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SMB Capital was featured on CNN Money. Co-founder and partner, Steven Spencer, and Leo Selya, Director of the SMB College Training Program, were interviewed for a CNN Money segment on what it means to be a trader in this market...read more


THE PRO‘s PROCESS


In this series we are asking Pro Traders about their psychological processes. Delving a little into how it feels to themwhen trading. The good and the bad.How this has changed over time and what preparation they do mentally forperforming as a trader. One of the key features for us was that we wantedtraders with experience who have been through the mill over the years andof course those who were kind enough to broach this subject publicly. Wehope this gives developing traders more to learn from...read more




Steve Spencer talked to Fox Business about the impact the Facebook IPO has had on investor psychology.
Steve Spencer of SMB


Getting That One Good Trade


In today's volatile market, getting a good trade isn't easy. But there are still opportunities and ways of coming out on top, said speakers at a recent seminar jointly organised by PhillipCapital and singapore Investors Association (Singapore) or SIAS... read more


Surviving the Volatile Markets And Trade Confidently


While the markets are clearly headed for higher grounds, limiting gains are the uncertain global outlook with concerns over high oil prices and a fragile Euro zone economy - with Greece on a tight leash after a second bailout - one cannot help but wonder if the recent rallies are here to stay... read more



End of Lock-Up Periods Triggers Sell-offs


The end of six-month lock-up periods on shares of some recently listed US web companies led to sharp sell-offs across the sector on Monday.

Some investors have feared that tech companies that floated small percentages of their shares in initial public offerings, such as Groupon and LinkedIn, now trade at unrealistic valuations due to scarcity that makes it expensive to borrow shares and bet against them.

LinkedIn and Yandex saw their post-IPO six-month lock-ups expire over the weekend, meaning that many company insiders, including executives and pre-IPO investors, can now freely sell shares... read more




SMB is now up on MInyaville!

Why Traders Have an Obligation to Make More Money Right Now
By SMB Capital Aug 15, 2011 2:30 pm
New and developing traders have caught an incredible break from the trading gods with this market. They now must maximize this opportunity -- responsibly... read more





Hot Internet IPOs Leaning Toward NYSE This Time Around


Hot Internet IPOs Leaning Toward NYSE This Time Around.

The reason all those dotcom companies went public on the Nasdaq stock market way back in the 1990s wasn't because the Nasdaq was way cooler than the stodgy old New York Stock Exchange... read more

CNBC - Jeff Tomasulo Commentary

Jeff Tomasulo, Senior Trader at SMB Capital, is a regular contributor to CNBC where he discusses the market and his best trading setups. Jeff appears several times a month on CNBC’s Fast Money and Fast Money Halftime Report.


Trader Feed: Training Successful Traders: The New Breed of Proprietary Trading Firm

Friday, July 25, 2008 Training Successful Traders: The New Breed of Proprietary Trading Firm Increasingly, I'm coming across prop firms that are succeeding by investing in training their traders. These firms tend to be owned and operated by successful traders with a passion for teaching their skills to others. It's a great win-win: the firm wins by earning a percentage of each trader's profit; the trader wins by receiving an education you couldn't pay for... read more

SFO: Find the Best Teacher


Find the Best Teacher By Mike Bellafiore May 22, 2009—New traders frequently think that learning from the most talented traders is the best way to learn. On the contrary, new traders should seek the best teacher. There is a difference. Think about...


StockTwits.TV - Watch Live


Stocktwits TV is the first web native finance television network. The Partners and senior traders at SMB Capital broadcast Live on Stocktwits TV every Mon, Wed, & Fri @ 2:00pm EST & Sun @ 8:30pm EST...


SMB Capital Featured on The Street.com


NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Dry-bulk stocks were under pressure Thursday as investors and traders, inspired by the broader market selloff, fled all sorts of risky plays -- for which shipping equities certainly qualify.

Mike Bellafiore, a trader and partner at SMB Capital, said "risk aversion" has suddenly become a factor again... read more


Mike Bellafiore: The Transaction Tax Would Destroy Small Businesses


In a misplaced and wild effort to collect more revenue, Congress is discussing a transaction tax for market activity. I asked SMB Capital partner Mike Bellafiore how such a tax would affect proprietary trading firms.

