My Background
I’ve been trading full time since 2000 when I was 23. Prior to that, I had been dabbling since I was 15.
I was hand drawing charts between other distractions of any teenager and placed my first ‘trade’ 3 days after my 18th birthday. I purchased some shares outright and got a nice pretty certificate through the post. The shares were bought at £0.54. Looking back, I was most likely suffering from very minor panic attacks daily as the price went from £0.54 to £0.48 almost immediately. Maybe two weeks later it was £0.58 - then £0.61. When it went past £0.70 - I was in a different type of panic.
The next few months were fitful and I don’t recall sleeping or doing anything other than rushing home from college to phone my...
Articles
My Background
Growing up in suburban NW London, by the time I was taking my ‘A’ Levels, I had absolutely no idea what career I wanted to pursue. Through lack of any inspiration, I was signed up to City University (a Polytechnic in those days) to do a foundation course in accountancy. With all due respect to the number crunchers of the world, I’m sure it’s a wonderful career, but it just wasn’t for me. My parents noticed an ad’ in a paper: ‘Domestic & International Metal Traders require a trainee’. Apart from being in Kentish Town, it sounded exotic and that was my intro’ into the world of trading.
After a couple of years there I moved onto the London Metal Exchange (LME) and, at 20 years old, found myself transferred to New York for a...
My Background
Last month I turned 40. I have spent my life in equal thirds in Germany, New Zealand and the UK. Initially I qualified as a chartered accountant in NZ. But since the age of 25 I have always worked as a contractor, a freelancer or just independently in some form. I have tried and failed and tried and succeeded at quite a few things. I developed a habit of putting money to the side when the ‘sun was shining’, and that’s allowed me to get involved in various opportunities and to have a bankroll when needed.
Since August 2013 I have been trading full-time once again. In the two years since then, I have not made any profits from trading. I have not lost a lot either – I have approximately gotten to the point where I am...
My Background
Wow…so where do I start? Those of you who know me on here know me as ‘chronictrader’. (Don’t ask me where that name came from – I put Chronic in everything!) Those in ‘real life’ know me as Mike. At the grand old age of 24, I am probably one of the younger traders on here and work full time as a Management Consultant. It is a very broad profession, but summed up nicely in this quote: “A consultant is someone who saves his client almost enough to pay his fee and talks enough sensible nonsense to sell on more work”. I am the oldest of 3 boys, love football and love the gym – I always have a protein shake… or two with some green tea besides me whilst trading – always helps to feed those brain muscles! And the arms too. From...
My Background
Long ago in a grimy smog stricken slum in Leeds, I decided to become a doctor or dentist in general practice, partly because of my antipathy to working for anyone else and my reluctance to have to crawl my way up through a company, hospital or any institution. In other words, I realised I was leaning strongly to being self-employed. There was no family tradition of being entrepreneurial and I admit the thought never really occurred to me beyond maybe being a small shop keeper, but that needed capital and we didn’t have any. I soon gave up on the idea of medicine and applied for dentistry and, years later, ended up graduating from Newcastle in the freezing North East of England.
Time rolled inexorably on and I became bored...
I was quite shocked when timsk asked me to contribute a Member Profile, considering that I am at the opposite end of the experience spectrum from the other members whose profiles I’ve seen published so far. However, I understand that there are probably quite a few active or not so active members that are in similar circumstances to me. So, veteran members get ready to shake your heads at my mistakes and fellow newbies, nod along with sympathy.
My background
I grew up in Melbourne, Australia. After dropping out of university at the end of my first year of a marketing course, I took some time off to work and travel. It was during my time in the Greek islands that I met a very beautiful Italian girl - but we’ll get to that later. After a...
My Background
Let’s see. Where to begin…
Well, to start, I’m from the States. Grew up and lived the vast majority of my life in the Northeast – Rhode Island and Massachusetts specifically. As a teenager I was heavily into computers, and had originally planned on earning a college degree in computer science. My secondary interest in the markets ended up taking over somewhere along the way, though, and I ended up studying finance instead. That saw me take a job as a junior analyst coming out of school.
My career path since then has been quite convoluted. I wrapped three periods in the employment of Thomson Reuters (originally Thomson Financial) around grad school and a 7 year stint as a full-time volleyball coach. While in the industry I...
My Background
I’m tomorton, Tom for short. I started life in sub-polar North West England. The North West is cold and wet but friendly. I’m now in the sub-tropical South West, which is warm and wet and friendly. It’s also roomy and very laid back.
