Trading – A life long journey
This posting was recently brought to my attention. It originates from an international trading site and is repeated here verbatim. Trader John lists in point form the 38 steps it has taken him to become a successful and profitable trader. I think this is a very pertinent article as it outlines in a simple yet […]
The extinction of an industry?
The financial planning industry could be forced into some major changes as a result of the government’s response to the financial crisis and the collapse of financial advice firms such as Opes Prime and Storm Financial. ASIC has recommended that the majority of remuneration practices currently used by the financial planning industry be abolished. This […]
Making hay while the sun shines
The old saying about ‘making hay while the sun shines’ applies as much to trading and actively investing in the markets as it does to making hay in the spring time for farmers or other life endeavours, hence the saying. Farmers know that each year in the spring time is the ideal time to make […]
Why would you trade?
This is an extremely important question and one to which the majority of investors/ traders do not give sufficient thought. Successful traders understand with absolute clarity why they trade. Why you trade must be the subject matter of the mission statement in the trading plan you are going to write. Your purpose for trading is […]
Achieving trading competence – part 4
The ultimate goal for the trader and active investor is to reach the point where trading becomes automatic. At this level all trades are simply executed according to a plan and the rules of their system(s) have become internalised to the extent that they are adhered to flawlessly, consistently and objectively without hesitation or reservation. […]
Achieving trading competence – part 3
This week we begin to look at how to get from trading incompetence to trading competence. That is, moving ‘above the line’ on our competence matrix as shown in the figure below in order to achieve consistency and objectivity in our trading. Through trading in a disciplined and mechanical approach we are now able to […]
Achieving trading competence – part 2
Typical attributes of the Unconscious Incompetence level that we discussed last week include relying on the advice of others as the basis for making trading decisions (including brokers, the media, hot tips, chat rooms, newsletters and forums – typically referred to as ‘market noise’), and having no clearly defined and unambiguous strategy, system or trading […]
Achieving trading competence
Following on from the theme we have been discussing in the past 2 blogs on the differences between well recognised societal paradigms and how they differ from a market paradigm, let’s move on to discuss the development of trading competence. This topic will feature over the next 4 weeks as we examine the 4 stages […]
Discretionary or Mechanical?
Part 2 – Mechanical: The dictionary definition of mechanical reads: “like a machine, as if acting or doing without conscious thought.” Unlike the discretionary trader, a mechanical trader uses a set of unambiguous rules to guide his or her actions in the market. These rules determine: o when to buy and sell o what to […]
Discretionary or Mechanical?
Part 1 – Discretionary: Discretion is defined as: “freedom or authority to act according to one’s judgment”. Statistically most investors use discretionary decision making processes in the market rather than mechanical processes. Unfortunately, very few discretionary traders have longevity in the market and hence you could conclude that they don’t have an edge. A discretionary […]