Damien Hoffman: Mike, how does the the proposed transaction tax affect traders and trading firms?... read more




Interview with the Kirk Report


Last October, Charles Kirk from The Kirk Report interviewed Mike Bellafiore, author of One Good Trade: Inside the Highly Competitive World of Proprietary Trading. With recent requests for a more in-depth interview, Mike and Charles have brought us a deeper look into the world of trading. You catch the entire interview here. and here.


Afraid to Trade: SMB Video: A Day on the Street


SMB Video: A Day on the Street

SMB Remote Trading recently released a video detailing one day in the life of Connor Murphy in Manhattan as he heads to the office, develops a morning plan, executes the plan, reviews his trades at lunch, and then reviews his performance after the market close... read more


ONN.tv Interviews SMB Capital


ONN.tv Part I from SMB Capital on Vimeo.




INO - The Cheetah & The Trader


I had an interesting conversation with a young trader from another firm today. This young trader pops into my office from time to time and talks trading. He is a very bright and competitive young man. And he is struggling. He killed it in October, but over the past two months he has dug himself a huge P&L hole. I have been hearing a lot of stories like this lately.

A trading friend of SMB Capital told us that one of the best ten traders we know gave back his whole year last month. While I was getting breakfast today a few nervous young traders from another firm stopped me to ask how our guys were doing lately. They relayed that many in their firm were "decidedly negative". I have heard that a few Tier I day trading firms recently restricted trader losses going forward. I was at an awesome holiday party recently, with incredible views of the NYC skyline, and one of the best traders on the Street was practically crying to me about how badly he has been trading. I felt bad for the guy. I spoke with two energy traders this week at the Reebok Club who offered that they were probably going to be fired. The reason for their likely termination: failure to cease losing great amounts of money. I know that for SMB, last month presented a challenge to some of our traders... read more

Trader Monthly - Three Rules: Motion Detectors


When a stock's in play, prop-shop operators Mike Bellafiore and Steve Spencer will pounce. By: Chris Gillick October 2008, Page 42 In guiding a crew of more than 50 proprietary equity traders, SMB Capital cofounders Mike Bellafiore and Steve Spencer...


Trader Interviews: Playbook Trading: How To Combine Charts, Tape Reading and News for Trading Success


Tim Bourquin: Hello everybody and welcome back to another episode of Trader Interviews. Something a little bit different this week. We’re going to be talking with Mike Bellafiore and he’s got a new book coming out called, One Good Trade: Inside the Highly Competitive World of Proprietary Trading. And what I thought was interesting about this was that -- look there are a lot of people out there that write trading books that you can probably tell at some point that they don’t actually trade. And Mike is absolutely a trader first and decided to write about his experiences starting the Prop Trading Firm and his experiences watching other traders succeed and fail and I think it’s going to be an interesting read, and I want to talk to him about his trading strategies as well. So, Mike thanks very much for joining me on the phone today.

Mike Bellafiore: Thanks a lot Tim for having me... read more


How To Find The Trading Style That Fits Your Personality


"My style on the chessboard was a direct expression of my personality.”

And then:

“I believe that one of the most critical factors in the transition to becoming a conscious high performer is the degree to which your relationship to your pursuit stays in harmony with your unique disposition.”... read more


Exclusive Interview: Prop Trader Mike Bellafiore at SMB Capital


A great samurai warrior possesses the perfect blend of aggression and discipline. Too much aggression, and the warrior becomes exposed to defeat. Too much discipline, and the warrior may never attack. Proprietary trader Mike Bellafiore is a great samurai warrior on the trading desk.

After pushing the eject-button on a career in law, Mike took his razor sharp analytical mind to Wall Street. After surviving the day trading craze of the tech boom in the late Nineties, Mike teamed up with close friend Steve Spencer to launch their own shop: SMB Capital. Although SMB’s core business is proprietary (“prop”) trading, the firm has been on a mission to become the premier training outfit for traders. After sampling a few of their new educational products, I can attest that the SMB team is well on the way to achieving their goal.... read more

SMB In the Press

SMB is recognized for its outstanding intraday equities training program. SMB regularly appears on CNBC. SMB broadcasts live from its NYC trading floor on StockTwits TV. Numerous magazine articles and blogs have highlighted our comprehensive training. The SMB Blog is read daily by thousands of traders.