My early employment was in local government. I was one of those cheery inspectors who come to your workplace and tell you you’re breaking ‘ealth and safety rules. I also used to go round to people’s houses and tell them to play their music quieter, and stop their dog from barking, and stop having a smelly house that sickened the neighbours.
Needless to say, my colleagues and I were welcomed wherever we went and afforded the warmest hostility.
As soon as I’d built up a decent pension pot I...
Well, I have to confess to being very surprised at being asked by Tim to create a short background piece. I haven’t been around T2W much lately, and when I do pop up it’s usually just to shoot somebody down with an acerbic comment or two and then disappear again for another few weeks. Even when I was most engaged and active with T2W a few years ago, I don’t think I was ever the most popular member. I got a few bans for arguing and standing my ground. I like to call a spade a spade and an idiot an idiot.
Karl6666 summed it up best with the quote I use in my signature: 'Why doesn’t anybody like you R_E, is it because you shout?'
My Background
I’m ex-British Forces, that most famous of oxymoron’s, Army Intelligence. I subsequently spent...
My Background
Timsk’s brief was to draw a pen-picture of my trading self – so I’ve attempted to show how I have adopted a trading style to suit my personality and character rather than vice versa. I was born into the post-war baby-boomer generation which benefited from grammar schools, free University, early retirement, easy access to the housing ladder and youthful participation in the 1960s – what a golden age! I spent my early years as a small cog in the Cold War machine having been attracted by an RAF advert showing a fast jet flashing down a Welsh valley at not many feet above the ground. It invited dreamers to cut out the picture and doers to send off the coupon. This I did, and some years later I came to relive that advert for...
My Background
I was raised in Yorkshire, the youngest of three children and had a very happy - yet uneventful - childhood. I left school and headed off to university where I acquired a BA (Hons) in Business Management. I look back at the university years as some of the best years of my life; I met many people and made some wonderful friends, and retain two very close friendships to this day.
My most endearing memory of university was meeting a stunning brunette who, after several futile attempts at getting her to accept a date, succumbed to my then boyish charm. Several years later she became my wife, and we went on to have two children, a girl and a boy now 22 and 19 respectively.
After university, I followed my parents’ path into...
My Background
So my real name is Rob but you don’t have to be a brain surgeon to figure that one out. Also, if you are feeling particularly ‘Miss Marple’, you may have concluded from my handle that I was born in 1970, therefore making me fairly middle aged. Married, 2 children, dog, some chickens, living in a semi-rural location. Work wise I am lucky as I get to choose what I want to do. I do management consultancy/interim management work in my specialist subject of Internet/Telecommunications/Software when I feel like it. I trade when I feel like it. I tend to do one or the other and not both at the same time.
Currently I am on a (roughly) one year assignment somewhere in Europe running a business unit in a turnaround situation for a...
My Background
I was born into a gambling family. My dad and grandfather were Bookmakers back in the 60s & 70s and they were also very successful professional gamblers (mainly horse racing). I used to sit in their back office as a toddler using a toy phone so I could pretend to take/make bets like all the other people sitting around me. Then, when I was a little older, I was on the phones for real to make some extra pocket money.
By thirteen, dad set me up with one of his accounts to bet my own money on the horses and my education went to the next level. It sounds crazy and irresponsible, but they always monitored me closely and I was going to do it anyway….. they wouldn’t have been able to stop me!
By the late 70s I was seventeen and...
My Background
I am a Trade2Win (T2W) home grown lad.
I have no background in trading or technical analysis (TA). My father had no experience in the stock market. He invested some of his savings in the early 1970s and lost most of it when the market crashed in 1974. He did not wait a couple of years for the market to spring back. After watching him go through some pain, I vowed never to invest in the stock market. Luckily, he had some money invested in residential property, so all was not completely lost.
I grew up in Manchester. I am a Manu fan, went to the local grammar school and did science ‘A’ levels. I then went to University College London to study dentistry. I qualified as a dentist and went to work in general practice, which I...
Although I was invited to write an article about myself, I initially thought I didn’t have much to offer. After all, I’m not profitable in my trading, nor have I been around the block as often as many of the more senior members.
But thinking about it, my initial struggle to figure out a method and persevere through sometimes painful mistakes could serve as a cautionary tale for anyone starting out. I thus dedicate this article to anyone who is looking to get into trading. Hopefully, those who walk the walk will appreciate what I have to say as well!
My Background
So who am I? Probably unbeknownst to many T2W members, I was actually born hard of hearing. The struggle of dealing with my hearing growing up and going through public...
