Proprietary Trading
Discussion
I'm glad January has finished, it dragged and dragged and dragged some more! I had 5-6 single trade days and it was genuinely boring for a stretch.
February is shaping up a lot better already and plenty to look forward to with my parents arriving for a nice holiday at the end of Feb and I also booked a friend's 40th birthday to Pebble Beach in July which should be fantastic.
February is shaping up a lot better already and plenty to look forward to with my parents arriving for a nice holiday at the end of Feb and I also booked a friend's 40th birthday to Pebble Beach in July which should be fantastic.
I guess it depends on your instruments. I really liked January. Most of my trades were on the DJIA and most were longs which was helpful as it pretty much went up for the month. Although one of those months where you'd perform better if you went long on the 1st and closed on the last day. Good old market hindsight 
What were you looking at?
What were you looking at?
La Liga said:
I guess it depends on your instruments. I really liked January. Most of my trades were on the DJIA and most were longs which was helpful as it pretty much went up for the month. Although one of those months where you'd perform better if you went long on the 1st and closed on the last day. Good old market hindsight
What were you looking at?
I only trade spot fx and futures fx. My predominant pairs were at several month lows in terms of volatility despite the big drop off in the $ index. I also trade intra-day and couldn't ever trade over a month long period, I don't have the patience for it unfortunately.What were you looking at?
Well, the traditional long side trader has had a poor start to Feb!
After such a long and strong run forward on so many markets we all knew this event was going to happen we just obviously didn’t know when. I always find it interesting that throughout Jan I’ve been discussing this with my clients and they’ve all been agreeing that in such a strong run up it’s sensible to dial back on trade sizes if holding over night and most importantly to close oitnon pull backs not sit and hold to ride them through as we were counting down to that pullback event that was going to hit hard.
It’s weeks like this that do highlight who is actually a trader and who is a gambler that’s been riding their luck on the wave.
When you look at the FTSE it’s been bleeding off since the end of the first week in Jan, the DAX since just after mid Jan and the S&P since the end of Jan. Everything has been tipping gently but clearly into this bear snap, even BTC! A pull back every knee was on the cards but most traders watch downtrends and see them as an opportunity to buy something today because it’s cheaper than yesterday instead selling something today because it looks like it’ll be cheaper tomorrow. The latter is trading, the former is shopping.
After such a long and strong run forward on so many markets we all knew this event was going to happen we just obviously didn’t know when. I always find it interesting that throughout Jan I’ve been discussing this with my clients and they’ve all been agreeing that in such a strong run up it’s sensible to dial back on trade sizes if holding over night and most importantly to close oitnon pull backs not sit and hold to ride them through as we were counting down to that pullback event that was going to hit hard.
It’s weeks like this that do highlight who is actually a trader and who is a gambler that’s been riding their luck on the wave.
When you look at the FTSE it’s been bleeding off since the end of the first week in Jan, the DAX since just after mid Jan and the S&P since the end of Jan. Everything has been tipping gently but clearly into this bear snap, even BTC! A pull back every knee was on the cards but most traders watch downtrends and see them as an opportunity to buy something today because it’s cheaper than yesterday instead selling something today because it looks like it’ll be cheaper tomorrow. The latter is trading, the former is shopping.
I expect more people have been burnt trying to top-pick the DJIA over the last two years.
For the extra focus and stress short-term trading brings, it's worth it to be on the sidelines 99% of the time and not hold overnight so I can sit and watch when the markets go a little bit crazy like the past few days.
For the extra focus and stress short-term trading brings, it's worth it to be on the sidelines 99% of the time and not hold overnight so I can sit and watch when the markets go a little bit crazy like the past few days.
Flipfloptrader said:
La Liga said:
I guess it depends on your instruments. I really liked January. Most of my trades were on the DJIA and most were longs which was helpful as it pretty much went up for the month. Although one of those months where you'd perform better if you went long on the 1st and closed on the last day. Good old market hindsight
What were you looking at?
I only trade spot fx and futures fx. My predominant pairs were at several month lows in terms of volatility despite the big drop off in the $ index. I also trade intra-day and couldn't ever trade over a month long period, I don't have the patience for it unfortunatelyWhat were you looking at?
This is my strongest week since going full time (yes, we all always like to talk about when it's going well - I lost money in November to balance it out).
The DJIA has been brilliantly extreme, volatile and a great 'stress test' for one's trading psychology, which I'm more pleased about how I've managed than any profit. A higher than normal temptation to over-trade, revenge trade, get over-confident, suffer from fear and greed etc. Average winner held for 6 minutes, average loser 2 minutes so very fine margins.