The Right Way to Start Your Trading Career!

SMB Capital was featured on CNN Money. Co-founder and partner, Steven Spencer, and Leo Selya, Director of the SMB College Training Program, were interviewed for a CNN Money segment on what it means to be a trader in this market.

Watch video »

Traders Online Magazine asks Pro Trader Mike Bellafiore about his psychological processes. Delving a little into how it feels to them when trading. The good and the bad. How this has changed over time and what preparation they do mentally for performing a

Read article »

Steven Spencer, a partner at SMB Capital, discusses stock market regulation, electronic trading and reacts to HDNet Chairman Mark Cuban's op-ed piece challenging high-frequency trading.

Watch video »

Steve Spencer talked to Fox Business about the impact the Facebook IPO has had on investor psychology.

Watch video »

A great samurai warrior possesses the perfect blend of aggression and discipline. Too much aggression, and the warrior becomes exposed to defeat. Too much discipline, and the warrior may never attack. Proprietary trader Mike Bellafiore is a great samurai warrior on the trading desk.

Read article »

In today's volatile market, getting a good trade isn't easy. But there are still opportunities and ways of coming out on top, said speakers at a recent seminar jointly organised by PhillipCapital and Singapore Investors Association (Singapore) or SIAS.

Read article »

While the markets are clearly headed for higher grounds, limiting gains are the uncertain global outlook with concerns over high oil prices and a fragile Euro zone economy...

Read article »

The end of six-month lock-up periods on shares of some recently listed US web companies led to sharp sell-offs across the sector on Monday.

Read article »

Read SMB's article on Why Traders Have an Obligation to Make More Money Right Now published on Minyanville!

Read article »

Short-Term Day Traders live for volatile markets. See how they make money and cope with the emotional roller coaster.

Watch video »

Steve Spencer, Partner of SMB Capital is quoted on Fox Business - Markets about Hot Internet Listed IPOs.

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Jeff Tomasulo, Senior Trader at SMB Capital, is a regular contributor to CNBC where he discusses the equity market and his best trading setups. Jeff appears several times a month on CNBC’s Fast Money and Fast Money Halftime Report.

Watch video »

Dr. Brett Steenbarger, one of the top trading coaches in the country, offers traders the very best resource for their development and education through his blog: TraderFeed (traderfeed.blogspot.com). Dr. Steenbarger is also a regular guest and mentor at

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Mike Bellafiore, partner at SMB Capital, is a regular contributor to SFO magazine. In this article Mike discusses how to find the best teacher. He highlights the characteristics of a great teacher and explains why the best traders don’t always make the b

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How To Find The Trading Style That Fits Your Personality
"My style on the chessboard was a direct expression of my personality.

Read article »

Mike Bellafiore, partner at SMB Capital, regularly provides market commentary to The Street.com. The Street.com is a leading financial media network providing financial commentary to millions of viewers weekly.

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Damien and Derek Hoffman run a terrific resource for traders and financial professionals on the web called the Wall St. Cheat Sheet. The partners and senior traders at SMB Capital regularly contribute articles and interviews to the Wall St. Cheat Sheet.

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Charles Kirk runs a popular financial blog called The Kirk Report. Recently Charles interviewed Mike Bellafiore, partner at SMB Capital, where they discussed trading techniques for new traders and the importance of Tape Reading.

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Corey Rosenbloom runs a blog called Afraid to Trade, which has become a great resource for traders and financial professionals. Corey featured SMB Capital's documentary "a Day on the Street" on Afraid to Trade.

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The partners at SMB Capital visited ONN.tv in Chicago to talk about why building a strong trading foundation is so important to new traders.

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Mike Bellafiore offers some advice for struggling traders in a guest blog for INO.

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Mike Bellafiore and Steven Spencer discuss their backgrounds and trading philosophy in an interview with Trader Monthly.

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Tim Bourquin of Trader Interviews sat down with Mike Bellafiore of SMB Capital to discuss various trading skills such as charts, tape reading, and trading the news. The audio recording of the interview can be found on www.traderinterviews.com.

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