Trading on your own two feet

Everyone talks up their own method of how to trade. I'm no different. I am unashamed fan of trend following, and hopefully this blog acts as a useful resource to those who favour a similar approach or who want to learn more about the basic concept.

But within that broad definition of trend following, people can easily tailor it to their own needs or requirements.

In my own case, trend following as a concept is a good match, based on my basic beliefs, the amount of time I want to spend in front of charts, and my family and other time commitments.

The timeframe I choose is also the best match for my personality - towards the shorter-term end of the trend following scale which stops impatience getting the better of me, but still long enough so that I can get into multiple-R profitable trades. It also has the benefit of getting out of losing trades quickly.

However, unlike other many other market participants, I know and accept there are many other successful traders who trade in a completely different manner to me.

Adding some accountability to your trading - helping a day trader to improve

A while back I was approached by a day trader who wanted some help in improving his performance. This took me back a bit - as readers of this blog may know, when I started trading back in 2003 it was as a day trader (and I initially struggled) before I got into trend following.

I've long believed that the essentials of good risk management and being able to avoid mental errors are applicable to ALL types and styles of trading. This would therefore be an interesting exercise - for both of us.

Finding your own holy grail

While many people say there is no such thing as a holy grail in trading, I happen to believe there is, but not in the generally accepted sense of some magical set of entry and exit parameters. Furthermore, I believe everyone's holy grail will be personal and unique to themselves.

Finding your own holy grail is a two-step process:

My 'A-ha!' moment

When I first started getting interested in the financial markets back in 2003, I plunged straight in at the deep end by day trading US stocks. I joined a chat room and immersed myself in their methodology, and even had some initial success, but then reality kicked in.