Does anyone make a living out of the stock market?

[tommog]

Hey,
Quite a broad question really, but i'm just interested to know how many of you trade markets whether it be SB, cdf's, forex, futures, shares etc etc full time as a private investor/trader and get decent enough returns to live off of.
I'd be really interested to hear how you started in terms of account size, how much you knew of the markets etc before you started.
Not only would i (and many other new 'newbies') find it interesting, it would put into perspective what i can expect to get out of trading on the basis of what others have achieved.

Thankyou

 

[Mr. Charts]

I have traded for a living since 1999 and started with £3500.

 

[bigtimetrader]

I have been a full-time day trader of the Nasdaq stock market since 1996. I have made enough to finance all of my investment properties through my trading. Now I day trade and manage those properties.

 

[dc2000]

I have traded since 1987 started part time my first shares were Euro tunnel and Bic. since 2000 I have traded full time in Futures mainly Dow, Dax and FTSE I currently take circa 6,000 points per year. when I went full time I knew nothing of derivatives and promptly lost half of my pot through over trading.
These days I get asked the same question all the time "how much can I make?" my answer is " how much can you afford to loose?" only when you know how much you have available for margin can you work out a money management and trading strategy. you will also need to find your own trading style that you are comfortable with. Any further help or advice just ask.

 

[Tango]

Dc2000, the question we need to ask is not ''how much can I make'' but how do you make it and can we learn how?''

Lost in admiration

 

[Buk]

I think you'll find those who "make the money" will be reluctant to display that kind of information on a public bb...however, HOW the money is made is a slightly different matter. It involves many, many hundreds of hours of frustration/personal inner wrangling/self study/bloody hard work & strict discipline.

As in any business/occupation, a basic plan (apprenticeship) has to be undertaken & adhered to. You need to define your weaknesses & establish a market/instrument which appeals to your pyche (long term/med term/short term trading)....once you've established your preferred time frame, you'll have to undergo extensive research & market planning to begin a grounding in your craft....this involves both time & money. Sites such as this will accelerate your learning curve & point you in the right direction, but the motivation/drive will come from YOU.

There's no no 'defined' answer as to HOW or whether you'll actually make money, but your attitude/discipline/patience/ability to absorb information & dogged determination will soon highlight the possibilities of progressing in this business.

and it all starts inside your head......if you're looking for the "first day" initiation into your apprenticeship........then start by looking at yourself (psychology) & work up from there..........

sorry if it's slightly off the main (question), but I guess it adds a little flavour into the pot

 

[chump]

To put a more lighthearted view.
I am currently sample trading my position playing system on US Stocks. Yesterday I thought I would try it intraday if an opportunity arose. I entered short at 2.50pm and closed just before EOD. So a good 6 hours monitoring that trade. The trade was 1p a point and netted me 61p so a rate of 10p per hour. I'm expecting a call from Warren Buffet trying to buy me off from challenging him for 2nd richest man in the world..LOL

As an aside if you have no backtesting facility then the Finspread 2 months academy is very useful for live testing a system. Also of course if you generate a set of data from a test and then trade that system at a more realistic position size and get a markedly different set of data then you also have a pointer where to look for the problem.

Cheers

 

[Zenda]

Suggest you listen to the traders that make a living - the more the merrier such as Mr Charts etc - This is not a commercial - please forgive me but you can get a couple of cd's of interviews with traders - from george hallmey at www.clickevents.co.uk worth their weight etc - Z

 

[Uncle]

I would endorse all the above by Buk............there is no shortcut to learning how to trade. For anyone who is taken in by some of the hype "How to get rich quick" by some of the so called tutorials by way of seminars, DVD's, courses on the net etc. Yes some of these may give you pointers, but until you have developed a trading strategy that works for YOU, all the tuition in the world will not bring you success in the markets. The markets, whichever you elect to get involved in, be they stocks, indices, options, futures, spread bets, are fickle, and it is essential you develop your system to suit YOU. We are all individuals, and a system that works for Trader A will not necessarily work for Trader B. There are many reasons why one system doesnt work for all, due to our differing personalities, amount of captial available, market being trading, and the knowledge gained along the way.

I am sure most successful traders will confirm they didnt just walk into the business and hey presto, success overnight............no it is a long road, with many ups and downs along the way. Then one of continuous monitoring and analysis of those trades that didnt succeed.........in other words one never stops learning, for the markets are continually changing.

John

 

[darktone]

HOW the money is made is a slightly different matter. It involves many, many hundreds of hours of frustration/personal inner wrangling/self study/bloody hard work & strict discipline.

MAN!!!! aint it the truth !!

Im kinda at the eek stage myself

 

[LevII]

I have traded for a living since 1999 and started with £3500.

Mr Charts,

It would be interesting, to me at least, to hear a little more about how you made it. I'm not asking for your methods, just how you started, what you traded, with whom etc.

LII

 

[Mr. Charts]

Someone else has commented on clickevents traders interviews - I wouldn't have mentioned them myself lest I would have been accused of advertising - even though I didn't receive payment for the interview or on any sales! On the latest volume there are several traders speaking, including myself for 50 minutes, and they are all worth watching, imho.
Lev11 - I'll answer when I get some time; I'm off to my local Regus office to coach someone 1-2-1 in a few minutes.

 

[Naz]

I trade for a living.

Like many it only really clicked in when i traded the US markets,because i feel you have so much more control over your position.I started trading the US with about $20,000 in 1999,previously i had been trading the UK market doing rather well because of the tech boom but all the time realising that the real action was on the Nasdaq.

It was the rip off spreads on some of the tech stocks finally made me seek out the US.

I went down the scalping route because thats the way you seemed to be led in those days.Until i visited a US trader in Vegas who traded with the same firm as me in the city.I noticed that he had a second account on another pc.With this he looked for the longer intra day runs.He also had various ideas for running these moves.

That style of trading enabled me to use my charts and combine it with viewing the action on my level 2 screen.I can look and see what the t/a guys will be looking for but whilst they guess on the next move i can watch it unfolding on the level 2 screen and beat them to the entry.

Needless to say i can time my exits the same way.when the chart is going straight up i can see the action fading first and be out.

I pay little or no spread,trade stocks that move strongly, deal with direct access directly into the market and read moves using a level 2 screen before many other players can see it on their chart.

Now thats an edge that i cant get elsewhere and thats why i can make a living out of it.

Now i've got to go because i've got to teach a t2w member on live markets today.

 

[LevII]

Mr Charts,

Look forward to it.

Excellent thread, how does one give 'stars' these days?