We asked about 8-10 of our core traders to work on their skill development during the past two months. These are guys who had been trading live anywhere from 8 to 16 months. They had all previously demonstrated a high level of profitability. But the market environment changed and they had to adapt. They had developed some bad habits because … Read More
Percentage Returns for Day Traders?
A couple of days ago I received an email from a blog reader inquiring about my performance for this year. And often times we are asked during interviews what kind of returns we generate. Almost every day I see on Facebook and some blogs people posting their percentage returns for a particular stock. Individual investors among others judge their performance … Read More
Don’t Fight the Tide
Part of my job as a partner at SMB is keeping an eye on what other traders on our desk are trading. I have a third monitor that is used primarily for this purpose. I find it kind of amusing when a new trader asks for a third monitor. Why would they need a third monitor? So they can spend … Read More
A Traders’ Market
We spend a lot of time on our prop desk focusing on skill development. Trading intraday requires a certain set of skills that take some time to acquire. If you are given good training and work very hard you will develop a set of skills in 6 to 12 months that will allow you to make money in all market … Read More
Thanks Newbie
SMB’s newest trainees have now been trading “live” for four weeks. Before going live they went through an intensive five week program to establish the building blocks for a successful trading career. During the first five weeks of their training they sit near each other on the trading floor. This helps to build a sense of team and encourages them … Read More
Being Too Cute
Yesterday I made a silly mental mistake on the open that cost me my morning. I was expecting a small downtick on the open before the rally so I tried to get too cute. I shorted GS on the open. I was trying to catch the first down move so I could have plenty of leeway for my long for … Read More
Making Adjustments as the Market Changes
As traders we are constantly asked to make adjustments as the market changes. One of the questions I am asked most frequently by potential recruits for our desk is “how has the market affected the trading system that we teach?” My response is that we teach the same system we have been using for more than a decade. Our system … Read More
Do Not Chase Stocks!
A problem I see time and time again in my own trading, but more so in inexperienced traders, is when you miss a move in a stock or in the market, we tend to chase and push. This is obviously a lack of discipline. But how can you protect yourself from this? First, let everybody understand that it is alright … Read More