Turning amateur trading into business?
I have never traded real money. However, for the past three years, I have studied stock trading and developed my trading strategy on stock trading simulators, such as investopedia. My last investopedia's portfolio, which I started in April of 2015 (just 10 months ago) with initial virtual cash of $1mln, currently has an account value of almost $6mln. and annual return of almost 1,000% (mostly US stocks; long/short only; mostly trend following / momentum with using technical / fundamental screens, developed by myself at finviz and tradingview; trading in real time, on real stock prices, and with real data). This accomplishment has impressed me so much that I have decided to make it a business (I'm in Boston area). I am looking for starting financing of $1mln. What kinds of companies might be interested in funding such initiatives? Whom would you suggest me to contact first?
P.S. please, if you can:) refrain from irrelevant responses, such as why don't you find a trader job first, or why don't you get a loan from bank, relatives, or etc.
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Nobody is interested; you should avoid contacting anyone.
There.
Do that with a reasonable amount of money 50-250k -> trade a prop firm for a couple years ->go to hedge fund trade for a few years -> leave start your own it will be easy to raise money if you traded well all those years.
I simply can't reconcile how you could have dedicated three years of your life playing on Investopedia's stock simulator (as good as it is), proving to yourself that you could make profits from the market - and you have not yet opened a trading account or made a trade with anything other than Monopoly Money.
If you open a Crowdfunding page with a $1,000,000 target based on a three year simulation account - all you are going to get is the same question asked in different ways:
Why did you not convert to real trading after proving to yourself that you had a workable strategy? Is it because you are afraid of loosing money? If so, why should I give you my money?
If you truly have developed a trading strategy that has yielded 600% over three years, use your savings or take out a loan and build it up slowly. Once you begin to make real trades with real money, you will begin to experience emotional responses that often bankrupt new traders (and older ones as well).
The reality is you have no experience trading real money. You have never felt the feeling of elation associated with a winning trade, nor the feelings of doubt and self-questioning after experiencing several losses.
I'm sorry, but I don't think you have what it takes to be a trader. I certainly know you do not have what it takes to manage other people's money.
I don't have to have trading experience in order to figure out myself, i.e. my attitudes and reactions to winning/losing money. We regularly win and lose money, big and small, literally and figuratively, in many areas of life, so I am fully capable to extrapolate such experiences onto what I have not experienced yet.
When I'm looking at a money bill, I'm seeing just a piece of paper skillfully adorned by various technical means. Definitely, by our customs and practices, we attach certain value to this piece of "paper," whether the bill is in material or electronic form; thus, the trick is not to make this "value" a tangible part of your value of who you are. Your personal problem, significantly affecting your performance, is that money is such a big part of your own value, in your own eyes, that, when you're losing a lot, you feel like something really substantial (part of your hand, leg, soul, etc.) is being cut off your body, so you are experiencing much doubt, sorrow, pain and, as result, greatly distorting your thought process (read Kahneman on fast and slow thinking), aggravating your mental biases, and worsening your trading performance even further. And when you're winning a lot, you feel like your own value is skyrocketing; hence, your emotions and biases hit you, and consequently your performance, again and again... My advise for you (if you can:) - in your mind, keep a good distance between the value of who you are and values of any "attachments..."
Summarizing, your remark about me is irrelevant, since when I'm losing, I'm not in pain; and when I'm winning, I'm not elevated. I'm just continuing to keep up with my preplanned strategy, where real results, and not my emotions or perceptions, are the only basis for making changes into the strategy.
What the fuck are you talking about? I'm hoping you got really high and wrote this.
This is the exact reason as to why it is best you stay away from the markets. When I see oil priced at $28 per barrel, the Chinese economy bouncing off circuit breakers and SPX futures bouncing around -3%, I know before I walk into the office that I better give my traders a pep talk before the opening bell. I can share their fear, their emotions, their concerns that all will not be OK with the financial markets in 2016. I share an emotional bond with my traders, a professional relationship built on mutual respect and trust.
When a client looses a significant amount of money during a market correction, I'm able to speak with that client in a way that they appreciate, explaining my point of view and suggesting they hold on for another few weeks. When the market bounces back, the client introduces me to new business and our professional relationship grows stronger.
I know that you may not be able to feel emotions yourself, but if you want to work in the financial markets, you are going to have to learn them pretty fast. You might be able to trade by shutting off all emotions, perceptions (sic) and using only results to alter your strategy - but nobody else trades like that and you are going to consistently trade against the trend, loosing capital.
The reality is you will never make money trading the financial markets. You do not have the personal skills, emotional intelligence or aptitude to gain the trust of investors. The only thing you feel will make you a good trader is the same thing that will bankrupt you and your Mom.
I do however appreciate the time you took to analyse my trading skills and put together such a detailed and well written post. In return I have sourced the career advice you originally came here for:
http://www.emaxhealth.com/11406/34-best-and-10-worst-jobs-adults-autism
You will note that "Market Trader" falls under the "Worst Jobs for Adults with Autism". The good news is that Data entry specialist is ranked quite high which probably explains the three years of simulator trading.
Did your therapist tell you to get a hobby or something? This reeks of Asperger's.
No one will fund you, use your own money or take out a loan. Even starting with 50k at “1000%“ annualized return, you should have no problem supporting yourself and growing your own seed capital.
If you can genuinely get those returns for a couple years, you should have no problem finding people to fund you or a broker to allow you leverage up.
If you know how to double/triple/quadruple 1m in less than a year, it is stupid to do the same with 50k. Or putting it another way, if there are those who are willing to commit 50k, there are also those who will give $1mln - it's just a matter of time to find them...
No one. Anytime anyone has ever discussed their personal trading account (real not fake money), my questioning is generally geared toward finding out what their risk management and the fuck-ups they managed to fuck themselves into were and what they learned from it. Point being, this game is NOT about being the best winner or timing the market well or picking the best performers... It's a war of attrition, surviving the losses, taking the hits, accepting where you're failing, staying objective enough to realize when you are not failing and to keep trucking forward. When you have real money on the line, that's the only time you'll feel that adversity.
I've been playing "Risk, The Game of Global Domination" for years now and almost always accomplish my goal of global military domination. I'm really good at it and have impressed myself to the point that I've decided to actually take over the world. Now, I've never actually led a government or an army, or ever even been in the armed forces, but I'm really good at Risk. I'm looking for where I can acquire tanks, warships, fighter planes, and people to actually fight for me. Whom should I contact first about assembling an army to begin global domination? P.S. please, if you can:) refrain from irrelevant responses, such as why don't you learn military tactics first, or why don't you take over a country with an existing army, or etc.
Happened to you too?? That's crazy because I was just playing monopoly the other day, and I fucking killed it.. I've been calling people all day trying to find someone who will give me a string of hotels, so I can unleash my business prowess onto the world and eventually run for president.
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