In a recent traders roundtable discussion, our talk came around to a discussion of two different risk management tools: position sizing and portfolio diversification. The question became: which one of these strategies is more effective? The discussion led us to quickly reframe that question into one which said “how do both of these strategies, and […]
Tag: ETFs
Profitable ETF Trading Strategies: trade like Ted Williams hit baseballs
There is general agreement that Ted Williams was the greatest hitter in the entire history of baseball. He brought a science to the practice of hitting, a committment to the informed practice of his craft, a deep understanding of his strengths and weaknesses as a hitter. These combined with his natural physical ability to produce […]
Profitable ETF Trading Strategies: the best book on trading
A friend of mine who is seeking to develop his skills as an equity trader asked what book on trading he should read if there were only one. I started to think about the different masterpieces I have read and have applied in my own trading. There are masterpieces of fundamental analysis, of technical analysis, […]
Profitable ETF Trading Strategies: an extended reflection on risk management and mental toughness
A Trader Quality Number idea: if i want to trade AA today, and in the sideways mkt i have been using .1 iStop, maybe today i can use .4 as the iStop for position sizing, and acknowledge i will exit at -.5R or an adverse move of .2 if you are timid about pushing the […]
Profitable ETF Trading Strategies: the power of stories
Trade like a storyteller We know from cognitive science and learning theory that humans are storytellers by both nature and nurture. Knowing this about how our brains are wired can help us in a couple interesting ways as lifelong traders and learners. Generally it is easier for most people to learn when the new information […]
Profitable ETF Trading Strategies: adapting to a changing market
The market goes through changes all the time, as market participants and their methods and objectives change through time. Sometimes trend following will dominate, sometime reversion to the mean trading will be effective, other times channel trading with strict profit targets will work. It is normal for traders to develop preferred methods of training, based […]
Profitable ETF Trading Strategies: paying attention to market pivot points
To extend the metaphor of “Trading is like Driving” a little further, you could think of the market’s pivot points to be like lanes on the highway. When you are driving on the Interstate or even just in town, the lane markers have come to take on an important meaning ion the minds of every […]
Profitable ETF Trading Strategies: trading large cap stocks and broad ETFs
There are a lot of reasons to trade large cap stocks and the exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) that track the broad sectors and regions of the world. It’s not without its tradeoffs, but for a lot of new traders it can make a lot of sense. You will have to give up the goal of […]
Profitable ETF Trading Strategies: Trade like a defensive driver
I was giving my teenage daughter some advice about how to survive on the road. As a newly licensed driver, she was naturally apprehensive, because this is a brave, new world for her. As I heard myself giving her guidance from 35 years of successful driving experience, I was struck by how similar it was […]
Profitable ETF Trading Strategies: Start with the basics
A friend of mine, frustrated at the pace of his progress, asked how he could gain and maintain momentum on his personal journey towards trading mastery. Here are my thoughts: I would start with the daily tasks of trading and get the procedural parts down. At the same time, I would suggest weekly evaluations of […]