Trading your own Account?

Does anyone trade there own personal account here? I eventually want to start trading my own account, I understand its extremely hard.

If you dont work at a trading firm what are some tips to getting to the point where you can develop the skills to trade your own account?

What is the minimum you should start with, would starting with 10k be way to thin? What are the best markets for a beginning trader to start in?

Obviously some markets can be harder to trade than others, whats a market you feel that can be beaten more than others right now?

 

I'm sure a lot of people trade with their own money. I started an options trading account with only $10k. Yes you're limited in what you can trade if you want to have good risk management/capital allocation but it can be done. I'm not trying to make millions or live off my trading though, its just something I do in addition to my day job for fun.

 
BTbanker:
You need 25k to day trade.

No you don't... there are plenty of brokers out there that will offer you the leverage needed to get around the PDT rule for equities.. you can also trade futures with as little as what is required to attain leverage from your broker (sometimes in the $250-$500 range).

"Well, you know, I was a human being before I became a businessman." -- George Soros
 

Unless your PA is in the hundreds of thousands, your personal trading account isn't going to be the answer to the biggest risk question.

Interviewers want to know you have taken steps that require a relatively small investment of your time to learn more about the career path you are about to embark on.

For good play accounts get yourself one of the FX broker demos. They are generally very good (i suggest oanda).

 

I'm a freshman so I usually have time to check up on my portfolio every little while. My options portfolio is up 104% which is pretty damn sweet. Maybe that's what should get into in the future.

 

I think the question was directed for people at work.

Pretty rarely during trading hours. I track some of my personal investments on my bloomberg launchpad monitor.

It's too busy during the trading day and compliance restrictions make it difficult. Most of my portfolio is in tax-advantaged investments, so not much choice besides mutal funds. buy and hold. yawn.

 

I used to trade my own account fairly actively while I was in banking, actually moreso than I do now. I did a lot of event based stuff, so I did occasionally trade during work. A few of the other analysts also played the market, and in our down time we chatted and ran some public companies through our valuation models and things to find opportunities.

We did clear all our trades through the automated compliance system, but I still don't think they would have liked to know we were trading at work.

- Capt K - "Prestige is like a powerful magnet that warps even your beliefs about what you enjoy. If you want to make ambitious people waste their time on errands, bait the hook with prestige." - Paul Graham
 

I'd be very cautious though. If you began trading, say, since Feb/March of 2009, it isn't hard to post good returns.

What you could do is create your own company (which is fairly cheap) and just trade under your own name. This way you have a permanent and legitimate record of your trading record, which you can show to other trading companies if the opportunity arises (you could also just use your own account and not incorporate yourself, but it looks nice and has some benefits).

So for starters, I'd start raising money from friends and family if you and they are comfortable and build up a track record. Also start networking with prop shops and what not to see they'd be interested. Also a good way to build a network that you can come back to when you have a longer record.

Good luck!!

 
GoodBread:
derivstrading, what if someone was daytrading ED spreads? Wouldn't that help for someone trying to get on a STIR desk?

btw, checked out your blog again, it's quality. SB for you.

I think the benefits of doing that is you get to know a market a bit more than just reading the FT if you know what I mean.

In an interview it allows you to show a bit more knowledge than the average candidates and discuss your trades. Therefore if you are not just punting around it will work in your favor. However, as something on your CV it is not overly significant. Only once you get grilled on it does it become something.

 

Everything I have heard is that trading from your own account gives you a boost in interviewing. Ive also heard that shops dont care much about how you actually did, obviously for your own sake you would want to be positive. But, they care more about the experience you got from it and how it helped you make the decision to want to go pro.

Follow the shit your fellow monkeys say @shitWSOsays Life is hard, it's even harder when you're stupid - John Wayne
 

If it's options, I recommend OptionsXpress. I don't use it personally, but some of my friends do and it was recommended by a professor for its easy-to-use mock trading.

