I've seen a few different approaches thus far in my short career. I want to talk about & compare the following:
(1) Specialize in one product, e.g., STIR futures spread traders fighting for the tiniest increment (at least locally, I've not seen many survive).
(2) Specialize in futures specifically and pick something active within that universe and build some basic fundamental skills (basic plays and tape reading and product familiarity)
(3) Even broader than (2) is what SMB calls 'Stocks In Play' but I'd call 'Products in Play'. This means search the entire futures, stocks (from India to Australia), cryptocurrency, horses, sneaker universe for anything that's highly catalyzed with news, volatility, volume (directional order flow specifically) and get involved. This goes beyond just order flow and into the realm of spreads also.
Has anyone given any thought to which approach would yield the best results both in terms of absolute dollar value and long-term growth (monetary and educational) for an individual trader?
From my perspective the advantage of (3) if done in stocks specifically with the SMB approach, an individual trader has the chance to carve out a niche and potentially build an account quickly. The disadvantage of (3) if done in other non-stock products and without building fundamental skills and plays is the difficulty in transitioning to new products when the edge fades.
I've only seen people disappear when they approached trading with (1). Perhaps some do well, but I have not met many.
I'm curious about (2) and why people chose to restrain themselves to futures which offer a much narrower subset of products from which to chose? Seems like a hard way to account build, but perhaps understandable for reasons of there being lots of supporting software and less headaches in the setup.
Has anyone moved between multiple approaches and have any thoughts to bounce?
(1) Specialize in one product, e.g., STIR futures spread traders fighting for the tiniest increment (at least locally, I've not seen many survive).
(2) Specialize in futures specifically and pick something active within that universe and build some basic fundamental skills (basic plays and tape reading and product familiarity)
(3) Even broader than (2) is what SMB calls 'Stocks In Play' but I'd call 'Products in Play'. This means search the entire futures, stocks (from India to Australia), cryptocurrency, horses, sneaker universe for anything that's highly catalyzed with news, volatility, volume (directional order flow specifically) and get involved. This goes beyond just order flow and into the realm of spreads also.
Has anyone given any thought to which approach would yield the best results both in terms of absolute dollar value and long-term growth (monetary and educational) for an individual trader?
From my perspective the advantage of (3) if done in stocks specifically with the SMB approach, an individual trader has the chance to carve out a niche and potentially build an account quickly. The disadvantage of (3) if done in other non-stock products and without building fundamental skills and plays is the difficulty in transitioning to new products when the edge fades.
I've only seen people disappear when they approached trading with (1). Perhaps some do well, but I have not met many.
I'm curious about (2) and why people chose to restrain themselves to futures which offer a much narrower subset of products from which to chose? Seems like a hard way to account build, but perhaps understandable for reasons of there being lots of supporting software and less headaches in the setup.
Has anyone moved between multiple approaches and have any thoughts to bounce?
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