It’s with some trepidation that I accepted timsk’s invitation to tell you a little about myself and my trading as it has developed over the years. I hope that this will be the first of many such articles by members - so I will kick off and trust that those who follow have a much more interesting tale to tell.
Before getting into it I want to make it crystal clear that I am strictly an amateur and my trading has never been, nor is today, more than a reasonably profitable sideline. I simply haven’t the balls to even have considered doing it for a living and I doff my cap to those who do.
My background
Here I am then, at the back end of life with nearly fourteen years of retirement under my belt after a working life in HM Customs &...
PM: = Paul Mullen (Interviewer)
MP: = Michael Patak (Trading Scout)
PM: What is a trading scout and what do you do?
MP: As a trading scout I evaluate and monitor recruits who are in our Combine program (similar to the NFL Combine). At the completion of the Combine, I review trade reports and analyze each recruit’s trading methodology to ensure they have adhered to our scouting evaluation form. This review allows me to determine if a trader is prepared to begin trading a live account, which is fully funded by our equity partners.
I also work as a managing trader, in this role I monitor the daily progress traders we have recruited from the Combine who are now trading a live account. In addition to daily monitoring I also work with them...
PM: = Paul Mullen (Interviewer)
JP: = Joel Parker (Tape Reading Trader)
PM: What is it that you do related to trading?
JP: I’m primarily a trader but I do have a service where I educate other traders about price action trading and reading tape.
PM: What is it you trade and how long have you been doing it?
JP: At this point in my trading career, I trade futures – usually the emini S&P and crude; I bounce around a lot between other futures contracts depending on what clients want to look at. I started out trading back in the mid-nineties and at that time I was trading equities, a little longer timeframe, anywhere from a month to three or four months, what you would probably call a short-term investor. I quickly became addicted to...
Lex van Dam stumbled on his first City job almost by accident but there's been nothing accidental about his success ever since. By contrast, he thinks millions of people who believe their money is in safe hands are taking a massive gamble. Now the man whose TV show Million Dollar Traders proved he could teach complete beginners to outsmart the City experts talks to Paul Mullen about all aspects of his trading experience and the launch of his new trading academy.
Paul: = Paul Mullen (Interviewer)
Lex: = Lex van Dam
Paul: How did you get started in the trading industry?
Lex: I was a student in Holland and I really enjoyed student life. I was not in a rush at all to start working full time, but one summer I did some work experience...
Davie Grant is a trader with more than a dozen years' experience. In this interview he shares his personal methods and philosophies for success.
Starting Out
How long have you been trading for?
Approximately 12 years.
How did you first get involved in trading?
I bought some penny shares in a company called "Sleepy Kids" which a tip sheet publication had recommended.
Do you remember your first trades?
Oh Yes! I was doing stuff that I would never dream of doing now. Basically I was following this London "tip sheet" and all its recommendations on "Penny Shares".
What were your first few months like? Were you profitable initially?
Initially I did very well. I had good success with the company "Sleepy Kids", which tripled its share...
John Bartlett, through this interview, provides new traders an excellent direction as they pursue their own development.
Starting Out
How long have you been trading for?
Approximately four years. 1st year foolishly, 2nd year not so foolishly (started to study), 3rd year break even and this year profitably.
How did you first get involved in trading?
My background is financial services, about 10 years prior to finding trading I dabbled in traded options, I lost interest
when it didn't make me rich in a few weeks, I blew my trial bank and forgot
about it, continued selling executive pension schemes and and a friend sent me a
mail shot from someone charging a lot of money to teach spread betting on futures and shares. It started from...
Alpesh Patel is one of the best known traders in the world. In this often light-hearted interview, he shares some of his experience and philosophy.
Starting Out
How long have you been trading for?
Bought gilt edged bonds at age 12 back in 1983. The Chancellor did not call me to thank me for buying Her Majesty's Government debt, but a £100 probably did not save the nation.
How did you first get involved in trading?
Wanted to earn money whilst at school (and whilst my parents toiled 18 hours to send me to a public school) and the idea of company employees toiling to make me money whilst I avoided a paper round all because I bought some stock sounded like a darn good idea. Still yet to get a proper job. Viva capitalism - who has the...
A vastly experienced trader, educator, author, and inventor of the famous 'Ross Hook', Joe Ross took some time out of his busy schedule to talk to Trade2Win.
Starting Out
How long have you been trading for?
46 years.
How did you first get involved in trading?
I was taught by my great uncle Julius.
Do you remember your first trades?
