Yesterday, I posted a question that reached out to all of you traders out there. My hope was (is) that a few of you would take the time to respond. Yes, I wanted the student to get a variety of answers that would help educate, but I also was (am) curious as to the characteristics of those who read this column. Certainly, one characteristic is the use of others on a daily basis to define trading strategies. There is still time, though, and today I am posting one trader’s thoughts on the matter, which, hopefully, will inspire others to respond to his response, or the original question asked yesterday. Here is the lucid, thoughtful, and well-written response to the student’s question.
As an individual trader I find that contact with others can be very beneficial. Through various internet resources (from investing and trading message boards to real time services like Stocktwits) I have instant access to other traders. That access allows me to give and receive feedback on trades and trading methods. Seeing the opinions and reasoning others have on a given asset has at times saved me from losses by convincing me my analysis was flawed. As my trading style and method have solidified my participation has waned but every active trading day for me includes at least monitoring what others have to say with regards to the trades I have planned or in progress for any insight that may be beneficial. Fellow traders via the internet have in fact given key economic releases at times faster than the media while the media was busy finishing the last item they were talking about. Choosing who to keep track of out of the large number of traders out there for me was a simple task. I focused on traders that trade the same markets and who’s commentary continued to be solid over time demonstrating a consistent, reasonable analysis with little or no boasting.
There are so many valuable nuggets in the above response it is difficult to discuss them all. Suffice it to say that his use of others is a value to him in his trading. One gem, however, is the line above, which reads,
Fellow traders via the internet have in fact given key economic releases at times faster than the media while the media was busy finishing the last item they were talking about.
This trader is on top of his game. He gets it – getting information and getting it quickly is one important key to successful trading. I also liked his closing line, which I have suggested before – find analysts who are consistent, reasonable, and not full themselves.
I focused on traders that trade the same markets and who’s commentary continued to be solid over time demonstrating a consistent, reasonable analysis with little or no boasting.
I thank this person for the helpful response, and I encourage others to jump in with their take on this question – do you interact with anyone on a daily basis to develop or improve your trading strategies?
Trade in the day; invest in your life …
