A cautionary anecdote

[hubag bohol]

One of my old college buddies was a day-trader for about 10 years out of college.  It’s what he did for a living â€" some technical analysis, some momentum trading, some fundamental.  He didn’t work for a large firm, he worked for himself.  He was able to eek out a living, but he didn’t get rich.  He eventually started shifting away from it and earning income other ways like through insurance and other means.  He said the stress was killing him and that he was basically “gambling for a living”.  It didn’t seem to the the most fulfilling, or even profitable venture.  I’m sure a daytrader will come across this article and dispel some of these opinions, but seriously, if you’re one of them â€" do you think a typical American hearing this commercial should quit their job and try daytrading for a living?  You can’t be serious.

[hubag bohol]

If you think you have what it takes, you’ve got to ask yourself a few questions:

What makes you think you’re smarter than the thousands of other very smart people out there?

What makes you think you can deliver better results than the best and the brightest out of MIT math and engineering programs now working on Wall Street?

Do you really think you’re going to have a better career doing this than a more conventional career?

What is the endgame?  Are you going to do this for the rest of your life?

What are you going to do when you blow through you life savings chasing this sham?

There’s a difference between a retail investor like me, who wants to own a piece of Apple or Baidu and a day trader.  I’m an investor and I hold for months or years.  A daytrader is trying to profit purely from little momentum shifts, capturing a few pennies here a few there, often with leverage to make it worthwhile.  The transaction costs and taxes will often chew up what little edge you think you can eek out.  And then, there’s the downside risk of loss (even when investing in gold).  It’s a net losing game and if you think you can “win” with all these headwinds, you may want to realistically assess why you’re so overconfident.

More at: http://www.darwinsmoney.com/day-trading-scam/

[chicogon]

To each his own

[hubag bohol]

To each his own