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Story of a Speculator

  
Analysis, Education

I attached a recent find which you might be interested in reading, Story of a Speculator written by Arthur Cutten. The book form was a private publication but originally was a three part serial in the Saturday Evening Post published in late 1932. There are many similarities between Cutten’s views and your editorial, The Speculator as a Hero.

Perhaps you are already aware but if not, Cutten swung such a large line at the CBOT in wheat that it prompted the gov’t to begin position limits in futures.

I’d also like to apologize for taking “french leave” from the Spec list almost two years ago now. Originally it was meant to be a short break to aid my focus throughout the day by having less distractions from the trading screen and it’s worked so well that I haven’t joined back up but still follow DailySpec. The education and friendships I formed from the SpecList were amazing and I’ll always be grateful to have been a part.

Thanks again and I hope you’re doing well,

THE VERY SUCCESSFUL TRADERS

  
  Education
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The very successful traders I’ve known are very aggressive.  When they’re right, they press their advantage.  They add to good positions or keep re-entering in the direction of their idea as long as nothing is proving them wrong.  “No one ever went broke taking a profit” is not how the best traders operate.  What Dr. Kiev was saying was get out of losing ideas quickly, but really milk the winners.  A good trade is valid until proven wrong.  Just a few more big winners make a big performance difference by the end of a year.  Risk management is not just cutting losers short; it’s also ensuring that the average size of your winners handily outstrips that of the losers.

Five Market Wizard Lessons

  
  Education
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“Five Market Wizard Lessons” 
Hedge Fund Market Wizards is ultimately a search for insights to be drawn from the most successful market practitioners. The last chapter distills the wisdom of the 15 skilled traders interviewed into 40 key market lessons. A sampling is provided below:

1. There Is No Holy Grail in Trading
Many traders mistakenly believe that there is some single solution to defining market behavior. Not only is there no single solution to the markets, but those solutions that do exist are continually changing. The range of the methods used by the traders interviewed in Hedge Fund Market Wizards, some of which are even polar opposites, is a testament to the diversity of possible approaches. There are a multitude of ways to be successful in the markets, albeit they are all hard to find and achieve.

2. Don’t Confuse the Concepts of Winning and Losing Trades with Good and Bad Trades
A good trade can lose money, and a bad trade can make money. Even the best trading processes will lose a certain percentage of the time. There is no way of knowing a priori which individual trade will make money. As long as a trade adhered to a process with a positive edge, it is a good trade, regardless of whether it wins or loses because if similar trades are repeated multiple times, they will come out ahead. Conversely, a trade that is taken as a gamble is a bad trade regardless of whether it wins or loses because over time such trades will lose money. (more…)

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