Why do you think you have an edge over your competition? Since the poll mechanism doesn't allow one to choose multiple items and I am sure people will not want to just pick one, I will just ask people to reply and say which ones are important for them. 1. you invented / validated a completely novel strategy 2. your strategy is generally known but difficult to implement by most 3. your strategy is known but not widely used 4. above average back-testing abilities allowed you to find parameters that work 5. you stumbled on a unique combination of known strategies / parameters that you think not many have found 6. you can identify patterns better than anyone else 7. you can execute faster than others even with a normal internet connection 8. you can execute more consistently everyday compared to others 9. you have better money / risk management than others 10. you can stay calm and never make mistakes under pressure 11. you developed and use a novel computational or graphical tool that gives you an edge 12. you have better math skills than most and developed a quant strategy 13. you have a way faster connection than most 14. you use multiple strategies and know when to switch better than others 15. you have more trading capital than most 16. you have better commission and broker execution than most 17. you have access to better data than most 18. none of the above but I have an edge (please reply and explain) 19. none of the above, trading is not that hard, you don't need a huge edge 20. being slightly above average in several of the above gives me an edge
You forgot: 21. You have no clue of trading and thus are unaffected by superstition, myths, faith in TA, or other trader misconceptions.
I guess a major flaw with this type of polling is it's not anonymous. So I guess I don't expect serious replies. If only we could allow multiple selections in the polls...
This is what does it for me 10. you can stay calm and never make mistakes under pressure 14. you use multiple strategies and know when to switch better than others
I don't know, my risk management says that potentially being sent to the slammer for a few years is too much risk.
I have no edge, I just buy instruments like the SPY that cant go to 0 and accumulate slowly at daily lows and distribute slowly at daily highs. What can I say, it's the only way Ive found to make a buck, otherwise I get eaten alive. FoN
Very interesting question and after reading through the responses, I am saddened because I definitely don't have any edge whatsoever in technological, backtesting engines, commissions, better data, better connections etc. feilds that you mention above. I also think a lot of above you mention is not really necessary from a retail trader or even an institutional trader's perspective to make money, unless you are on a HFT or index arb kind of desk. I would say for me, following are the reasons: 1. you invented / validated a completely novel strategy 5. you stumbled on a unique combination of known strategies / parameters that you think not many have found Also, I don't look at indicators, but rather pure price action. AND, I try to think about markets and relate price action with news and overall context, which is a very important skill that takes time to develop. Also, a lot of information is freely available in books. If you research enough with a straight head, you will surely find a lot of things. I try to get my R:R 3:1 or better and be very choosy with my entries, thats about it.