How many traders are actually making a living?

dozu888 said:
ok makes sense now.... but I just don't see it, no way in any zero sum game you can have 4% making living out of it.

the CFD data seems to be just a slice view... 80% losing, but during how long a period... per month? that's quite a gap from the question of 'making a living' which requires year round sustainability..
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It was a pure guess, i have no idea what are the actual numbers. (80+10+5+4+1=100, but that guy already replied)
 
ElCubano said:
During the dot.com that stat was higher, some who knew nothing perhaps even 1/1000th of what you guys know made millions, I know I saw it. During pockets of prosperity anyone can throw a dart and make money. Finding, waiting, pouncing and taking it to the mat during those periods is the hard part and most importantly knowing when to let go is the hardest. I know I seen it with me own eyes.
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Which is more good evidence that you don't need to know more and more about the markets in order to be a good trader. This is pretty much the reverse of every other professional activity we get into in our lives. They're all pretty bad preparations for trading and poor indicators of one's likelihood of success in trading.
 
soulfire said:
The failure rate is sky high because it includes anybody and everybody who has some money. If colleges had no entrance exams and let anyone in, the failure rates for STEM degrees would be just as high.

Common sense should tell you that the success rate percentages for those who take it seriously, develop a plan, learn proper trade management, and take lots of notes combined with research practice will be higher than those who think they will just walk in and make a killing just using their gut instinct or having read a book on TA.
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That's a really good point. When you put it this way i guess you are right... How many are ready to put in the time, effort and sacrifices required? And we get down to a couple % pretty fast lol.
 
krugman25 said:
According to the SBA, 95% of small businesses fail within 5 years. Probably only 1% are really thriving and providing enough for a good living.

Seems like a general principal across the spectrum.
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Your odds trading for a living for 5 years straight are considerably lower than running a small business for 5+ years and being profitable.

While you probably can't find a study comparing them, I probably know enough people (including myself) who have tried either (or both) for a statistically significant sample.
 
MKTrader said:
Your odds trading for a living for 5 years straight are considerably lower than running a small business for 5+ years and being profitable.

While you probably can't find a study comparing them, I probably know enough people (including myself) who have tried either (or both) for a statistically significant sample.
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it's a no brainer.... most SBs have positive sum... you can have a small biz just for mowing lawns and if you keep overheads low it's a no-loss biz and the only question is if you make enough to move out of your parents basement lol... but if you only make $10000 a year and then decide to look for a job then the SB is considered failed.... so yeah for trading a zero sum game, 1% is prolly fairly close to reality.
 
A veteran stock trader once told me during his time when there's yet to have electronic trading, there were about 5000 traders at the broker, and only 3 that were really making good money.
 
MKTrader said:
Your odds trading for a living for 5 years straight are considerably lower than running a small business for 5+ years and being profitable.

While you probably can't find a study comparing them, I probably know enough people (including myself) who have tried either (or both) for a statistically significant sample.
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I posted the study from the SBA. Over 20percent of businesses survive past 5 years. And that percentage hasn’t changed over time.
 
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