How much do day traders make

[Mtrader]

If I can make a certain amount daily/weekly/monthly/yearly that I don't have to work a regular job...I'm the happiest man on earth.

I noticed already in past that those people who always speak about "you should be the richest man..." in general are those who make no money. People who have no money always dream about being rich. People who make decent money, experience in real life that they can live very good without being a billionaire. They change their priority list and put quality of life on number one, instead of becoming a billionaire.

 

[Vindago]

If you do it for the wrong reasons, you get the wrong results...

 

[rajesheck]

If you do it for the wrong reasons, you get the wrong results...

Both greed and fear are most common wrong reasons.

 

[HappyTrader]

Why is Warren Buffett living in such a small house? Maybe he is not a billionaire.

Why is Warren Buffett not driving Ferraris, Lambo's, Rolls Royces or Bentley's? Maybe he is not a billionaire.
Why does he not own private islands, big yachts... Maybe he is not a billionaire.

You probably don't even understand the stupidity of your posting. I tried to lower to your level in my posting. So maybe you will understand my posting.

I'm afraid your post does not make much sense... perhaps too dumbed down for me to understand.

A better analogy would be if you could show Warren Buffet has time to post here. If he does (or other multi-billionaires who make their money from investment and business) do post here, then your counter argument will be well merited.

 

[rajesheck]

I'm afraid your post does not make much sense... perhaps too dumbed down for me to understand.

A better analogy would be if you could show Warren Buffet has time to post here. If he does (or other multi-billionaires who make their money from investment and business) do post here, then your counter argument will be well merited.

I assume that it is not an analogy but a living example of how an investor or a trader can be focused on simplistic lifestyle, a valuable lesson to be learned in this world of greed and fear. which may reflect positively on the profession.

 

[Jack1960]

If you are good at trading, 50 to 100% per year is very doable year after year.

If you are good at investing, beating the index by 30 to 50% is doable year after
year.

 

[Mtrader]

I'm afraid your post does not make much sense... perhaps too dumbed down for me to understand..

Or maybe still to high for you? Might explain why you still don't understand it, despite my efforts to keep it smple.

I'm afraid your post does not make much sense... perhaps too dumbed down for me to understand.

A better analogy would be if you could show Warren Buffet has time to post here. If he does (or other multi-billionaires who make their money from investment and business) do post here, then your counter argument will be well merited.

I never spoke about posting here or not. So your remark is irrelevant to my posting. I propose that you proof that they don't post here.

I am also waiting for the detailed calculations that proof that making 1% per day means that you should be a billionaire. As you made that statement I suppose proving it will not beyond your level of intelligence? Or did you just copy the statement without understanding it? These things sometimes happen too. Mostly by people who want to pretend to be smarter then they are.

 

[trickshot]

First read correctly what I wrote. You clearly don't understand (or don't want to) my posting.
You need much more information to make a statement that is valid. I named some of the missing parameters.

I will give you a very simple example:

• X daytrades the ES.
• X trades 20 contracts and makes more than 1% every day ON AVERAGE, so not every day 1%, but the final result after 1 year averages more than 1% per day. So about 250-300% a year.
• X always trades 20 contracts, so NO COMPOUNDING. That's his free choice.
• X makes 1% ON AVERAGE which means that he makes 10$ per day per contract (1% on 1k margin). So he makes less then 1 TICK a day. That is impossible for you???
• X will never be rich, although X does make average more than 1% a day. That proofs that your statement is wrong.

According to you this is impossible, because X should be rich. Tell me what is wrong and proof me that X does not make 1% a day ON AVERAGE. The fact that he is not rich is no proof because you make own assumptions about how and what he should trade.

Don't compare daytrading 20 contracts with Renaissance. It is normal that they can not make the return a small daytrader can make on a small position.

Show me the complete detailed calculation of how rich I should be if I say that I make 1% a day on average. I will then show you all the mistakes you made in your calculation.

Let me guess: you will not show these detailed calculations? Proof your statement and I will proof that it is wrong. Should not be difficult.

So now you are saying your returns are based on an average over the year but it doesn't change things really, 300% a year is still an impossibly large return that will make you incredibly rich in just a couple of years due to compounding which you say doesn't happen but I will show you why shortly that you are wrong about that.

Compounding always happens if you are a profitable trader who isn't undercapitalised and struggling to pay his bills. Say you make 300k on a 100k account and continue to trade the 100k the following year, the 300k thats sitting in cash, CD and whatnot now becomes a drag on your performance. Fund managers don't claim to make 100% a year because they invested 20% of their clients' cash and made 100% on that investment, the total return is 20% because the rest of the cash was doing nothing. So if you are not increasing size to match the larger capital, your % returns go down, its not even a choice.

You'd still be a billionaire in 20 years if 1k is compounded annually at 300% annual returns/1% return daily on average, clearly those returns are impossible, either that or the trader must be some delusional lunatic who fooled himself into thinking he is doing great making 3k a year on a 1k account while his other 100m is sitting in a CD yielding nothing.

HFTs like RT have far more resources than the average retail piker, if anything the odds would be in their favour, not against them. In any case RT's returns are far more achievable and realistic (though unlikely for the average retail trader), they certainly don't make 300% a year.

 

[trickshot]

I'm afraid your post does not make much sense... perhaps too dumbed down for me to understand.

A better analogy would be if you could show Warren Buffet has time to post here. If he does (or other multi-billionaires who make their money from investment and business) do post here, then your counter argument will be well merited.

Yeah and Buffet is anything but frugal, he flies private only.

 

[Mtrader]

Compounding always happens if you are a profitable trader who isn't undercapitalised and struggling to pay his bills.

Yawn...

1. Is there a law that forces traders to compound? Traders are completely free to trade as they wish. They don't have to follow your instructions so that you can proof they should be billionaires under certain hypothetical circumstances.
2. You also have no clue what traders do with the rest of their money. Or do you have a crystal ball?
3. I still did not see any detailed calculation about the trader becoming a billionaire.

I am tempted to make a bet with you that I make consistently 300% a year net on trading the ES. But there are many reasons why I will not:

1. I am not stupid enough to do that.
2. I feel no need to proof anything. I have more interesting things to do. Like travelling and taking holidays 6 months a year.
3. I don't want to share my financial situation.
4. I don't want to show any trades or accounts to make other smarter by taking advantage from my work.

Just continue to believe making decent money as a trader is impossible. Project your inabilities on others if that makes you feel less depressed. Or go to a shrink.