"All I've ever wanted was an honest week's pay for an honest day's work."
 

nobama, its not a bad idea but i think he wants to learn to trade, not have someone trade for him!

haha OP, i think your best bet would be to hit up the fx markets. 24 hours a day--just pick a currency you like and dig into it. if you like your sleep then see what currencies trade 6pm-11pm or something like that.

also, if youd rather trade on the equities/options side or something like that, just trade a foreign market like the nikkei, LSE, etc...

im not big on time zones so i cant really recommend one off the top of my head..

 
leveRAGE.:
nobama, its not a bad idea but i think he wants to learn to trade, not have someone trade for him!

Thanks Nobama, but leveRAGE hit the nail on the head here...

leveRAGE.:
haha OP, i think your best bet would be to hit up the fx markets. 24 hours a day--just pick a currency you like and dig into it. if you like your sleep then see what currencies trade 6pm-11pm or something like that.

I'll look into it, but I'm definitely interested in hearing about other markets.

leveRAGE.:
also, if youd rather trade on the equities/options side or something like that, just trade a foreign market like the nikkei, LSE, etc...

im not big on time zones so i cant really recommend one off the top of my head..

If someone could chime in on this, I'd greatly appreciate it.

 

The ASX opens around 8pm EST, Hang Seng around 10pm. Those seem to be good bets given your time frame. FX is 24 hours as leveRAGE mentioned and it's good fun.

People like Coldplay and voted for the Nazis, you can't trust people Jeremy
 

I trade spot FX in my free time. I use Oanda.com and have had a good experience with them.

They also have a great app that works really well on the iPhone (not sure if they have it on other platforms)

They Yen would be really active at that time (6-11) as that is right in the heart of the asian trading session. But honestly I have found that the Euro is always hot and the aud/usd as well as usd/jpy are particularly heavily traded at that time.

Also, like you I opened my account with 800 bucks, so far my realized P&L is 18%. It ts a battle out there though good luck!

Btw i got into because I got a FX job and thought it would help me learn the flows of the market. It definitely has.

 

Aspernatur consequatur eaque ut sit magnam. Eum nihil earum nulla eaque delectus nulla quo. Dolor enim vel corrupti ea fugit. Ab assumenda nostrum ab voluptas.

Aut asperiores quod ratione. Ea voluptate quia inventore. Ad natus et sit pariatur aut voluptate dolore. Sint odit in deleniti enim quae. Et magni libero beatae ut aliquid eum. Deleniti eaque iusto ea delectus.

Provident a in sed aliquid debitis. Pariatur asperiores accusamus iusto ipsam iste impedit doloribus. Aliquam error autem et est.

Ut maiores natus corrupti soluta aperiam. Doloribus quia laborum nemo ad. Modi quaerat voluptas repellendus.

 

Fugit eum minima veritatis velit sunt. Quia modi praesentium expedita esse est. Aut dolorem rerum est itaque dolore officiis. Voluptate sequi qui rerum suscipit quod id suscipit. Excepturi recusandae atque recusandae.

Et fugit in aspernatur minima quas sapiente laboriosam. Et qui voluptas molestias officiis voluptates. Nostrum omnis modi quia excepturi. Iure iure optio ullam temporibus consectetur alias qui.

At nostrum placeat dolore natus qui qui quasi. Possimus ut ut harum sit numquam dolores. Et delectus suscipit cum nemo.

"All I've ever wanted was an honest week's pay for an honest day's work."

Career Advancement Opportunities

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Jefferies & Company 02 99.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 19 98.8%
  • Harris Williams & Co. (++) 98.3%
  • Lazard Freres 02 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 03 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Harris Williams & Co. 18 99.4%
  • JPMorgan Chase 10 98.8%
  • Lazard Freres 05 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.7%
  • William Blair 03 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Lazard Freres 01 99.4%
  • Jefferies & Company 02 98.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 17 98.3%
  • Moelis & Company 07 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 05 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Director/MD (5) $648
  • Vice President (19) $385
  • Associates (86) $261
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (13) $181
  • Intern/Summer Associate (33) $170
  • 2nd Year Analyst (66) $168
  • 1st Year Analyst (202) $159
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (144) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”