Back to trading - willing to work for near-free

[getthatintoya]

@coldplay_option you should really take a look at the options on our index xjo. Plenty liquid enough but the fees are a little high. Most of my trades are eod on xjo options with some spi futures thrown in as well. Aussie peeps think they have to go trade the biggest market in the world but you can make nice bank just trading our local market.
On a side note with options if you can't predict price or vol then you should probably stick to stocks/futures. Just my 2c worth good luck.

 

[PPC]

@coldplay Leverage is like a hammer. You can use it like Michelangelo to help you create beautiful statue like Pieta, or you can use it to destroy things and do lots of damage. Same thing with leverage.

If you aspire to become a professional trader, then it is absolutely critical to learn how to manage risk (position sizing, mental state management, etc.), otherwise, you’ll be jumping from system to system (style drifting), and you’ll never become successful.

I’d suggest that you spend 10 bucks on this book

www.amazon.com/Successful-Traders-Size-Their-Positions-ebook/dp/B07NGPMYCR/ref=sr_1_2?crid=3LQAQMCHH92XT&keywords=tom+basso&qid=1687265677&sprefix=tom+bass%2Caps%2C537&sr=8-2

it will be the best ten bucks you’ll ever spend, and then you should realize that you don’t have to fear margin calls.

In terms of CFDs, you can open an account with interactive brokers, and you can trade equities and CFDs from the same account, and what traders do is they initially do position sizing based on the account size without margin and trade cash positions (equities), and once their account is in decent profit and their gains are locked in, then they can start opening positions with CFDs.

That way the carry cost for CFDs is not a factor. It is a factor for algo traders who can make only 20% per annum (with huge drawdowns), and then when they try to jack up their returns with leverage, their drawdowns become massive, and then they start brainwashing others that it’s impossible to make good returns in the markets.

I’d recommend you to buy Mark Minervini’s books, not so much for his trading strategies because he only trades breakouts which are very dependent on market conditions, but rather to gain insight into a professional trader’s mindset and to learn how professional traders are obsessed with risk control, proper preparation, routines etc., while amateurs are focused on how much they can make.

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=mark+minervini&crid=3THIWUMQVTVQC&sprefix=mark+minervin,aps,495&ref=nb_sb_noss_1

Remember, it is the trader who makes the money, not the trading method. To become a consistently profitable trader, it takes years of self-reflection, introspection, and willingness to work one's own weaknesses.

 

[PPC]

@getthatintoya I don’t know anything about Australian option markets, but you’re right, people should stick to local markets (or at least markets in their time zones).

 

[longandshort]

What kind of strategy are you trying to run? I used to trade fx & rates at a bulge bracket, and maintain a small global macro side pocket in my trading today.

Fx is extremely hard for casual retail because the biggest drivers of fx on g10 are real rate differentials (on a Fwd basis). If you can’t reference the forwards & swap markets, don’t cover central banks & eco data, and aren’t aware of the positioning & thesis of other firms, then i don’t really know how a retail trader can survive.

I would start with a textbook on macroeconomics (Greg Mankiw, Robert Schiller, and Paul Krugman have good ones), and then start learning about interest rate and fx securities via advanced textbooks (jha siddharta). From there you will then need to start getting macro research (from legit shops only, basically your largest 20-30 banks or large regional institutional brokers), covering central banks, and the eco data flow for the pairs you want to trade. Doing this will get you to the knowledge level of a 1st year analyst 6 months into training.

it’s not easy, but definitely possible with effort.

 

[coldplay_option]

I am now inclined to go back to Options as i am fairly versed with it. I have been through the psychology part and learnt the hard way on trade size and the rest. Imagine I once tried selling one leg of a GOOGL spread and had nearly $90k exposed by doing so - fortunately I eventually just lost $2k from that position where the spread total exposure was $500 (my greed lesson which makes you appreciate all the comments from professional traders herein).
My shortcoming seems more on getting disciplined on a strategy which earns longer term. Hence had i been say an analyst, there is no escape room but rather be focussed in learning and apply those learning to make consistent money (some will say its utopia but my gutfeel it exists as big bangs Investment division thrive). To learn under a seasoned trader would be the ideal opportunity.