TRADING PSYCHOLOGY


Put Yourself Back In The Trading Picture

Life On Hold

by Adrienne Laris Toghraie

If you have put your trading on hold, you undoubtedly have a compelling reason. To support your case for being stuck, you can find countless others who will nod in agreement and understanding as they wait to tell you their own sad tales. On the other hand, there are traders whose roadblock stories are just as compelling as yours, but who are successfully trading, nonetheless. How do traders overcome their excuses?

NO MONEY

As a new money manager, Joe had only $250,000 to manage. His own operating funds were based on a standard fee of 2% of capital and 20% of the 54% profit that he was earning for his clients. Despite his outstanding track record, the income from his business was barely $20,000 a year. After paying his expenses, Joe was living from hand to mouth. Deeply frustrated, he had only enough funds in his bank account for six more months of trading operations. Understandably, his financial situation started to affect his trading profits, and eventually, he was forced to close up shop. Joe's reasons for being unable to succeed were:
 


Tim could have been in a similar situation had it not been for the fact that he had learned how to market, sell, speak, and write his way to becoming a money manager. Through the Toastmasters organization, he had learned to speak before groups about trading. In the course of reading books for his Toastmasters speeches, he had also learned about selling and marketing. The books he read directed him to write articles and seek out public venues for his ideas. While studying marketing at a seminar, Tim met David, who became his marketing and sales representative. In less than the time it took Joe to fail, Tim had his trading firm managing $10 million.

LEGAL BUREAUCRACY

Recently, I have been hearing from traders about dramatic court cases that have caused them stress and delay. A few of these traders have stopped trading, while others are fighting to sustain their trading performance. These cases run the gamut from divorce settlements, child custody, and inheritance battles to business-related issues. Here is one example of a legal battle that created havoc in a trader's performance and the strategy that took him off his holding pattern and on to trading again.
 

...Continued in the September 2001 issue of Technical Analysis of STOCKS & COMMODITIES

Adrienne Toghraie is a trading coach operating out of Cary, NC. She can be reached at 919 851-8288.
 

Excerpted from an article originally published in the September 2001 issue of Technical Analysis of STOCKS & COMMODITIES magazine. All rights reserved. © Copyright 2001, Technical Analysis, Inc.


Return to September 2001 Contents