Any active traders out there?

Discussion in 'Finance, Investing & Economy' started by bostonsoccermdl, Mar 11, 2005.

  1. bostonsoccermdl

    bostonsoccermdl Moderator
    Staff Member

    Apr 3, 2002
    Denver, CO
    obviously, many of you invest for the long term (via 401k's, etc) but how many of you are more active with your investments? Position traders (months), swing traders (days to weeks) or day traders?

    The internet bubble bursting wiped out alot of active traders, but there has been a recent increase in people who fit in the "active trader" category.

    I am curious hear comments on how the recent advances in technology have affected traders. Powerful stock screeners, direct access platforms, and programming packages have revolutionized the game, and if you dont adapt, your old strateies will become ineffective, like it or not....
     
  2. Footer Phooter

    Jul 23, 2000
    Falls Church, VA
    I'd really like to be, I just don't have the cash available at the moment since we're trying to buy a house. It's too bad, because over the past 12 months or so, I would have done really well trading Bally Total Fitness, (NYSE: BFT) on highs and lows.
     
  3. Txtriathlete

    Txtriathlete Member

    Aug 6, 2004
    The American Empire
    I still use a portion of my investments in a sort of a hobbie for active trading or what they use to call day trading, except that I trade a little less frequently, probably 2 to 3 transactions a week.
     
  4. dreamer

    dreamer Member

    Aug 4, 2004
    "After spending many years in Wall Street and after making and losing millions of dollars I want to tell you this: It never was my thinking that made the big money for me. It always was my sitting. Got that? My sitting tight! It is no trick at all to be right on the market. You always find lots of early bulls in bull markets and early bears in bear markets. I’ve known many men who were right at exactly the right time, and began buying and selling stocks when prices were at the very level which should show the greatest profit. And their experience invariably matched mine – that is, they made no real money out of it. Men who can both be right and sit tight are uncommon. I found it one of the hardest things to learn. But it is only after a stock operator has firmly grasped this that he can make big money. It is literally true that millions come easier to a trader after he knows how to trade than hundreds did in the days of his ignorance.”

    Jesse Livermore
     
  5. Sachin

    Sachin New Member

    Jan 14, 2000
    La Norte
    Club:
    DC United
    My uncle who is worth quite a bit gave me this advice:

    "If you look at the statements of every brokerage, you will find they made money when the market was up. You know where that money comes from. But you'll also find they made money when the market was down. Where do you suppose that comes from?"

    And from some other source, perhaps Benjiman Graham:

    "You cannot control the markets, you cannot control other people, all you can control is yourself."

    Sachin
     
  6. Owen Gohl

    Owen Gohl Member

    Jun 21, 2000
  7. dreamer

    dreamer Member

    Aug 4, 2004
    You'll be surprised how naive most rich people are when it comes to stock trading.


    Thu, Mar. 03, 2005
    Palm Beach hedge fund falters, hits investors hard
    A tony West Palm Beach hedge fund has run aground, leaving investors dry amid a federal investigation.
    BY ROBERT FRANK
    The Wall Street Journal
    PALM BEACH - A hedge fund that counted some of Palm Beach's richest residents as investors has shut down amid an investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Justice Department.

    The hedge fund, called KL Financial Group, had assets of more than $200 million. It has told investors that it ran out of funds because of heavy trading losses, according to attorneys and clients involved in the fund. The SEC plans to file a temporary restraining order this week to freeze any assets left in the fund, according to people familiar with the investigation.

    Officials from the Federal Bureau of Investigation started combing the company's West Palm Beach headquarters this week to investigate whether any of the funds were improperly siphoned from the fund for personal gain.

    FUND POPULARITY

    Hedge funds have soared in popularity with wealthy and institutional investors. The explosion of funds has attracted billions of dollars, and with lots of money chasing similar themes, making money has gotten tougher. As a result, many funds have borrowed heavily to leverage their bets in a bid to increase their returns. Others have taken on more risk or drifted from the strategies they vowed to follow for investors. The result: Some funds have stumbled in recent months.

    KL has kicked up a storm in Palm Beach, the plush beach retreat for some of America's richest families. The blowup was the talk of the lunchtime crowd at the Palm Beach Country Club, which counts some of the island's newer wealthy and aggressive investors as members.

    ''A lot of people in this town lost serious money,'' says Gary A. Klein, a Boca Raton attorney who represents 20 KL investors with between $15 million and $20 million in the fund.

    At least one investor in the fund lost $25 million, while another lost $12 million, according to people close to the investigation. At least three professional golfers were investors in the fund, although their names weren't made available, these people say. The fund was run by John Kim, a Korean trader who founded the firm in the mid-1990s in California, according to Klein. Kim, who lives in Jupiter, couldn't be reached for comment Tuesday.
    http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/business/national/11036934.htm
     
  8. dreamer

    dreamer Member

    Aug 4, 2004
    "After spending many years in Wall Street and after making and losing millions of dollars I want to tell you this: It never was my thinking that made the big money for me. It always was my sitting. Got that? My sitting tight! It is no trick at all to be right on the market. You always find lots of early bulls in bull markets and early bears in bear markets. I’ve known many men who were right at exactly the right time, and began buying and selling stocks when prices were at the very level which should show the greatest profit. And their experience invariably matched mine – that is, they made no real money out of it. Men who can both be right and sit tight are uncommon. I found it one of the hardest things to learn. But it is only after a stock operator has firmly grasped this that he can make big money. It is literally true that millions come easier to a trader after he knows how to trade than hundreds did in the days of his ignorance.”

    Jesse Livermore

    [​IMG]
     
  9. Hyok

    Hyok Member+

    Sep 4, 2002
    California
    I tend to believe that those advanced technologies only makes money for the developer. I used to trade actively, following the advice of Moe Ansari, Doug Fabian and others. After lucking out on some Chinese internet stock that I got out just before it crached and burned, I came to the conclusion that it is best to just park some money in some solid stocks and leave it there.

    I subscribe to a couple of Motley Fool stock newsletters, and I've been very happy. Up 40% over the last year and a half. This is just play money though. Most of my assets are in index funds...
     
  10. Hyok

    Hyok Member+

    Sep 4, 2002
    California
    Ah, yes, Benjamin Graham. Warren Buffet is a big follower of his. Also, the guys over at The Motley Fool are big fans of both Graham and Buffet.
     
  11. bostonsoccermdl

    bostonsoccermdl Moderator
    Staff Member

    Apr 3, 2002
    Denver, CO
    I beleive that it can be done, but te large majority (90%) of people who try fail b/c they are undercapitalized, or trade to large, and lose all of their $$$ b/4 they can conquer the average 1-3 year learning curve.

    For the most part, it is learning what NOT TO DO, by doing it, and learning from your mistakes, but learning by trading very small amounts.

    you must determine what kind of strategy you want to implement, and focus on it to develop a winning edge. There are 3 types of basic traders: those who invest in break outs/break downs, those who catch pullbacks in the direction of the general trend, and thoser who focus on catching reversals. All can make money, but you need to develop a framework to work around.

    This can take time.

    The key is to maximize the chances of bring right, and having your winning trades account for more than twice the $$$ amount of your losers.
     

Share This Page