If you're a trader, you're a loser.

[FattBurger]

Dividend reinvestment was the way mom and pop gained from the stock market, that’s were most of the gains use to come from.

Boy how things have changed. It all started with Allen Greenspan, Robert Rubin, and Larry Summers. Now we have a casino.

 

[FattBurger]

Quote from DHOHHI:

Anyone can choose selective time frames. 1991 - 1996 was mainly an uptrending market. I wonder how many of those who were buy & hold mentality investors were happy in the decade that followed the market meltdown in early 2000. Traders likely didn't see their accounts melt down proportionately in line with the NAZ declining from over 5000 to less than 1/2 of that today. And the Dow is basically flat for the last 10 years.

As far as trading against Goldman etc. -- so what? They're buying size and as a small trader I can get in and out with much smaller trades before they buy (or sell) 500K shares of whatever.

And Rogers suggestion to take all your money out and put it into whatever you feel will outperform. Sorry, but I think the days of that are far gone. I expect the markets will be more up and down and as a trader one can exploit these moves to outperform the longer term that Rogers suggests. If we're up 100 points one day and down 100 the next the net is 0 for an investor. A trader can play both sides and end up much better than a net 0. Takes work but it's very doable for a decent trader.

If I listened to these garbage stories I'd not have survived and succeeded the past 14+ years. Like most anything in life, if you want it bad enough, and are willing to work at it, you can succeed.

This is true, look at your buy and hold return from 2000-2010, it would be negative unless you reinvested what divided you earned.

 

[bawr]

Quote from hughb:

Who was trading online in 1991?

E-Trade was available on CompuServe in 1991. Schwab had some sort of proprietary online service too. "Online" need not mean "Internet".

 

[hughb]

Quote from Dr. Zhivodka:

Good observation. I can tell you in '91 I had a phone to each ear and one over each shoulder.

I remember waking up the neighbors in my apartment building at 6:30 AM, (west coaster here), screaming into the telephone that I wanted my confirmation before we hang up.

 

[icarus618]

Hehe...brings back memories of my broker saying "OK, I'll call you back when your order is filled," and I'd say "thanks" and hang up.

Those were the days...I would feel guilty when using odd lots. With all the technology now, no one starts out that green anymore, I know.

 

[Dr. Zhivodka]

And depending on your Market you probably didn't get one. Back in the day phone service and trading was but yet another friction in the process.

Quote from hughb:

I remember waking up the neighbors in my apartment building at 6:30 AM, (west coaster here), screaming into the telephone that I wanted my confirmation before we hang up.

 

[operator]

Quote from FattBurger:

Dividend reinvestment was the way mom and pop gained from the stock market, that’s were most of the gains use to come from.

This is probably one of the smartest things pointed out on ET. The above is still true.

 

[moonmist]

Quote from icarus618:

Hehe...brings back memories of my broker saying "OK, I'll call you back when your order is filled," and I'd say "thanks" and hang up.

Those were the days...I would feel guilty when using odd lots. With all the technology now, no one starts out that green anymore, I know.

Yes. Technology has changed everything. I started online trading via a phone line in late 1990's. It was slow, slow, slow ..........

Along came cable modem and DSL. The difference is like day and night.

 

[garchbrooks]

Quote from TraderZones:

There is an amazing amount of denial on ET.

Less than 1% of traders will ever become a longterm very profitable trader. The rest will blow up or bleed money slowly until they sink into the mud.

But even so, most of them joke and taunt and laugh at stories like in the OP. And then they go back to their paper trading, hoping SOMEDAY, to trip over a real edge...

Truth hurts.

I see this all the time on this forum, and my response to you is: so what? Not to challenge your assertion or be rude -- you're right, but ...

Hear me out -- it's perfectly healthy for all these people to want to try and become day traders, even against all odds. The same goes for wanting to become a rock star or a movie star. I'm under the impression that most people lead really, really terrible lives. The thing that makes life worth living for these people is -a- shot, even if it's a slim shot. IMO, the delusion of future success is a fine one. If anything, we should encourage it. If we discourage it, the flow of easy money doesn't work its way into the markets.

I suffer from delusions of grandeur myself, but I'm content with living the lie because it still gives me a very solid reason to get up every morning.

 

[Rabbitone]

Quote from blox87:

I'm sick of all these types of threads. Ok it's not easy to become a good trader, we get it. Now get back to work before your boss bitches at you.

There is as much stupidity as there is truth to this constant barrage of “95% of all traders are losers” and “They found that the average trader's returns were about 6.5% less than the overall market. “

In the 20+ years of trading I blew accounts (my records show it was three). I did it just like any one else. There was a price to pay to learn trading. I found I was not a day trader and never will be. However, the swing trader I became has made me very happy and retired. But it was not easy.

We all pay a price to get where we want to be whether it is a day job or a trader. Like I tell my kids and grand kids “everything in life is hard before it gets easy”. Yet I hear comment after comment that everyone is a loser on ET and they will never succeed at trading. It is only true if you want it to be true.

I was no wiz kid in my day job for years. But through persistence I got the managers job at the end of my career before I retired. It was worth the wait. I had to pay a big price and work long hours to get that job just like I did in learning trading. But trading is like a day job, if you have the passion and you are willing to pay the price the odds can roll in your favor.

But one the main things those surveys fail miserably at is the self-assurance trading can give a person in making major monetary decisions. With my wife’s and my long term assets I used my swing trading knowledge of longer term trends to avoid taking a big hair cut in my assets in 2008. If I had not learned to understand trends today I might be a greeter at Walmart repeating over and over to my self “What happened! How did I not see this coming?” Instead I’m planning a summer break at the lake. I think I will go over to Walmart and see what is on sale for summer. Because I’m the boss…