with others posssibly less intelligent that had more ease than i at explaining ,and getting ideas across, this short fall of yours will hamper your efforts, i suggest you get your hs diploma and take a few biz courses as that seems to be the area you wish to compete in..if thats not for you than i suggest you hone your skills and trade for yourself, the track record means little, the size of acct,or what you were able to do with x amount of cash and turn it into y ,will be your strongest if not only asset going forward,if you do well,you could stay in that slot and wouldn't need the headache of the corporate world
one day you will move markets! http://news.efinancialcareers.com/u...hires-super-star-trader-with-taste-for-poker/ High-paying hedge fund hires super-star trader with taste for poker by Paul Clarke 15 August 2013 Tudor Capital, the European arm of the US macro hedge fund founded by Paul Tudor Jones, has recruited Lawrie Inman, a former âsuper-starâ trader who is also a poker enthusiast and race horse owner. Inman spent five years trading futures at Marex Financial until 2009 when he started The Buffalo Club, which organises poker tournaments in London. Heâs also been working for himself, trading futures with his own money. He joined Tudor Capital on 5 August, according to the FSA register. Related articles: The hedge funds that keep on hiring from investment banks From hedge fund to academia, and other moves of ex-SAC employees Inman was the archetypal young, big-swinging trader sailing on the wave of the pre-crisis boom years. Aged 25, he earned a âseven figure salaryâ in 2006 and gained a place on the now-defunct Trader Monthly magazineâs top-30 young traders. Heâs best known for making a £700k profit on a single trade after making a big bet on the direction of the five-year German government bond market, or Bobl, would move during a speech by former European Central Bank president Jean-Claude Trichet. However, heâs also a poker enthusiast â travelling to places like Monte Carlo in his spare time to compete in large tournaments â a pursuit he compares to trading: âSometimes Iâll be sat at my desk at the end of the day, thinking Iâve done all the right things and made all the right moves, but I just feel like someoneâs kicked me in the knackers, so itâs a lot like poker,â he told Pokerlistings.com. He also owns six race horses: âFriends of the family were involved in racing and my dadâs granddad was a bookmaker, so it kind of was in the family,â he told the Daily Mail. Tudor Capitalâs European operation is run out of an ostentatious 25-acre specially-adapted stately home in Epsom, Surrey replete with onsite pool, bar and tennis courts. Itâs known for paying its employees well, and this year its 21 members shared a compensation pot of nearly $70m (although the highest paid member received $27.6m of this). Tudor declined to comment.
It seems to me you would do well to take what you wrote into a motivation letter, and send an attached CV, with age : 18 to as many HF as possible. I am sure someone will be willing to give you a go just for the sport. When there, prove yourself.
Trading as a career is not about performance. It's about confidence. The person handing you money to trade for them must have confidence that you will steward their capital appropriately. Returns are only one facet of building this confidence. An 18 year old highschool dropout who claims to make 15%/year risking 1% per trade doesn't inspire confidence. 15% monthly returns are likely unsustainable; lack of education means you probably don't have the critical reasoning skills to understand risk management, and being 18 implies you lack the maturity to understand what you are doing.
What one should expect from an 18 year old ? - a lot of energy - a real passion for trading. This is a fresh mind to be moulded.
If you're as good as you say, trade your own account, even if it's a small one. If your results are stellar, maybe your broker will hire you or set you up with someone else. Or you can use your track record to land a job with a firm. Regardless, I would have taken an education. It's the safest and most reasonable path, even if you want to become an independent trader in the end. It will be a fun period of your life. Maybe you'll get laid as well. Good luck, young one! PS: If I were living in Australia, I would devote at least one of those 15 hours to mack on them Aussie babes.
I just saw on this dating website where this 18 year old girl said, "I am a full time student studying architecture and business to design and own my own line of hotels, casinos, and resorts in the future." Quite ambitious! I think it's something of American culture to dream and think BIG. However, there are tons of smart and hard working people in this world. It's all very competitive, which makes it difficult, but not impossible. Only time will tell. Usually youthful ambition gives way to elderly reality. Plus, in the long-term some think finance will not be the place to be in. Short-term next number of years, yes, but long-term there is probably a shift occurring. Maybe it'll be like Jim Rogers said where the money is in agriculture and the future rich are going to be wealthy farmers, owners of farmland, and Porsche dealerships in the midwest? The trends are there ... rising global population, lack of farmland due to urban development, lack of people studying agriculture, and too many people in MBAs, Finance wanting to start hedge funds or work in i-banks. From certain perspectives, one can say finance is in a long-term bubble. Financial profits as % GDP is excessively high, so many hedge fund managers on Forbes 400, notional value of derivatives dwarfs levels of GDP. Since you are 18, who knows what will happen in 10 years when you are 28. Will the OTC derivatives market implode as "weapons of mass destruction" as Buffet predicted many years ago? Will increasing regulation finally make Wall Street only utility-like profitability as Occupy Wall Street returns in a more aggressive form down the road? Food for thought.
You're obviously overqualified to work in investment banking, but send a quick note (including your original post) to l.blankfein@gs.com as I am certain they are looking for new directors and partners.