I have been mentoring a futures trader recently. In a daily review (below), he provided feedback that mentoring encouraging him to focus on his best trades was powerful. I am working with a developing equities trader, who is very profitable when he focuses on his trade. He can tell you what it is. He writes in his reviews that … Read More
From Our Desk to Yours: 5 Key Lessons from Our April Trade Reviews
Register now to attend our next online trading class, Wednesday, May 3, 2017 at 5 PM ET… Managing partner, Mike Bellafiore, will share 5 lessons the firm’s monthly reviews. Each month, firm traders complete a monthly review on how they can improve. The work traders are doing can help inform you on ways you can improve. 〈 REGISTER NOW 〉
5 ways our top traders are working to improve
I was on the West Coast last month to present to the Scottsdale (Phoenix) Traders and Investors Meetup Group. After my presentation, an astute and succeeding retail trader approached and asked, “What do your top traders do to improve?” At SMB, our top traders have been homegrown. We hired them. Trained them from scratch. Provided capital, technology, coaching and … Read More
The danger of the overconfident trader
Yesterday I wrote about a trader struggling with added size and risk. In seeking a solution for this trader one possible area of focus was overconfidence. How does it happen? Why is it dangerous? What can we do to combat overconfidence? You trade well. You are seeing screens well and the market is trading in a way that allows your … Read More
SMB at The TradersExpo New York 2017
SMB will present at The TradersExpo New York 2017. You can sign up to ATTEND FREE. Mike Bellafiore will present February 27: Seth Freudberg, who runs our Options Desk, will present as well. Last year Mike presented and then stuck around to answer questions. We hope to see you at The TradersExpo NYC 2017. *no relevant positions
The first test for a new trader
You get hired for June on a trading desk. You take The Foundation, a 6 week course. You learn everything you didn’t learn in school, the internet, blogs, cable TV (just kidding), your uncle, and/or trading gurus about the markets necessary to place professional trades. Then it’s on to Trader Development where for the next 6 months you experiment with … Read More
Boring old habits
Ray Allen, former NBA basketball great and UConn alumn, penned a letter to his younger self with the advice: stick to your boring old habits. He wrote movingly: You’ll win a championship in Boston. You’ll win another in Miami. The personalities on those two teams will be different, but both teams will have the same thing in common: habits. Boring … Read More
Do not say Practice
I end most emails with: “Keep working on your trading game.” We teach our traders to do the daily work each day that helps them improve. They are training to become consistently profitable traders (CPTs). Their ultimate goal is to become a your best trader (YBT). Apparently I could use better words to motivate my traders. Dan Coyle, author of … Read More