So for my weekly update, to be honest i can't be bothered as i am so tired after a very intensive week, but i will, but this is just going to be more of a general view over the course of the week rather done what i done on a day to day basis, dont want to bore people to death.
Any....it's been a very, very, very good week. it is a steep learning curve but at the end of each day it leaves you wanting more and excited about the next day. so what am i trading? well i am currently specialising in the futures market specifically indices namely the S&P Emini 500. My first choice was the bund but i rather like the S&P as that means i get to sleep in the mornings and not get up till 12pm.GREAT!Anyway it was a good week to learn as the NFP, G20 Summit , PMI all gave it a good opportunity to see first hand how it impacts the stock markets and how it drives/pushes down the stock prices. So the first 2 days we spent getting used to the CQG Trader platform, learning the basics i.e. buy/sell, limit orders, stoploss etc. Over the course of the week we were also taught the technical analysis tools and the fundamentals which can impact market prices. Technicals taught so far include Fibs, RSI, Volume, MA and candlesticks.trying to digest everything isn't easy but I'm loving it. My P'n'L so far has been ok considering it's only been a week...actually a loss on Wednesday, profit on Thursday and would have been profit today had not CQG Sim choked up!
Funny how prop houses ask for degrees and maths bods, i don't have a degree and am the worst at maths but yet i still managed to understand the technicals/fundamentals and made profit, so i ask all you prop houses, why do you ask for a degree or maths background when none of this comes into play when you trade? the only time i used any maths was when i was calculating my profit, but even that was done by CQG for me. One market maker who I applied for a trainee role got me to do a test on matchstick puzzles.........i mean come on, how the hell does this make anyone a good trader?everytime you put a trade on you do a quick mathstick puzzle?and some of the questions were even more ridiculous i.e. if harry came first and peter came second, what colour is there shirt if it wasn't red or blue, i mean WTF?being able to solve puzzles nor having a maths background or a degree is no guarantee that they will make a good trader,if you read New Market Wizards there are many examples of traders from normal backgrounds i.e. no degree, crap at maths but yet still managed to become awesome traders.....one example had this top trader Victor Sperandeo take on 38 trainees, 2 of the candidates couldn't have been any more different from each other, one was a high school drop out who didn't even know his alphabet(bit like me!!!) and the other was classified as a genius, he had an IQ of 188 and was on a show called Jeopardy where he answered every question correct, now in five years only 5 of those trainees made any money, who do you think out of the 2 i just mentioned was one of them? the genius with an IQ of 188 right? WRONG, mr.high school drop out, yes, mr. high school drop out who has no degree, was crap at maths and didn't know his goddam alphabet was one of the five out of 38 trainees who made money, a very large amount too may i add.(NEW MARKET WIZARDS BY JACK D. SCHWAGER, PAGE 265-VICTOR SPERANDEO)
so for all you prop houses out there that i applied to and got rejected on the grounds of not having a degree or being good at maths, i say this........I DON'T HAVE A DEGREE NOR AM I FROM A MATHS BACKGROUND BUT WHAT I DO HAVE IS MOTIVATION AND DETERMINATION, WITH THESE 2 ATTRIBUTES I WILL PROVE TO YOU THAT YOU DO NOT NEED A DEGREE, NOR BE GOOD AT MATHS TO BECOME A SUCCESSFUL TRADER.YOU NEED TO ALL STOP TRYING TO MAKE YOUR COMPANIES SEEM LIKE AN ELITE ESTABLISHMENT WITH YOUR ACADEMIC CRITERIA WHEN WE ALL KNOW ANY TOM, DICK AND HARRY WITH THE RIGHT TRAINING CAN BECOME A SUCCESSFUL TRADER.I mean i heard of a guy who was an estate agent with an architects degree who is now a top trader for a well known prop house in bromley/kent.(sorry guys about the rant, but it is just so annoying when firms ask for these when it has no use what so ever in trading and after being on this training program for the past week this has only reconfirm my beliefs)
so how did it all go? well to be honest i am so glad i am on the program, i have learnt so much in the space of a week, DMA, Fibs, MA's.........i never knew none of this, heard of it but didn't know how it worked.......and that was only a week, still have 4 months to go, yes you can learn or teach yourself this in a book, but what your getting here is direct mentorship and guidance from experienced traders who are also trading at the same time as well as teaching so of course that beats teaching yourself any time of the day ....and i can't wait to start back again on monday.
The parting words for the weekend of one of my colleagues on the same course today- Will, Piers, it has been an excellent week!-what more can i say? more next week................
Keyskill I've learnt this week? Trading Discipline......very very important.
forgot to mention, you are also given the materials and taught the subjects in relation to the SII Derivatives certificate which i am also taking
