Many people are haters. There are plenty of people out there that say you can’t make it. Now, two possibilities: Or I am one of the outliers that actually can make it, or people just complain too much. It could also be I am delusional. It could also be a combination of them all. But I think it’s more that people can’t stop complaining.
How has the portfolio done today: Continuing Trades (Open Before Today):
TQQQ Covered Call.
100 Shares TQQ @ 95.2 (long)
Raw Daily P&L +$608
100 TQQ JUL27’20 95 CALL @ 7.98 (short)
Raw Daily P&L: -$563
UVXY Jul10’20 29.5 CALL (short)
Raw daily P&L $14
Opened today:
None.
Closed Today:
None
Observations:
Some stock prices are not about fundamentals anymore, but about FOMO. Think of Tesla, or SHOP. It would be interesting to see if in a couple of years, the trends that we have seen developing in the last months lead to a type of investing that is not based in value anymore, but towards a general philosophy towards company valuation in which “this company is cool” is a better indicator of stock price outperformance than other metrics that call more for a fundamental view of investing. This might not be too far off, considering the new generations that will be holding the power to drive valuations via selling and buying are also the generations that are criticized for buying avocado toast for €10 just because it looks cool. I was just reading an article on the FT calling the end of fundamental investing, and to be honest, I could not agree more. The idea of trying to predict the future based on a sheet of Excel is so unnatural that it is downright laughable.
University. Three more days, two more exams, and I am done. Right now, most of my time has been gone to university.
Had a presentation by another prop trading firm in Amsterdam. They require a little bit more of a programming background, but I think I can handle the challenge.
How has the portfolio done today: Continuing Trades (Open Before Today):
TQQQ Covered Call.
100 Shares TQQ @ 95.2 (long)
Raw Daily P&L +$20
100 TQQ JUL27’20 95 CALL @ 7.98 (short)
Raw Daily P&L: -$43
UVXY Jul10’20 29.5 CALL (short)
Raw daily P&L $14
Opened today:
None.
Closed Today:
None
Observations:
VIX is doing funny things.
I have been talking about how I want to engage with my own trading, because of the high returns that I could possibly get from it. But even if that were true, even if I could reach a high a high return percentage, it does not make me more money that finding a part-time job at a trading firm to later convert that in a career path for a couple of years. My initial capital is a bit too small. So why not just go play for the big players and start my journey there?
Honesty: for yourself, for others. One of the only things that really matters. Honesty.
University. Two more days, two more exams, and I am done. Right now, most of my time has been gone to university.
Spent some time looking at software interviews at Jane Street. They have some really good content, and they are now in my watchlist of companies to work for in a near future.
How has the portfolio done today:
Continuing Trades (Open Before Today):
TQQQ Covered Call.
100 Shares TQQ @ 95.2 (long)
Raw Daily P&L +$169
100 TQQ JUL27’20 95 CALL @ 7.98 (short)
Raw Daily P&L: -$147
UVXY Jul10’20 29.5 CALL (short)
Raw daily P&L -$3
Opened today:
None.
Closed Today:
None
Observations:
I have to be careful when applying for firms. I don’t want to get locked out from investing/trading on my own terms if some of them have weird compliance requirements.
I am setting up a tracking system to see how I am improving in the necessary interview skills needed for trading. What doesn’t get measured, does not get done.
How has the portfolio done today:
Continuing Trades (Open Before Today):
TQQQ Covered Call.
100 Shares TQQ @ 95.2 (long)
Raw Daily P&L +$76
100 TQQ JUL27’20 95 CALL @ 7.98 (short)
Raw Daily P&L: -$58
Opened today:
None
Closed Today:
None
Observations:
My paper trading account is a lot smaller, mirroring my real buying power. Many of the positions I had opened before are not possible in this new portfolio due to margin requirements. I need to do therefore two things: (1) learn more about margin requirements at IBKR and (2) come up with strategies that require very low, to almost none, margin.
