2012: The Battle for Survival

[colonial dr]

I feel sad for Neke- it seems he is taking little advice but for his own. I don't know when he is going to really start putting everything he made on the side and start listening to more on this thread. Maybe at $60 k he will.

If a small trader on the ES can go from a few thousand to tens of thousands, that is good enough to take your $100 k back to $300 k and above. Day trading a small number of instruments and basic options (weekly butterflies, et.) can turn this around. Sticking to your same old is not a legitimate way to fix this. Like I said, with withdrawals, you will need to expect over 50% in the next year. That is a high bar compared to your current performance, Neke.

 

[neke]

Weekly Update for week 39/50 ended 10/14/2012


Another lacklustre week, up $223 (0.2%).

Opening Balance:                	1114,191
Net gain for the week 		             223
------------------------------------------------
Net Balance:                   		114,414


Since Inception of Thread   01/18/2012 - 10/14/2012

Opening Balance:                   	203,729
Net loss 			        (44,315)(Down 22%)
Cash Withdrawal				(45,000)
------------------------------------------------
Net Balance				114,414

 

[Pekelo]

Can you tell us how many trades this week and how much was the commission?

 

[neke]

Weekly Update for week 40/50 ended 10/21/2012


Positive week, up 7.6K (6.7%). Nice start to earnings season. Made money each day, except Friday, where I surrendered a good part of the gains doing some errant buys on dip. Seems I need to re-learn my lessons after each string of profitable trades.

Opening Balance:                	114,414
Net gain for the week 		          7,637
------------------------------------------------
Net Balance:                   		122,051


Since Inception of Thread   01/18/2012 - 10/21/2012

Opening Balance:                   	203,729
Net loss 			        (36,678)(Down 18%)
Cash Withdrawal				(45,000)
------------------------------------------------
Net Balance				122,051

 

[Engine99]

Keep it going like this!!
Nice week.

 

[RichardRimes]

Very nice Neke...I was afraid you may have gotten caught in the downdraft of GOOG. You obviously managed pretty well op ex week even if you did give some back today. This could well mark a major turnaround.

 

[neke]

Quote from RichardRimes:

Very nice Neke...I was afraid you may have gotten caught in the downdraft of GOOG. You obviously managed pretty well op ex week even if you did give some back today. This could well mark a major turnaround.

It was the downdraft in AAPL that caught me. Still trying my best to avoid the temptation of fading moves on the spur of the moment.

 

[neke]

Weekly Update for week 41/50 ended 10/28/2012


Frustrating week, down 1.3K (1.1%). With all the opportunities presented by earnings season, a dismal performance, as I couln't get any consistency. Made 22 discretionary trades and 8 automated trades, and paid $955 in commissions. Need to significantly reduce number of trades next week.

Opening Balance:                	122,051
Net loss for the week 		         (1,341)
------------------------------------------------
Net Balance:                   		120,710


Since Inception of Thread   01/18/2012 - 10/28/2012

Opening Balance:                   	203,729
Net loss 			        (38,019)(Down 19%)
Cash Withdrawal				(45,000)
------------------------------------------------
Net Balance				120,710

 

[southall]

$995 is 0.8%, or about 40% a year in commissions. I know this week may have been exceptional and you dont normally pay that much.

Ideally you should pay less than 5 percent of your account in commissions per year! And also less than 5 percent in slippage.

Ofcourse if you are doing well you can ramp up your size and start to pay the big commissions but only if you are doing well.

 

[neke]

Quote from southall:

$995 is 0.8%, or about 40% a year in commissions. I know this week may have been exceptional and you dont normally pay that much.

Ideally you should pay less than 5 percent of your account in commissions per year! And also less than 5 percent in slippage.

Ofcourse if you are doing well you can ramp up your size and start to pay the big commissions but only if you are doing well.

Yes, it's staggering when you express it that way. 5% for commission would probably be attainable if I were doing more of swing (1-5day ) trades. Slippage - I don't see being as small as that unless I have to completely stop options trading - that is a big slippage source.

Nevertheless, I need to cut back on number of trades. It is surprising how I would prepare and say 5 discretionary trades a week will be ample, but before I realize it has become 22.