Trading Financial Markets

The journal that follows is dedicated to my beautiful and wonderful wife who has tolerated and supported me through my education and development as a trader. May she be forever blessed by my continued success.

I have spent a great deal of time learning to trade financial markets. My initial venture was because it looked easy. My goal was to make my life portable - trading from where ever I wanted to be - needing only a fast, dependable internet connection. I did not want to join an internet-room and listen to someone else's call, but rather to direct myself.

First problem - not easy. In fact it turned out to be the most difficult thing I've ever attempted. Only my own insane stubbornness and my wife's patient support kept me from throwing in the towel many times, else I certainly would have failed. I was training for a new career, facing grueling months and years of studying and testing myself, self-motivated education, tuition costs, and oceans of frustration. Success was painfully slow and marginal with many setbacks. In addition, trading isn't graded on a curve. Even if I do better than 95% of other traders doesn't mean I pass the class. Historical odds still favor a failing grade if profit is the measurement. Losing less than my peers won't suffice because I'm not trading for fun but profit.

Second problem - I compete against others with years and years of experience, fund managers with the immense capital of many others, super computers, staffs of market gurus and programmers, direct access to exchanges. And recently very sophisticated high-frequency computerized trading - now accounting for a majority of trade volume. This barely existed until just a few years ago and is it a factor? Perhaps yes, depending on my current technique. But I may never know the truth. And now that big financial institutions along with the help of governments have stirred up an economic hornet's nest, we have the SEC, CFTC, Fed, congress, and other government agencies doing their best to regulate us out of business. The obstacles we face as individual traders are monumental.

So if you assume that this will be easy you should quit now, find a different passion, something easy like professional sports, and save yourself much grief and money. But I also state that success is possible if you are willing to put in the time and effort. My journal is a reflection of what sustains me and keeps me on track. I enjoy talking about financial markets and economics . . . if you want to discuss, e-mail me.

Good trading - Dave