La Liga said:
I expect more people have been burnt trying to top-pick the DJIA over the last two years.
For the extra focus and stress short-term trading brings, it's worth it to be on the sidelines 99% of the time and not hold overnight so I can sit and watch when the markets go a little bit crazy like the past few days.
oh for an easily accessed options market! For the extra focus and stress short-term trading brings, it's worth it to be on the sidelines 99% of the time and not hold overnight so I can sit and watch when the markets go a little bit crazy like the past few days.
La Liga said:
ow did you find this week? I hope you've done well.
This is my strongest week since going full time (yes, we all always like to talk about when it's going well - I lost money in November to balance it out).
The DJIA has been brilliantly extreme, volatile and a great 'stress test' for one's trading psychology, which I'm more pleased about how I've managed than any profit. A higher than normal temptation to over-trade, revenge trade, get over-confident, suffer from fear and greed etc. Average winner held for 6 minutes, average loser 2 minutes so very fine margins.
It was slightly better than an average gain in terms of profit but similar to you, the pairs I traded had very high volatility especially GBP. GBPAUD managed a nigh on 350 pip reversal in less than 24 hour period without any sustained pullback until late in the US session. This is my strongest week since going full time (yes, we all always like to talk about when it's going well - I lost money in November to balance it out).
The DJIA has been brilliantly extreme, volatile and a great 'stress test' for one's trading psychology, which I'm more pleased about how I've managed than any profit. A higher than normal temptation to over-trade, revenge trade, get over-confident, suffer from fear and greed etc. Average winner held for 6 minutes, average loser 2 minutes so very fine margins.
Patience has never been my strong point so having to wait and pick the right spots has been very mentally testing but also satisfying when getting it right. Looking forward to what next week offers up.
It's been 3 months since update so thought I'd pop in.
On a personal front, things are going okay. Charlie is off to see the orthopaedic surgeon in a couple of weeks to see what can be done regarding his walking. He's developed what I'd call a rolled in arch and he complains of pain often when walking for any period of time and running. Unfortunately these are conditions associated with his disease and will most likely keep popping up as he keeps developing.
On an education front, he's moving along nicely. We came very close to keeping him back a year as his reading/writing was of a low standard compared to his peers but we decided he'd blossom more if he moved onto year 1. Thankfully that has proven the case thus far and he's improving weekly.
Trading has definitely been tougher this year compared to the the same time frame last year but it's a matter of evolving and moving with the market to try and stay ahead. Due to my timezone, I usually stop around midnight (local) which is only 9/10am US time. For whatever reason, a good majority of action has happened in the NY session the last few months which means I've not been able to take advantage of it.
On a plus side, the Trackhawk looks to be loading onto the boat within the next couple of days and I should have it before the end of June. The wait has been extremely long but finally on the final stretch.
On a personal front, things are going okay. Charlie is off to see the orthopaedic surgeon in a couple of weeks to see what can be done regarding his walking. He's developed what I'd call a rolled in arch and he complains of pain often when walking for any period of time and running. Unfortunately these are conditions associated with his disease and will most likely keep popping up as he keeps developing.
On an education front, he's moving along nicely. We came very close to keeping him back a year as his reading/writing was of a low standard compared to his peers but we decided he'd blossom more if he moved onto year 1. Thankfully that has proven the case thus far and he's improving weekly.
Trading has definitely been tougher this year compared to the the same time frame last year but it's a matter of evolving and moving with the market to try and stay ahead. Due to my timezone, I usually stop around midnight (local) which is only 9/10am US time. For whatever reason, a good majority of action has happened in the NY session the last few months which means I've not been able to take advantage of it.
On a plus side, the Trackhawk looks to be loading onto the boat within the next couple of days and I should have it before the end of June. The wait has been extremely long but finally on the final stretch.
I stand by my original post , most people are running negative alpha trading its just the nature of things.
You are fighting frictions and hard to find a real edge. The big money managers spend vast amounts on data and phds so if anything you are at a disadvantage there too in many asset classes.
It migh be fun for a time and def had more noisey winners saying how great it is.
To the 14 year experienced money manager i dont know how you can say that a personal with no professional expertise in finance picking up e
el torro amd hoping to make extra income is statistically likely i dont know
You are fighting frictions and hard to find a real edge. The big money managers spend vast amounts on data and phds so if anything you are at a disadvantage there too in many asset classes.
It migh be fun for a time and def had more noisey winners saying how great it is.
To the 14 year experienced money manager i dont know how you can say that a personal with no professional expertise in finance picking up e
el torro amd hoping to make extra income is statistically likely i dont know
Getting an edge is hard enough, but it's primary the execution of the edge and acting in a professional matter with the correct mindset that is harder.
