Trading for People who have a Job

[Spaghetti Code]

the question is: can he manage such a position at work or not?

Realistically, yes, but only if I know something is up. That would mean getting an alert, and pulling up an order. In my case, that would limit me to punching it in on my phone, as I dont feel comfortable doing that on my work laptop. That said, I don't want that to be the common thing. Ideally my orders (and exits) are punched in when I enter the position.

(As an example, If I am presenting in a meeting, or on a VC with others, I can't pause and update my orders.)

 

[deepfkvalue]

I think you're best bet here would be to move your trading over to a VPS. Many trading platforms only work on Windows, so not being at home in front of the computer becomes a problem. However if you moved over to a server, you could install everything you needed for trading on the server, and then use remote desktop connection on your phone to connect to your server while you're at work or generally away from home.

Would highly recommend checking out https://www.ninjamobiletrader.com/
They have a free trial and setup servers immediately.

You could use the VPS for both chart trading and running automated strategies 24/7.

I can't watch screens all day, and several of the trading strategies discussed on this site seem to focus on plays that require a lot of attention. I don't have attention, I have meetings. Up until now, I have been a buy and hold investor. This is the easiest mode of trading, but I am getting more and more conscious that a non-bull year would probably set me back. What I am looking for are plays that work on a weekly or daily cadence.


Aside from selling monthly strangles, what are some other low effort (and lesser return) ways to participate in trading? I can put in a lot of time after hours to learn and understand these approaches, but I can't really watch charts all day. What do traders here do? (or, what positions would you leave open while you went on vacation?)

 

[Nobert]

I should have been more clear, How long should I hold it before I tap out? How long before I consider it a win and exit? I don't have a playbook yet, so I don't know what are reasonable times for each of these kinds of events. Days to months is a high level answer, but I am looking for more of the nitty gritty.

These are the very basic questions of risk management, RRR and overall,- a set of questions, that once answered, defines a - strategy(at least, partially).

That one, you have to create for yourself, through your own effort.

Good luck in hunting

 

[newwurldmn]

Realistically, yes, but only if I know something is up. That would mean getting an alert, and pulling up an order. In my case, that would limit me to punching it in on my phone, as I dont feel comfortable doing that on my work laptop. That said, I don't want that to be the common thing. Ideally my orders (and exits) are punched in when I enter the position.

(As an example, If I am presenting in a meeting, or on a VC with others, I can't pause and update my orders.)

I think you have to stick with “investing.”

Unlevered long term holds. There is nothing worse than dropping 20percent of your account and you can’t do anything (happend at my first job where we had holding period restrictions and I was over levered on a name).

 

[bone]

I've had good luck through the years with GTC OCO limit orders when it comes to exchange supported futures spreads. Both for the profit target and the stop-loss level. Since I'm swing trading my size is very modest and depending on the name, I usually specify five tics but on occasion ten tics for the fill limit. I'm almost always filled at the price. I can only recall a couple times in the past several years when I've had to pay up a couple tics for a fill.

 

[kmiklas]

Any specific ones I should look at?


My rationalization for why I deserve money is I'm offering insurance. It's not an edge, but it is a service I can provide. I think longer dated options (or plays) level the playing field between big dogs and me, because less is known about the future.

Longer-dated anything, really.

 

[guest_trader_1]

what timeframes would you suggest for trading fx; I use 5M and 10M to trade gold intraday but that does not seem to work with fx so have you got any suggestion for me ...

Anything below the daily quote have too much noise and can be unreliable. I don't use any TA to trade so I can't recommend on a time-frame or indicator.
My guess is that if you are planning to use charts and indicators, having too much noise can lead you to wrong signals, so I would avoid time-frames smaller than a day.

 

[Spaghetti Code]

I think you're best bet here would be to move your trading over to a VPS. Many trading platforms only work on Windows, so not being at home in front of the computer becomes a problem. However if you moved over to a server, you could install everything you needed for trading on the server, and then use remote desktop connection on your phone to connect to your server while you're at work or generally away from home.

I have a few servers at home, so I would probably use those. I didn't realize people were running windows on VPS's though, thanks for the tip.

I think you have to stick with “investing.”

Unlevered long term holds. There is nothing worse than dropping 20percent of your account and you can’t do anything (happend at my first job where we had holding period restrictions and I was over levered on a name).

I probably also should have mentioned this too, but I am in a position to automate my trading with a computer, so I can leave a program running in the background. This obviously is not going to have the finesse of a human, but I can set up more complex plans on how to get out of a position incase something goes wrong.

 

[navyelite]

It is very much possible to become a profitable trader with 9 to 5 jobs. It’s important to have a trading style that suits you, if you are busy with your meetings and other work, you can choose swing trading. This trading style has limited time and restricted access to charts throughout the day.

 

[pureequity964]

As forex markets are closed on weekends, you can use your leisure time to learn about forex and trade through mobile phones. It is the least tiring process I think for the person with a job.