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majority traders really lose money??
- Thread starter ttowntrader
- Start date
I can make a comfortable living at trading. It's not rocket science and I would bet I'm not the only one.
I would suspect most on ET are newbies trying to learn, which is all well and good...and the minority on ET are experienced traders who can make a living at it.
It is very possible to make a decent living at trading if you follow basic principles. Many of those who post here who doubt the ability to make a good living at trading simply don't know how to manage their trades.
Based on all the information I've read over the years and my own personal experience, I would say on avg about 10 % of those who trade can do it for a living. The avg's would probably go up if people took responsibility for their trading instead of blaming it on some "inside info, etc... "
A good trader doesn't blame anyone but himself if he allows a losing trade to keep on losing.
So do the majority of traders lose money? Yes they do... and they've got a million reasons why they continue to lose except for one...they don't look in the mirror at the one person whose responsibility it is to correct the mistakes common to loser traders.
I would suspect most on ET are newbies trying to learn, which is all well and good...and the minority on ET are experienced traders who can make a living at it.
It is very possible to make a decent living at trading if you follow basic principles. Many of those who post here who doubt the ability to make a good living at trading simply don't know how to manage their trades.
Based on all the information I've read over the years and my own personal experience, I would say on avg about 10 % of those who trade can do it for a living. The avg's would probably go up if people took responsibility for their trading instead of blaming it on some "inside info, etc... "
A good trader doesn't blame anyone but himself if he allows a losing trade to keep on losing.
So do the majority of traders lose money? Yes they do... and they've got a million reasons why they continue to lose except for one...they don't look in the mirror at the one person whose responsibility it is to correct the mistakes common to loser traders.
If buy & hold does not work, well someone should tell Warren Buffet and George Soros etc. Austinp. it's pretty stupid to ask those that buy & hold where their profits are when the market is correcting. Why not ask them when it's topping? Maybe when they are buying more as the market corrects.
Quote from ttowntrader:
Interesting.... Can you tell us more? Is this of the likes of E-Trade and Scottrade?
this was about ten years ago. the commissions were $15 and the customers had to call upstairs and then we call the floor to place the trade.
obviously, technology has changed a lot since then.
I would agree with you on the 95% stat.
I am quite an omnivorous trader and trade a lot of different products, although my speciality is forex.
I believe you must try different markets until you find an area which you do best at. Or have the best feel for. I just gravitate where the opportunities are.
The major obstacles facing new traders are
lack of cash,
overlevrage,
psychology.
For instance, i want to be a trader i have $10k. I start out trying to trade for a living. I need to make astronomical returns, or use dangerous leverage to achieve a good income.
Conversely, I have $500k. I research good companies (earnings, hot sector, market leader) and find a good technical time to buy. Then wait. I will do well.
But the problem is the guy with the 10k will probably blow up before getting to 500k.
I am quite an omnivorous trader and trade a lot of different products, although my speciality is forex.
I believe you must try different markets until you find an area which you do best at. Or have the best feel for. I just gravitate where the opportunities are.
The major obstacles facing new traders are
lack of cash,
overlevrage,
psychology.
For instance, i want to be a trader i have $10k. I start out trying to trade for a living. I need to make astronomical returns, or use dangerous leverage to achieve a good income.
Conversely, I have $500k. I research good companies (earnings, hot sector, market leader) and find a good technical time to buy. Then wait. I will do well.
But the problem is the guy with the 10k will probably blow up before getting to 500k.
Quote from ttowntrader:
I often hear that much more traders lose money than make money?
Is this really the mentality? It seems hard to believe considering the huge advantage we have over the institutions. It's just so much easier for a small trader to get in and out of positions and manage a small portfolio.
Does anyone have any realistic estimates of what percentage of traders actually make money consistently?
It looks strange, but looks true. You are right about the mentality. Most of the people think with their hearts and not brain while trading and that is why they end up losing money.
It has been the general trend that traders do not think the way the market is moving. If the market is actaully going to rise, people are buying and lose money and vice-versa.
Hence, successful traders are those who study the market and trade accordingly.
I read that the majority of losing retail traders are trading in the shorter time frames (1hr, 5min etc).
http://members.aon.at/tips/trading_walt.html
I suspect it is true. Trading off of daily and weekly charts forces a trader to look at the bigger picture. The pace is slow enough to allow a trader to take their time and wait for the right setup that corresponds with the bigger picture.
http://members.aon.at/tips/trading_walt.html
I suspect it is true. Trading off of daily and weekly charts forces a trader to look at the bigger picture. The pace is slow enough to allow a trader to take their time and wait for the right setup that corresponds with the bigger picture.
Quote from DrEvil:
I read that the majority of losing retail traders are trading in the shorter time frames (1hr, 5min etc).
http://members.aon.at/tips/trading_walt.html
I suspect it is true. Trading off of daily and weekly charts forces a trader to look at the bigger picture. The pace is slow enough to allow a trader to take their time and wait for the right setup that corresponds with the bigger picture.
Trading off weekly chart might give you few set ups a year, what if they all fail or do not make much??? The year is gone. Day trading is another extreme. Both can be learned to work, but to each its own.