Poll: After how low are you considering being profitable?

[rb7]

When you start making money in active trading (not investing), how long do you think it takes to be considered as profitable?

My partial and humble definition of 'profitable' is:
An active trader making more money than losing, and making substantially more than just 'buy and hold' (or any major stock indexes).
And no, paper trading doesn't count!

But this definition is missing the 'for how long' part.

Because until you/we get there (meaning being profitable, whatever it means!) we/you are just struggling and trying to make money.

 

[MarkBrown]

where are the decade choices?

 

[newwurldmn]

There’s no such thing as profitable as most traders blow up.

There’s only how much you have made in the past and how much you can lose in the future.

 

[zghorner]

I chose 1 year but i don't really think it should be thought of as a hard line in the sand...that's just a reasonable amount of time to test progress.

Anyone can be ahead for a month...but if you are actively trading (not buying and holding SP thinking you are a genius), and are profitable after an entire year then you do at the very least have some sort of skill/ability/edge/ect...

I think it should be thought of more like a trend. Zoom out all the way in your trading career, how does the trend look?

 

[Maverick2608]

You can have an edge for 15 years and then it is gone. Nothing lasts for ever.

 

[murray t turtle]

You can have an edge for 15 years and then it is gone. Nothing ......

%%
Good time frame ;
if something stops working after decades or 14 or 15 years-cut back quick+ that way still profits ride.
Some like common sense+ wisdom ;
even if something worked much longer than decades+ 15 years, like REALTY .
WOKE=broke bank goes bust+ crime skyrockets\may try a common sense exit there.

So have to factor in much more, than time+ past profits

 

[SimpleMeLike]

When you start making money in active trading (not investing), how long do you think it takes to be considered as profitable?

My partial and humble definition of 'profitable' is:
An active trader making more money than losing, and making substantially more than just 'buy and hold' (or any major stock indexes).
And no, paper trading doesn't count!

But this definition is missing the 'for how long' part.

Because until you/we get there (meaning being profitable, whatever it means!) we/you are just struggling and trying to make money.

Good Morning rb7,

I can only speak for myself.

I am profitable or trader, after I see $1 million in my account.

I do not care about consistency, I only care about being a millionaire, quickly.

I joined futures trading to get rich quick.

 

[expiated]

I wonder if your question genuinely gets to the heart of what it is that you really intend to be asking. If you are ahead for a month, then you are profitable for the month, plain and simple. I'm thinking what you're actually seeking is how long it is before one can regard his or her system as valid and reliable, with an emphasis on reliable. Just a thought...but let me leave it at that.

UPDATE: I just read the post by SimpleMeLike (it appeared while I was still typing my entry) and he kind of implied the same thing. You seem (to me) to be more interested in the question of consistency rather than profitability.

 

[zghorner]

I wonder if your question genuinely gets to the heart of what it is that you really intend to be asking. If you are ahead for a month, then you are profitable for the month, plain and simple. I'm thinking what you're actually seeking is how long it is before one can regard his or her system as valid and reliable, with an emphasis on reliable. Just a thought...but let me leave it at that.

Yes I agree.

It is just a matter of perspective..

To the trader who loses on balance week after week after week -> seeing a profitable month is huge and worth analysis as to why this month was different than the rest. What was different this time? Market conditions? Changes to your strategy, etc...

To the trader who, for the past several years has lost money on balance -> a profitable year is a big deal.

But has the trend been broken and reversed...on its way to glory as you become the 1 in ten million retail that "makes it"? Or is it a temporary retracement soon to see another leg down because you are still a sucker?

 

[Specterx]

For practical purposes I would say 3 years of profits, assuming some reasonable cadence and consistency. But there are a lot of qualifiers.

If you are intraday trading, then one could argue for less time - maybe a year. But even intraday players have losing streaks, and are generally at far greater risk of edge degradation due to the razor-thin margins and insane competition on those timescales.

Really, trading is a highly risky and ludicrously uncertain business. Unlike other fields, there is no diploma or certificate on finishing your training, no fixed-term contracts, no pension or severance pay.