This has to be one of the most ignorant things I've ever read:
This new magazine just launched.From a review:
Trader Monthly is the only magazine specifically designed for the exciting, fast-paced life of the professional trader.
In each issue we'll bring you news, strategy, and profiles of successful traders from around the globe, along with the latest in high-end sports cars, dream real estate, deluxe timepieces, fantastic vacations and much more.
Let us show you how to See It, Make It, Spend It.
The first issue features a story headlined "Will My Heart Palpitations Kill Me?"
It addresses one of the downsides of trading, aside from the fact you can lose your shirt with a poorly-timed trade; the reality is that many, if not most, traders exist on poor diets, little sleep, and too much stress.
I can't imagine anything more unpleasant than being a trader.
The thing that is most off-putting to me is the need to be aware of markets 24/7.
Traders sleep with their computer terminals; they get up every couple hours to check their positions and make adjustments accordingly.
What a nightmare.
I think the author of that article (he goes by 'bookofjoe' but I'll call him Joe) has been watching too many movies. Normally if I'd read something as dumb as that I'd just shake my head and wonder how such ignorance is possible. But since Joe went to the trouble of linking to me and pinging me I assume he wants a response. So here goes...
First of all I find it incredibly ironic that Joe is advertising a book about day trading along with his post. For those that don't know, BlogCritics members are required to find a (relevant) product from Amazon to include with each article. So Joe, in his infinite wisdom, chose that day trading book. Apparently Joe doesn't know that day traders, by definition, close out all of their positions at the close of the trading day. So just by adding that book to his post he invalidated his whole theory.
I won't even bother with the nonsense about "losing your shirt with a poorly timed trade" because trying to explain risk management and/or position sizing to Joe would be futile.
Next Joe says that traders "get up every couple hours to check their positions and make adjustments accordingly." The last time I got up in the middle of the night to check on my portfolio was, um... let me think... never!!! Even if I wanted to I couldn't "make adjustments" until the stock market opened in the morning. Sure there are people who trade in markets that are open 24 hours per day but I doubt that many of them 'sleep with their computers'. See Joe, there are these things call computers that people use for other things besides displaying their ignorance on the internet. Traders actually use them to automate their trading. Imagine that.
Yes Joe, your ignorance is a nightmare.
He's an anesthesiologist (like me).
http://www.bookofjoe.com/
Most physicians have no idea about money and are too risk averse to ever consider (learning about) trading.
So many people are ignorant of what trading is and what it requires. For the most part it is neither exciting nor glamorous. It can be the most tedious thing you ever do but it is the most rewarding thing i have ever done. Afterall, you eat what you kill. Any one who loses their shirt on one bad trade should not be trading. Its called money management!
You're right Michael, too many movies. I still have to convince my wife that I will never lose it all on one trade becasue I never use more than 5 percent of my equity and religiously have t/p and s/l's. I still have to convince my wife that this isn't a "scam" and that I won't have a heart attack from stress. She like Joe, has seen "Wall Street" too many times and doesn't realize that emotion has no place in trading. Now, in no way is she an ignorant person but, unlike Joe, she's not writing blog posts on trading either.
Since I trade currencies, I do get up some times late and check positions but thats just cause I like to see how much money i've made (or lost). I don't sleep with my monitor but most of the time I trade during European hours so I'm awake anyway.
That new magazine is silly as well. Such a mag could be a good idea but it plays to many stereotypes of what a trader and his/her lifestyle is supposed to be.
Not everyone daytrades stocks like you do. There are people who position trade currencies, just because of the nature of that market. Or swing trades futures. Those people may be the one under stress.
Isn't that what I wrote? And I'm not a day trader. The bulk of my trades are swing trades.
Wow Michael. You just really seem full of piss and vinegar. It would've been refreshing to see you make comments towards Joe without seeming full of hate. But in the end, your post makes you sound just like that.....full of hate.
That's sad.
So what if he made a mistake in what he wrote. A gentleman would've simply and kindly informed him of how his ideas were wrong or misled.
That's because I was pissed off when I wrote it. I thought I showed remarkable restraint by not using any "four-letter words". I've been dealing with the BS that spews out of BlogCritics (of which I am a member) for over a year now, so Joe's post was the last straw. I assume you came from his post today about traders. He continues to put his full ignorance on display by painting all traders with the same brush.
Well said, Michael. I did, in fact, come from Joe's site, but I've been a reader of yours for a while as well. I enjoy reading both of you - this instance notwithstanding.