I recently wrote about the value of professional networking for traders and mentioned that I would be organizing a networking event. What I've found is that, even for traders working within firms, it is easy to go stale by reading the same kinds of material, talking with the same people, doing the same trading. Eventually markets change and the risk is that they leave us behind. This is a particular occupational hazard for traders who operate independently. Isolation means that you have less access to fresh ideas and perspectives.
Social media has been a big help in replacing isolation with networking, but it is limited. Forging ongoing professionals relationships and discussing new ideas in depth is something best done in person. Hence the networking event!
This initial networking event will be for traders in the greater New York City area. Specific date and location are to be determined, but will probably be after market hours on a weekday in either NYC or suburban Connecticut (Stamford, Greenwich). The availability of interested participants will determine the final date, time, and location. You can count on a destination with craft beer that Mia would approve of!
Here's the catch: Each participant is required to bring a unique, worthwhile idea to be discussed by the group. The idea should be something you've found to be useful as a way of identifying market opportunity. The idea should be market/trading focused, not one of trading psychology. I will be bringing some of my original market research as my ideas to share. Opinions about market or stock direction and simple chart or indicator patterns that one could obtain elsewhere would not be suitable ideas to bring. The focus is on fresh, useful perspectives. If each person brings one good idea, the entire group will go away with a very worthwhile set of ideas and professional contacts.
I will be limiting participation to a small group to facilitate in-depth sharing and discussion. If the interest is high, we can do multiple networking events. I'll try to group participants by their trading styles and interests.
If you're interested in participating, send an email to steenbab at aol dot com and indicate the following:
1) Name, trading style, markets traded, experience level, where you trade
2) Brief summary of idea(s) you will bring to share
3) Preferred days of week, times of day, and location of meetup
I will get back to everyone and coordinate the event from there. I recognize that not everyone is in the greater NYC area, and not everyone is available after market hours. My hope is that it will be possible in the future to hold networking events at other times and locations. I also hope that this becomes an inspiration for traders to coordinate networking events in their own areas. Comments to this post can be used to reach out to other interested traders in a geographic area.
Thanks for the interest and support!
Brett
.