Intro Guide to Trading

I was just wondering if anyone knew a guide that teaches basic strategies of trading. I just want to "try" some trades to see how I do and feel. However, I don't want to go in blindly. Yes, I know I should do research first but does anyone know a good and comprehensive guide? Thanks.

 

Speaking of the Japanese Candlestick..We got a Dark Cloud Cover confirmed yesterday. Thus, lets watch the market drop this week. Bought a bunch of FAZ, hopefully it "pays" off.

 
Chim Chim:
Speaking of the Japanese Candlestick..We got a Dark Cloud Cover confirmed yesterday. Thus, lets watch the market drop this week. Bought a bunch of FAZ, hopefully it "pays" off.

Yea, that move didn't go over so well. Haha.

 

OptionsXpress has a ton of great guides to options basic strategies but dont expect much in terms of managing a book of several options and how that affects the portfolios greeks.

NinjaTrader is the futures trading demo that I recommend.

"Oh the ladies ever tell you that you look like a fucking optical illusion" - Frank Slaughtery 25th Hour.
 

I actually have read The Logical Trader by Mark Fisher and it is in no way a beginners book. Furthermore the reader is left in the dark on his ACD Levels that are proprietary.

"Oh the ladies ever tell you that you look like a fucking optical illusion" - Frank Slaughtery 25th Hour.
 

you dont just "play around" doing forex trades. If you want to understand the business you must understand money management first, therefore doing play trades without capital is not worth it. It's like playing techmo bowl as training for playing in the NFL. A good simple book that can help you get started is "Come Into my Trading Room" by Elder. Alot of profressionals will not like this book because his idea generation comes from simple technicals (which isnt how i trade) but the book is good because the guy puts the proper emphasis on money management and stops.

 

Hey figured I would throw this out there, I just started using it for my options and futures class; go to cboe.com then trading tools and do the virtual trading.

That should give you a start to do the things you want.

Hope that helps, gl.

 

....anyone who thinks an MFE or working in equity research gives you an edge trading has never made any money in the business, guaranteed. Just curious, why do you think getting an MFE is anything like risking money in capital markets? And recommending Malkiel? Malkiel believes in investing a portion of your paycheck each month in a diversified set of global equities...that has basically has been a money-losing strategy for the last decade.

 
Bondarb:
....anyone who thinks an MFE or working in equity research gives you an edge trading has never made any money in the business, guaranteed. Just curious, why do you think getting an MFE is anything like risking money in capital markets? And recommending Malkiel? Malkiel believes in investing a portion of your paycheck each month in a diversified set of global equities...that has basically has been a money-losing strategy for the last decade.

w/r/t to your absurd guarantee: I love overconfident ignorant people. Keep believing you know things you don't, kid.

w/r/t MFE: Read more closely-- I never said getting an MFE is like risking money in capital markets. I said get an MFE and work on a desk. In any case, one needs an edge to be a LT profitable prop trader, so where will it come from, if anywhere? (big if). If you're not looking at fundamentals, maybe you're doing statarb or a technical strategy, or tweaking a volatility model for a complex asset. For any of those, you'd better have made your sure data mining and all related inferences were sound. For all but the simpler pairs trading, you're probably going to want quant chops (if your technical strategy doesn't require quant skills, I bet it's not a long-run winner.) Better to have a physics PhD, but an MFE is a step in that direction. I don't know that pure quant strategies can be profitable in the long run, but I don't know that they can't, and there are plenty of people making money on such strategies in the short run.

w/r/t to Malkiel: I don't believe you can disprove a general tendency by noting one strategically chosen example that would seem to weigh against it. Do you? That aside, I don't mean to endorse Malkiel more than to say he provides an intelligent and humbling balance to the hubris of the hundreds of books you could buy (or CNBC shows you could watch, or WSO Baboons you could read) that encourage all, with or without much reflection, to go out and try to beat the market.

Bondarb, I don't know if you're a college sophomore or someone who has made money (luckily or through a real edge) by some prop strategy other than analyzing fundamentals, technicals, or improving a pricing methodology for some asset. I realize the world is bigger than what I've experienced, so maybe I'm leaving something out. (other than front running customers, pocketing the bid/ask spread, and other strategies that are of a different character than prop strategies.) But you do need an edge. Feel free to share more, Bondarb.

 

bwahahah dude just shut up right now please. Bondarb is probably one of the most senior posters on all of WSO.

"Oh the ladies ever tell you that you look like a fucking optical illusion" - Frank Slaughtery 25th Hour.
 
Best Response

...no i am not a college sophomore. And yes, one needs an edge when trading, but that edge can be gotten through old fashioned hard work and discipline and does not require an MFE and certainly dosent require a PHD. If one wants to become a successful trader, start trading...if one wants to be a research analyst or get an expensive degree that impresses your parents then go get an MFE or a PHD but it will not help you become a good trader. I am saying this because I am myself am a successful institutional buy-side trader and because I have worked with some of the best and most respected traders in the World and none had the "edges" you mention. Their edge is and has been iron-clad discipline, un-ending curiosity and devotion to markets, excellent risk-management, etc. And I am not encouraging anybody to just jump in willy-nilly...read my post on how i suggest one start trading and i think you will find that i certainly recommend a rigorous devotion to the craft. Also, please stop trying to sound inteligent by talking about statarb and vol models and the like...it makes you sound like a buffoon..and I trade quite a bit of volatility product with no advanced degree or quantitative model.

 

Qui assumenda ea aut aut. Voluptas nihil hic ipsam officia vitae. Optio ea rerum consectetur et. Qui consequatur necessitatibus recusandae sunt eveniet voluptatem ex. Corrupti itaque ut numquam nisi placeat.

Rerum architecto provident amet qui. Ipsa temporibus cumque aperiam provident amet.

Quia pariatur voluptate est voluptate ratione facilis sint. Facere dolores non odit voluptatibus et suscipit. Rerum aliquam repellat amet. Modi quas minus praesentium ex enim quae provident. Deleniti in ullam delectus nesciunt culpa dolorum quaerat.

Aut deserunt provident asperiores minus repudiandae ut cupiditate minima. Ut in numquam velit accusantium. Est ea quidem non temporibus ullam.

 

Aut corporis voluptates non non dignissimos. Qui et nisi itaque est totam ullam fugit. Debitis quidem vel sequi qui praesentium rerum quisquam. Qui libero tempore neque illo. Rerum tenetur doloremque quia exercitationem. Tempora reprehenderit inventore enim dolor eveniet. Quia distinctio voluptatem incidunt asperiores velit enim inventore.

Consequatur voluptatibus molestiae magni aut ut dolore quaerat qui. Blanditiis adipisci veniam est nobis dolores ea.

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

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
99.0
5
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
kanon's picture
kanon
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
10
Jamoldo's picture
Jamoldo
98.8
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...”