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I switched from stocks to futures in late 2011, so my comments pertain to 2011. But I believe this information is still current. The instructions for form 8949 are included in i1040sd.pdf (i.e. instructions for Schedule D). On page 8 it states: Instead of reporting each of your...

This is the step I am not too sure about. It is my understanding that audits start at about $25k. No? That's a pretty big hump to get over for a trader who doesn't have good funding contacts and a pedigree. The registration is cheaper but not trivial, and once you're registered, you have...

I am not saying all short premium strategies are unsound. I have a short premium strategy that I believe I can sustain. It's how I pay the rent. I am just saying that it is harder than it looks. The difficulty is partly psychological. To make a short premium strategy work, you need to...

Option beginners like to sell premium because it is a "feel good" play with a high win rate. The problem is that the occasional losing trades can wipe out the traders' account. Read "fooled by Randomness" by Taleb. There are some more sophisticated strategies around such as iron condors...

@Smoker (or anybody else): Could you comment on the "bounday case", not the next James H. Simons? At what point might an aspiring manager have a shot at of being discovered? Would he/she need to be registered? Audited record? Where is the tipping point below which the trader simply lacks...

I am still getting a hit on this link: www.stocktrading.com/robfriesen.html ESET NOD32 says: JS/Kryptik.ADZ trojan

JS/Kryptik.ADZ trojan

I'm not really sure what allocators are looking for, but I suspect it varies somewhat. If you're showing 100% returns, some people's eyes light up, whereas others figure you are taking excessive risk or maybe doing something illegal. Some allocators want to see a smooth-running organization...

Most traders have somebody they have to answer to, whether it's a boss, a board, or clients. I am currently managing my own money, but I still need returns to cover my expenses. Most traders need decent returns at some point or their sense of security begins to slip away. I suspect trader's...

The Barclay HF Index is pretty much in line with what I figure the big funds have been doing ... not so well lately. But it's like the old joke: You don't have to be able to outrun the bear; you only have to outrun the other campers. The big managers are competing to beat the other big...

I found this online: Various instruments sold by the US Treasury are also available for purchase by a non-resident alien (NRA). NRAs can buy, hold, and sell normal Treasury instruments through the TreasuryDirect program, and will not be charged any tax as long as they file a Form W-8BEN...

I don't understand this last part. It is easy to see why an asset allocator would not be interested in a program that cannot handle size. But are you saying that a method that does not scale well cannot be a valid edge? I have spent the past 10 years searching out and exploiting edges that...

That is my understanding, but I don't know the exact date that would be your deadline. Filing an amended return isn't as complicated as it sounds, in my opinion. It's a 1+ page Form 1040x for each year. You can write off the $10k loss against regular income up to $3k per year. If you have...

Disclaimer: I am a trader, not a tax expert. In my understanding, there are at least three benefits to electing Section 475 (MTM accounting), the first two of which do not apply to futures and broad-based index options: a) no wash sales b) no itemized listing of all trades c) loss...

I have used TaxAct for years, free for Federal. I prefer the downloaded version and do not e-file. I would e-file with the IRS if they allowed that, but they require that I go through an intermediary. I have more regard for my financial privacy than that...

This thread has been useful at times. Hopefully, the heat from the most recent exchange has dissipated enough that we can get back to a thoughtful discussion. With the possible exception of some arbitrage strategies, most workable trading approaches/systems have drawdowns. Unfortunately, a...

I don't know if this is what you are asking, but USO is an exchange-traded fund (etf) that tracks crude oil and trades like a stock. If you trade 100 shares, that would be $1/tick.

It's really important to me that my software have a consistent look and feel. You lose that if you use the browser-based version. I am glad that some people use the browser version, because that's how the software gets tested and the bugs found. Note that the browser version requires Java...

Can your FCM do the allocations for you? Some (e.g. IBKR) have that capability.

Are you SURE the put was in the money? This is the settlement specification: A 3:00 p.m. CT price fixing (symbol ESF) based on the weighted average traded price of E-mini S&P 500 futures in the last 30 seconds of trading on expiration day (2:59:30 pm–3:00:00 pm Chicago time) will be used...