This is before I started my hedge fund.. like in high school.. I went to UVA for undergrad, for the same major. I now run a hedge fund. I have started it 2 yrs (age) before he did. I know everything about HIS TRADING methods... actually, my own trading was boosted (went to a different level) when I deciphered what he was doing. I am on track to break all the trading achievements he has made. I am better than the real: Think of me as 30 yrs younger with +30% more in average returns per year.
So what did you do to before running a hedge fund? Why did you choose that username? Do you have similar views, or just admire him for whatever reason?
Message to OP; I'll split my response into two parts; Firstly, how I got to where I am, then what I would suggest if you want to give it a shot. Firstly, Yes I went to college (a.k.a. university). I studied 1) drinking; 2) Rugby, 3) the chasing of women [with very little degree of success on all three counts] - all under the guise of Physics, followed by Finance, at top 10 institutions. Since I have known that trading existed as a profession, I have known it is what want to do. I will be honest and say that I would have preferred to trade wholesale (that is, get a top job with an IB). The fact of the matter is that, with a great deal of humility, I just didn't cut the muster (I put this down to too much of 1), 2) and 3).). However, I'm a young guy, and I chose to follow my dream of being able to trade professionally - that is to say, rely on the financial markets for my income. This meant I had to do shitty jobs (bar work etc...) to support myself. I have had no qualms whatsoever about bringing in a below average income if it permits me to continue trading. There have been times when I've had more money than I have ever had in the past (however, having been a student this is not particularly difficult) - and there have been times when I've had to essentially work full time in said shitty jobs just to punt $2pp on the USD/JPY before my shift. Personally, trading is a labour of love, and I have had to make sacrifices (not only financial) to follow it. But things got better with time, and now I rely on my profits per month (although for what it's worth, I account in weeks) for my "overheads" + modest wage. Anyway enough of that, what would i suggest if you want to make the jump? Do not, under any circumstances, pay for anyone Else's "system". Keep the cash for losing to the market - it will be a better lesson. Stick to what makes you a profit! Personally, I trade futures and options on all things Dow, with positions in other futures (e.g. Gold) whenever I feel brave. I will still punt $2pp on forex, but only because it's more exciting than yahoo! chess. I universally encourage options trading, because 1) with 1 contract per side spread, the max loss will cost you - at most - an average friday night, and 2) *importantly*, you have to know your shit to do it properly. I guess you are pretty smart, so use options for intellectual masturbation if nothing else. Study, study, and study more. Study serious textbooks - not the "I made so much money I wipe my arse with $100 bills, and all I did was wait until the blue line crossed the yellow one" type. One of the hard things about own account trading is the watching and the waiting - I find it helps alot if i can continue messing around with a monte carlo simulation while there is nothing (according to my entry/exit rules) on... admittedly it is very unlikely that I'll use an MC result for a trade decision, but it keeps my mind active and involved with the markets as a whole. And it stops me making stupid trades. Diversify. I don't mean trade equity as well as FX, I mean invest your time and effort in other things. Perhaps other members of the forum will take the piss, but I run by "business" much like an Investment bank. As I'm in the UK and trade US markets, I'm working on the trading side of my "business" from 1:30 GMT (8:30 Chicago time) until 8 - 9 GMT (2-3pm Chicago). That leaves me with the whole morning to pursue other "business" interests. You mentioned you are a qualified accountant; run a small accounting form. While it is a far cry from Hedge funds, there can be no doubt you could manage a tax return for a small local business. It may not excite you, or earn you the fees to which you are accustomed, but to put all your eggs in one basket (i.e. trading) represents abysmal business acumen. NB: before any of you other buggers start taking the piss, I don't mean I advise multi billion M&A deals. Furthermore its f*****g good advice. A simple example is to become a web designer; obtain a copy of dreamweaver, get proficient, set up your own site - BOOM! you have your own web consultancy business. You won't make millions in the web services industry, but you can provide a $1000 service to your local dry-cleaner. It's not glamorous, but it might just keep you solvent - you wouldn't put all your cash into one trade, would you?! Moving on, don't be under the impression that you will get to pick your own hours etc... infact the hours are awful. With the business model I work on, 12hr days are the norm (and dont ever think that you will leave the office and stop working. You will have more Fibonacci dreams than wet ones). But if you want to be a trader and you want to be successful at it, don't be such a pussy. When it comes to meeting others, rent an office. It defies me how traders can work from their home; I find it much more efficient to pay for an office in the City than to work from a spare bedroom - commit yourself to making it on your own. Having a business address speaks volumes about how serious you are, not only about trading. Can you imagine meeting prospective clients of your accounting (or web design or whatever) business in your dining room???? No.... ... this moves me on to my last point. You say that you don't feel confident enough, or have sufficient savings, to "make the jump". If you have a wife and kids to support, then I can offer little advice in this matter. But if you dont (which was a circumstance i was lucky enough to be in), the quickest way to learn to swim is to throw yourself in at the deep end. Carpe Dium, Fortune favours the Brave and all that. Feel free to PM me; I can point you towards some excellent resources if you're actually going to do it. The hours suck; initially the money is pathetic; but I look forward to every working day, and it's worth every grey hair I get. Good luck.
After what was an awfully long (but heartfelt) post, I forgot to mention... ... blow me. You are talking out of your arse.
My job and career went really sour when the fantastic company I was working for got bought by some real clowns... I was already interested in trading because it was 1999 and everybody was trading.... so I retired and put all my efforts into trading. A few years later they realized I was retired and they quit me. I insisted on being quit so I could get unemployment but that is another story, in fact I have to appear in a few days... but I digress.... At that time I went full time and having no choice at all at my age I learned to trade the hard way, by going to the library and reading books.... I could have cut out 40 years of working if those books had been available in the 60's but I was high all through the 60's anyway... so when you place your next trade, remember you are competing with lots of people like me...