You have to remember the advantages most retail / professional retail trader have; one of scale. If I were managing significant sums of money then I'd need to be trying to assess the risk of the FOMC meeting later and what impact it may have on my positions, if I need to hedge, use options etc etc. I can't just get out of the market and then get back in in a few hours.
Due to my scale and time frames, I'm flat and couldn't care less. I won't even be in over the meeting. That nimbleness and ability to be 'flat', in my view, alleviates a significant area of risk trading.
You have to remember the advantages most retail / professional retail trader have; one of scale. If I were managing significant sums of money then I'd need to be trying to assess the risk of the FOMC meeting later and what impact it may have on my positions, if I need to hedge, use options etc etc. I can't just get out of the market and then get back in in a few hours.
Due to my scale and time frames, I'm flat and couldn't care less. I won't even be in over the meeting. That nimbleness and ability to be 'flat', in my view, alleviates a significant area of risk trading.
Flipfloptrader said:
Trading has definitely been tougher this year compared to the the same time frame last year but it's a matter of evolving and moving with the market to try and stay ahead. Due to my timezone, I usually stop around midnight (local) which is only 9/10am US time. For whatever reason, a good majority of action has happened in the NY session the last few months which means I've not been able to take advantage of it.
The US has certainly led a lot of the volatility. Perfect for those on a GMT timezone. I think one aspect of trading overlooked is the mental strain it takes. It may not be so prevalent in part time traders but for myself who trades full time, I experience a lot of emotions and fatigue from trading. I was discussing with my parents and wife and we all agreed that 10-11 weeks at a time is the maximum before needing a break. Sitting down every single week day and starting with a blank canvas having to find ways to do the best job possible to make money is often very tricky.
With the timezone I work from, I often don't get to bed until 12.30-1am in the morning and I find it quite hard to switch the brain off so it takes another 30 mins or an hour to get to sleep. With the kids up at 6.30am I've had to find a way to adapt to not a huge amount of sleep and when the kids are at school I'll often have a morning snooze to try and recharge. However, I feel guilty for wasting the day so I'll often either try and take the ski out or play some golf to get some fresh air and energise myself.
I'm a very optimistic person, sometimes too much so but on occasions I'll stop and think what would happen if my trading stopped working and I could no longer make money. The notion of having to find another avenue literally scares the life out of me as I've had dreamt of trading full time for such a long time. I guess all of these thoughts/feelings add up during a trading period and lately I'm finding myself mentally exhausted from trading and it's just an ongoing circle. Thankfully I've got 8 days off in a couple of weeks as I'm off to the States to play some golf which will be a fantastic experience.
I don't think I've really written anything of use, haha but it has helped to write a few things down.
With the timezone I work from, I often don't get to bed until 12.30-1am in the morning and I find it quite hard to switch the brain off so it takes another 30 mins or an hour to get to sleep. With the kids up at 6.30am I've had to find a way to adapt to not a huge amount of sleep and when the kids are at school I'll often have a morning snooze to try and recharge. However, I feel guilty for wasting the day so I'll often either try and take the ski out or play some golf to get some fresh air and energise myself.
I'm a very optimistic person, sometimes too much so but on occasions I'll stop and think what would happen if my trading stopped working and I could no longer make money. The notion of having to find another avenue literally scares the life out of me as I've had dreamt of trading full time for such a long time. I guess all of these thoughts/feelings add up during a trading period and lately I'm finding myself mentally exhausted from trading and it's just an ongoing circle. Thankfully I've got 8 days off in a couple of weeks as I'm off to the States to play some golf which will be a fantastic experience.
I don't think I've really written anything of use, haha but it has helped to write a few things down.
Nearly 4 months since the last update so here I am.
July and most of August were the most productive I've had for quite a few months. On the back of that, the last week of August and September was exceptionally difficult. With Brexit in focus, unannounced texts/articles were causing GBP pairs to be exceptionally volatile, A pattern began to emerge where person x would say something and then person y would contradict person x and the move would snap back.
I've focused a little less on GBP pairs for October and I've had some solid stability. Really cannot believe how quick this year has gone, only 7 weeks left of trading before finishing for the year.
July and most of August were the most productive I've had for quite a few months. On the back of that, the last week of August and September was exceptionally difficult. With Brexit in focus, unannounced texts/articles were causing GBP pairs to be exceptionally volatile, A pattern began to emerge where person x would say something and then person y would contradict person x and the move would snap back.
I've focused a little less on GBP pairs for October and I've had some solid stability. Really cannot believe how quick this year has gone, only 7 weeks left of trading before finishing for the year.
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