Quote from TradeWrecker:
I have... I've done it for years. My track-record as a professional trader is littered all over the internet. Barclays, Autumn-Gold etc. That is the whole point... if you're going to make claims about your abilities you should be able to back it up. You're making my point but it's mis-directed. You should be asking your good buddy Jack and your BFF Ammo for proof.
This thread was about a general observation, something that I hoped would spark some serious debate about how to research and implement the real issues surrounding behavioral finance, not the make believe stuff that Jack thinks he's figured out.
Interestingly right out of the gate it turned into "this is" a "bullshit" thread. Instead of embracing the idea that maybe we should all do some work, people like Ammo immediately discounted the value of doing a little digging into it... And yet (but not surprisingly) he is the first to defend Jack's junk science. Do you see the irony?
Let's research something of substance... No, no it's all bullshit. Danger, danger, what will we do if we have to face the truth?
vs....
Hey Jack, do you have any basis for all this supposed behavioral finance strategy you're espousing but doesn't seem to exist elsewhere... Fawk you how dare you question the guru, he has knowledge beyond us all... he is beyond reproach his word is 'truth'.
Ammo is an amazing representation of what is wrong with the retail trader. Reject common sense because 1. It requires work and 2. The answers rarely are what we "hope" for... But on the flip he will immediately embrace any hocus poscus that helps him hang on to a "hope" no matter how unlikely it is.
That of course is Cammol toes right... what makes me mad is when a pack of cammol toe become a collective herd, a voice, and people buy into it because they don't understand the basics. They sit hear and watch the humps speak with authority and confidence and they are swayed, in no small part because the humps are also feeding their "hopes".
Here is the awful truth... for the majority of traders "hoping" for success will never produce it. More often than not it will wipe you out.
If you the reader (not the humps - they are lost) are serious about really learning how to trade I recommend these in this order....
1. The Little Book of Behavioral Investing - Montier
2. Advances in Behavioral Finance II - Thaler
These will help you see yourself and others which will also help you identify what "might" be happening in the market.
3 Evidence-Based Technical Analysis - Aronson
This will lay the ground work for how to properly test.
4. Optimal Trading Strategies - Kissel & Glantz
Will get you thinking about risks and impacts
and finally... if you must be a technical trader...
5. Trading Systems and Methods - Kaufman
Once you have the first four books floating in your head you can take Perry's book and begin to test methods properly. This will be the basis for significant knowledge in your testing and your beliefs going forward. Good testing leads to realistic beliefs which can save you a lot of money down the road.
On with Cammol & Friends...
I attached a replay of my prior BF comments in this thread. There are references and quotes. This reference only began in 1990.
My primary trading reference was the 4th Ed of Edwards and Magee which I began using in 1957.
For those who wish, check out my association with the Jung Institute in 1967 and my active affiliation with ISAGA years 1973 through 1979. Especially check out my year long faculty lecture series @ DOP @ Mich. Faculty lecture series means faculty attends lectures.
To put myself in my place, I have traded as an amateur under NFA regs as I previously stated in this thread. The period of time is about 53 years.
The thread owner views me as unpoven to his satisfaction. My view of him is that he is espousing a CW orientation from the usual financial industry employee point of view.
Any potential trader can become successful by capitalizing on personal growth in a short and orderly process.
Cycle 1 demonstrates that dominant segmentts of trends are profitable and having an event orientation allows a person to build upon success after success. Cycle 1 also proves that using targets is NOt the potential trader's perogative. Both of these items are Behavioral Finance key issues.
Cycle 2 shows how all events are significant and all segments of trends may be traded whether they be dominant or non dominant. A potential trader also learns how to more finely associate sentiment with dominance and non dominance. emotiionally he get very straight on what it takes to trend and countertrend trade.
Cycles 3, 4, and 5, deal with trading through the "overlap of trends" after having traded the three moves of a trend. these cycles also deal with the scaling up of positions and becoming accustomed to making money as the emotions of support, comfort and conficence come into view.
Cycles 6, 7, 8, and 9 are all at 50 contracts and they deal with the emotional aspects of building effectiveness and efficiency.
As each day of each cycle passes for a person "doing the work" They get two things:
1. Emotions come up and the emotional context is journalled.
2. In parallel, the trading context of the emotional context is journalled. From this BF's C key issue is addressed. Namely, the person makes reasoned changes in his approach. And he note this stuff in the journal and on his plan, strategy and routine.
I have always enjoyed backing up my performance. If I had to cite one favorite example, it would be straightening out the SEC. Straightening out the IRS is not a close second, however.
Professionals cannot meet the peformance standards of amateurs; profesionals are simply too restrained to be able to perform.
My amateur standard was to have 15 people contributing 20% of their professional time per week to those in need who could not afford them. I did that and the SEC cited me over and over for "insider trading". I was flagged because I was trading a significant aggregation of capital in many accounts under POA's at large brokerage houses. I was also coattail traded nationally by brokers handling accounts in those brokerage firms. One of those firms was fined by the SEC when its "professionals" lied to major clients. The basis of the SEC fines was, determined in part, by my depositions.
Professionals are not usually as swift as their more nimble clients; professionals sometimes take advantage of this. It was not uncommon for me to pay double commissions to my brokers (my style). The reasons are obvious; they work for me and pay attention to my needs to get the job done.
The OP of this thread would never have passed the test to be working for me. He has explained clearly why he thinks the way he does and what he reads. Amateurs have the choice of who they have working for them. Professionals in the financial industry do not get paid for making decisions for clients; professionals offer services, primarily.
If you readâ Bogle On Bogleâ, you see an exception. as cited in his book, his holdings in Vanguard averaged about 69% a year in increase year to year in stock value over a 10 year period. At that time the S&P, etc was only averaging 10 to 12% a year.
Cycle 1's performance, is only about 40% of margin per day. The 5 cycles cover 60 days. There is NO expectation that a person will take every trade possible. My expectation is that people who wish will "do the work" of learning to annotate, log and trade.