Why waste your time?

[jinxu]

Also, I started trading after a serious brain injury. Don't know why my family let me start trading... but my neuropsychologist gave me a full day eval – and I started trading shortly after that. A year later the neuropsychologist gave me another day's eval and said she’d never seen anyone improve that much over a years time. “This kind of improvement doesn't happen -- Don’t stop whatever you are doing!” [Trading real money made me pay attention, and that is the bigger part of what heals your brain.]

So “why even bother?”

There may be as many reasons as traders.

I have some brain damage too. Then I discovered that some people can become genius from brain damage and is a real phenonmenon.

Not suggesting you should intentionally give yourself brain damage to be a successful trader.

 

[themickey]

With individual stocks, how do you protect against a market meltdown - say 2008 or 2011 scenario? ...

There will be warning signs. The market will not fall off a razor edged cliff.
Volatility will begin to ramp up most often failing a nuclear strike on the White House totally out of the blue. Even then, knowing this market, it will go up again, wouldn't surprise me.

 

[ironchef]

There will be warning signs. The market will not fall off a razor edged cliff.
Volatility will begin to ramp up most often failing a nuclear strike on the White House totally out of the blue. Even then, knowing this market, it will go up again, wouldn't surprise me.

I don't know, according to some analysts on CNBC, the warning signs have been there on and off since 2013.

 

[johnnyrock]

If 5% of traders are successful, meaning they report trading as the majority of their income, why would you even bother?

5% means 5 out of 100 and its only the majority not all of their income. Meaning they can make 20k a year from trading and 10k a year from something else. That would be eligible for part of that 5% but is that what you expect, if! You are successful?

If you are part of that 5% is that what you envision? Also how many hours do you work, technically? If you are successful, meaning you are in that 5%, and you work 80 hours a week would you be happy with, 20, 30,40 or 50 thousand a year?

Having a successful restaurant probably has similar odds and I am not a good cook!

 

[sle]

I don't know, according to some analysts on CNBC, the warning signs have been there on and off since 2013.

You have to take those warning signs seriously! They successfully predicted 22 out of the last 4 recessions.

 

[speedo]

You have to take those warning signs seriously! They successfully predicted 22 out of the last 4 recessions.

 

[Turveyd]

You have to take those warning signs seriously! They successfully predicted 22 out of the last 4 recessions.

Your ownly supposed to remember the ones they got right, they're kinda counting on this.

 

[Handle123]

I spent a decade eating shit, 70+ hour weeks and not even off on holidays.
If you are not willing to sacrifice even five years, you don’t deserve to be a professional trader.

I don't know anyone who has not had same or far more time spent to achieve to become consistent.

When so many are saying 5%, I believe the 5% are at end of the year they didn't lose money, but most of the percentages are not making huge money. I an thinking 3-4% are breaking even or making under $20k, a whole lot of work to be making a whole lot less than many think. The guy who has a $20k account has a much better shot of huge percentage returns than another with 5 million account. The numbers mess with your head for one, and many will diversify which in a way loses percentages.

I often wonder what the percentages of Hedge funds that actually hedge? Bet that figure is very low. Hedging is very expensive in terms of outlay of account funds between margins and options, options don't go one for one till expiration, but in my case, I have extreme low winning percentages in futures, so hedging is very necessary.

I had a very good job after the military 3 year hitch, I took more a philosophical approach to trading, me against me on how to pay/play the game. I never realized how addictive this would become to not lose money. I still put in 70 hour weeks, but it all automation and seldom watch it.

 

[ironchef]

You have to take those warning signs seriously! They successfully predicted 22 out of the last 4 recessions.

Not bad, about the same as my options win rate.

 

[ironchef]

I often wonder what the percentages of Hedge funds that actually hedge? Bet that figure is very low. Hedging is very expensive in terms of outlay of account funds between margins and options, options don't go one for one till expiration, but in my case, I have extreme low winning percentages in futures, so hedging is very necessary.

You guessed it. According to Yahoo Finance, they mostly long FAANG to get their returns.