Yes, it was a cotton trade. My uncle had a seat on the cotton exchange.
What were your first few months like? Were you profitable initially?
My first few months I was petrified. But I traded profitably under my uncle's supervision.
Has your trading style changed radically from when you first started?
No! I was taught discipline and self-control. I was taught to find the markets and time frames that...
PM: = Paul Mullen (Interviewer)
BT: = Ben Tippen (US Stock Scalp Trader)
PM: What is a stock scalp trader and what you do?
BT: A stock scalp trader is someone who takes small moves out of the market but with bigger size.
PM: Okay, and when you say small moves in the market with bigger size, what kind of size move are you talking about?
BT: One to three cents.
PM: What kind of size would be involved in that?
BT: That obviously varies, depending on the skill of the scalper, but I would say once you get into a situation to where you make a living out of it, I would say 10,000 shares and then once you've become a bigger player you'd be up to 50,000 to 100,000 shares.
PM: What you said there is a 10,000 share move would be something...
PM: = Paul Mullen
CK: = Christopher Koozekanani
PM: Welcome Chris and thank you for giving your time today. Can I start by asking how long have you been in the industry, and how did you get started?
CK: I guess even since a young child, I have always been very interested in current affairs, what's going on in the world economies, and that sort of thing. That's always been in my mind. My initial career path after high school was I went to Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, got a degree in aeronautical science, and then immediately went into the army. In the army, I flew AH-1S Cobra attack helicopters and was also involved in a maintenance officer type of capacity, so I was flying and I was helping to coordinate and get maintenance...
PM: = Paul Mullen (Interviewer)
AR: = Alan Rich (Stock Trader, Coach & Mentor)
You can listen or download this interview by clicking this link:
Alan Rich Interview mp3
PM: Hello to everyone from Trade2Win, this is Paul Mullen. I've today got Alan Rich with me and we're going to be talking about trading, probably NASDAQ stocks more than anything else. Alan is a coach and a mentor and has been trading a long time. He has his own website and you can contact him there, at www.alanrichtrading.com. We'll be talking today about what's going on. A warm welcome to Alan. I'm glad that you've agreed to do this and I'd just probably like to ask you the first question, and that is why is it you trade NASDAQ stocks?
AR: I think I've been trading...
Veteran member of T2W and site moderator, Mark Williams talked about the past, present and future of his trading career in this exclusive T2W interview.
Starting Out
How long have you been trading for?
Holding shares for 9 years, but only trading seriously for the last 5 years.
How did you first get involved in trading?
My parents were offered Norwich Union shares when they floated, and I brought £150 worth.
Do you remember your first trades?
Yes. I still have nightmares about them now! The strategy was to buy anything that was a takeover target. Very risky.
What were your first few months like? Were you profitable initially?
Mixed results. The profitable trades were more by luck than judgment.
Has your trading style changed...
In one of those "it was all I could do not to actually pinch myself" moments, I had the great pleasure of interviewing former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan last week in front of a "small" audience of 3,000. The event was IMPACT, Schwab Institutional's annual conference, and Greenspan was the opening keynote speaker. He prefers a Q&A format over a speech, and I jumped at the chance to have a "conversation" with him last Monday morning. Some of the most interesting aspects to the conversation were not on stage, but behind the "curtain" in the green room.
Green room redirect
In the green room, after initial pleasantries with Greenspan and our own Chuck Schwab, the first question asked was by Greenspan to me: "Please don't tell me you're...
Steve gives us an insight into the methods he uses for trading and what his trading day is like
How did it all start? (How did you get into trading?)
When I was in college I discovered that a savings account was a guaranteed loser after inflation for me, and a guaranteed winner for the bank. I was an electrical engineering major and was researching potential places to work when I graduated. I started following several technology companies, and watching their stock prices. I wondered what made good companies and what drove the stock prices so I began reading about investing. I found it interesting and investing became one of my life long passions.
How did you learn to trade? (Are you a self-taught trader or did another trader/mentor...
Roger Middleton is an experienced trader who focuses on the equity markets. His insights, however, are applicable to traders of all kinds.
Starting Out
How long have you been trading for?
8 years
How did you first get involved in trading?
I was made redundant in 1992, and was in danger of losing everything, so decided that the ability to generate a second income which no one else could take away once I was back on my feet was a priority. It was what my daughter called my "get out of jail free" card.
Do you remember your first trades?
First trade was Tadpole Technology at 200 (down from over 400). Bought because I thought it couldn't go any lower. Next day it went to 250 and I thought how clever I was. Eventually sold at 180 for a...