An End to the Bull: Cut Through the Noise to Develop a Sustainable Trading Career

Part III The next level: incorporating more advanced concepts

In the previous section of the book I explained some of the fundamental aspects of building a trading career, such as the knowledge required, constructing watchlists and being business-minded. There are no short cuts to finding out whether we can become successful traders; the groundwork needs to be done, and it may take several months until you are confident that you have these fundamental areas covered.

Nowadays, the more common method for retail traders to be taught is to scan and backtest through hundreds of contracts using potentially hundreds of indicators, patterns, and so on, until you find a combination that ‘works’. This, it is suggested, gives you edge, which you can then profit from. This type of trading is neither robust nor reliable, and it is unlikely to provide edge. Besides, do you really think that a small retail trader sitting at home on a home PC will find edge scanning through markets that have already been trawled through in much greater depth by hedge funds and investment banks?

In part III I want to expand on some topics that I have already mentioned briefly, including the topics of pricing in and volatility. While these are more advanced subjects, this does not mean that you should avoid considering them in the early days of your trading. They need to be incorporated into your trading from the outset. Whether you are a manual trader or looking to incorporate my ideas into a more automated ...