Hi Signalcalc,
Thanks for all the questions. Bit tired here on Friday night but hope they're of use. Cheers
What has made you a successful trader (assuming that you are successful)?
Experience/time. There's no real shortcut. Having mentors will help drastically and for those not fortunate enough to be in the industry, there's some fantastic books available that really are the next best thing. My suggestion for any new trader is Trading in the Zone by Mark Douglas.
What is your trading style (scalper, position, swing)?
I guess I would be classified as a swing trader. Typical trade lasts from few hours to few weeks.
What analysis are your strategies based on (fundamentals, technical, chart patterns, price action)?
Price action is at the heart of my trading. Unfortunately in my line of work people want a 'clever' narrative to go with the trades so I tend to have some fundamental views to support positions. Price action tho. ps. Chart patters=price action.
Are you a manual trader, an algo trader, a quant trader, discretionary, system, maybe a combination of some of these?
Manual. its a blurred line between discretionary and system. If you're talking about trade entry/exit then it's discretionary. The risk management is very systematic.
Do you trade on instinct or a strict set of rules or a combination?
Combination. It's rules but no 2 entries are the same.
What are your favourite or most reliable sources of information?
Trade prices.
What are your worst or most laughable sources of information?
Sellside macro analysts.
How long did it take you to find the path to being profitable, did you learn some (hard) lessons along the way and what were those lessons?
I
was fortunate that I was on a market making desk while learning so the pnl at the end of the day often didn't tell the whole story as far as one's trade success throughout the day. Definitely learnt some hard lessons. Too many to list but one that comes to mind is: It's better to assume you're going to be wrong that right.
How many strategies did you try before settling on something that provided consistent profits?
If by strategies you mean trade entry and exit strategies, 100s. Eventually you realise it doesn't really matter what your entry/exit strategy is. The strategy that matters is your strategy for making sure you stay in the game.
Do you trade Forex, Stocks, Indices, ETF/ETN's or a combination?
Over the years I have traded pretty much every liquid market. I have been a fixed income specialist in recent years though.
Do you diversify or do you stick to favourite instruments?
happy to trade any market.
Do you trade proprietary strategies or strategies that are in the public domain?
It's all in the public domain but you'd have to walk an identical path to me to come to the same point. That's unlikely!
Do you think the markets have changed during your trading career and in what way, how long is your trading career?
13 years. Yes changed a lot. Localised volatility with very little macro volatility. The system is less stable than prior to the crisis. The buffers (banks and HFs) can't stop things like they used to. More 'flash crashes' as a consequence.
Have you adapted your trading style to changing market conditions, have you recognised if/when markets change?
Yeh I take less risk than I used to. I gravitate to trending markets. Stocks have been the game over the past 5 years or so. Fixed income prior to that.
Do you trade all market conditions, in what conditions do you make the most losses?
Yep, I wish i was better at recognising market changes in realtime. As a result I tend to lose money in range bound markets. I rely a lot on momentum.
What is your equity curve like and what are your max drawdowns, what has been your longest losing streak and did you change anything during those periods or just stick with what you were doing?
Equity curve has shallow prolonged drawdowns and large upside volatility. Similar to that of a long gamma portfolio. I try not to change too much during drawdowns which have lasted over a year. Losing years happen. 
