Wednesday, January 12, 2011

S&P - NIKKEI Spread

This is one of the account that is using Inter-Market spread strategy to trade. I'm tracking this trader's performance with a base capital of S$27,104.00. He spend a few hours at night trading from home using the Pat's System.

No speed required for trading this strategy except looking for levels to get in and out. No pressure to perform, no charts required and 40/60 profit sharing.




Sunday, January 9, 2011

Email to my Trader

All my traders funded their own accounts because I believe that they are responsible for their own action. I merely facilitate and guide them, holding a small share in their account that they are comfortable with.

Here is a letter I have just written to a veteran trader of 20 years who have joined me 2 months ago, trading from home. He has been struggling with Electronic trading for the past few years.

Hi Bro,

You have done well in a quiet and very difficult December month for most traders. I have seen great improvement in your trades that comes mostly form the Simsci contract. Last week, you started to drift backward and seems to be struggling again.

From the recent statements, I observed that you are going back to arbitrage trading between CME NK and SGX NK to cover your losses in the Simsci. I'm surprised that you made money doing that with your slow trading platform and Internet speed. The risk/reward ration is about even but it's draining tremendous amount of your energy starring at the screens waiting for such opportunities.

We don't have the edge in arbitrage trading anymore, the Algos have taken over that role with their low latency, high frequency trading at a very much lower comm offered by the Exchanges. You are not going to grow and progress doing that at home, the stress will affect your health and in turn affect your concentration doing outright trading.

You are no longer young with the energy to compete with the Algos. Imagine yourself driving a old boneshaker along the express way at the speed of 50 km/hr while the rest are zooming past at double the speed or more. I definitely don't encourage such trading without the proper setup to compete on a level playing field. The reward for you effort is low. Focus instead on outright trading, losses is part of the game.

Refer to your trades last month and dissect them to understand why you have done well. But did you keep a trading journal?

Recently I challenged my brother too when he spoke about keeping a journal on his previous trades and strategies. I lost! He took the trouble reviewing his trades at the end of each day and record them for future reference so that he can improve on it. That's the biggest reason why he is now the most consistent trader and improving everyday. Can you still remember he was struggling together with you in the arcade through 2009?

95% of the traders do not keep a trading journal, my brother made that little extra effort.

Both of you are equally talented and intelligent, but he is now way ahead of you, why? I have great respect for you, a highly successful floor trader with plenty of guts. For traders who are not making it, I have only one word to describe their characteristic, "STUBBORN". They are all in denial with all sort of excuses, a drunkard will not admit that he is drunk.

Questions that I would like to ask you.

1. Do you keep a trading journal?
2. Can you justify your every trade? (Reasons for entering into a trade)
3. Do you have a stop loss before taking the trade?
4. Do you average on a bad trade?
5. Do you have a profit target?
6. Do you know the right time to trade?
7. Do you know which contract you are most comfortable with?

Being a veteran trader, you should have the answers to all of them, which is rather simple and straight forward. Keep repeating what you have done correctly. There is no compromise on discipline and following strict money management rules.

There is no option for you but to improve yourself, you must do it, you have to do it and I believe you can do it.

I hope change will take place in 2011 and I will come back to ask you the above questions again. Most important, challenge you to show me your journal.

Regards

Monday, January 3, 2011

Confidence




Start the New Year with a Joke from the mail.

What is Confidence?

20 CEOs from different countries board an airplane and are told the flight that they are about to take is the first-ever to feature pilotless technology : It is an uncrewed aircraft.

19 of the CEOs promptly leave the aircraft, each offering some excuses. The Malaysian CEO alone remains on board the jet, seeming very calm indeed.

Asked why he is so confident in this first uncrewed flight, he replies:

"If the software is developed by my company's IT systems department, this plane won't even take off!"


NOW THAT'S CONFIDENCE!

Saturday, January 1, 2011

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Life ends; when you stop Dreaming,
Hope ends; when you stop Believing,
Love ends; when you stop Caring,
And Friendship ends; when you stop Sharing.




WISH ALL MY FRIENDS A HAPPY AND PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR !!!

Friday, December 31, 2010

Stock Investor's Mentality



Any similarity with what you are doing?

What is a Financial Bailout?

"When it's a question of money, everybody is of the same religion." - Voltaire

Another one from the mail.

It's a slow day in a damp Irish Town. The rain is beating down harshly, and all the streets are deserted. Times are tough, everybody is in debt and everybody lives on credit.

...On this particular day, a rich German tourist is driving through the town, stops at the local hotel and lays a $100 note on the desk, telling the hotel owner he wants to inspect the rooms upstairs in order to pick one to spend the night.

The owner gives him some room-keys and, as soon as the visitor has walked upstairs, the hotelier grabs the $100 note and runs next door to pay his debt to the butcher.

The butcher takes the $100 note and rushes down the street to repay his debt to the pig farmer. The pig farmer takes the $100 note and heads off to pay his bill at the supplier of animal feed and fuel.

The guy at the Farmer's Co-op takes the $100 note and runs to pay his drink at the friendly neighbourhood pub. The pub owner slips the money along to the local prostitute drinking at the bar - who, is spite of facing hard times, has always gladly offered him her 'services' on credit.

The hooker then rushes over to the hotel and pays off her room bill to the hotel owner with the $100 note.

The hotel proprietor quietly replaces the $100 note back on the counter, so that the rich traveller will not supspect anything.

At that moment the traveller comes down the stairs, states that none of the rooms are satisfactory, picks up the $100 note, pockets it and leaves town.

...No one has produced anything. No one hs earned anything. However, the whole town is now out of debt and looking to the future with a lot more optimism.

And that, dear ladies and gentlemen, is how a basic financial bailout package works!