The Two Paths Toward Winning

I recently interviewed with Seth Freudberg of the SMB Options Group, and the interview was posted to YouTube.  In the interview, I summarized research I had conducted at a number of different trading firms regarding what creates success for traders and portfolio managers.  As I suggested in a recent tweet, a major finding is that distinctive performance is based upon distinctive strengths.  The idea that all profitable traders have a particular "secret sauce" ingredient that creates their success is silly.  What we find is that success--in trading as in other fields--leverages native talent and interest, builds skill upon that base, and then channels those talents, skills, and interests in ways that exploit opportunity.  

In general, there are two paths toward winning for traders:

1)  The first path is where the trader has experienced success and is engaged in markets in ways that are interesting and fulfilling to him/her.  Very often, the approach to trading makes use of one or more strengths that show up in other areas of life.  For example, someone who demonstrates unusual intellectual curiosity outside of markets will make use of that curiosity in developing new sources of edge in markets.  Of course, markets are always changing, and so the trader who has experienced early success must work to maintain that success.  Like a talented athlete, this trader is always working on his or her game, refining and expanding skills and finding new opportunities.  Working harder and better at your game:  that is the first path to success.

2)  The second path is where the trader has not experienced success and is frequently frustrated in his or her engagement of markets.  Such a trader may work harder and harder, but the path to progress is a slow one.  Over time, the trading takes energy; it does not energize.  That is one of the best signs that this trader is playing the wrong game.  All the work on refining skills won't be helpful if you're playing the wrong game.  Getting better and better at implementing a random chart pattern that lacks edge is not going to lead to distinctive profitability.  Working harder and harder at approaches to trading that don't leverage your talents, skills, and interests will similarly lead to mediocre results.

If you look at most performance fields, you'll see that each one actually incorporates specific roles that require unique skills and interests.  On a baseball team, the role of pitcher requires very different skills from the role of outfielder or catcher.  In an orchestra, the violin player is "playing a different game" from the percussionist and keyboardist.  The medical world has space for pediatricians, psychiatrists, and surgeons:  very different "games" indeed!  A huge part of success is finding the game that is right for you, given your native abilities, your interests, and your skills.  Very, very often you have to try many paths to performance before you find the one that is right for you.  Indeed, trying out all specialties is a requirement in medical training and in many formal training programs at investment banks.

The most popular TraderFeed post of the year was one that called out many providers of "trading education" for promoting strategies that have no edge whatsoever.  That's a different way in which we can find ourselves playing the wrong game.  A huge part of the learning curve for a developing trader is trying different approaches to markets--shorter term, longer term, discretionary, quantitative--and different markets to see which "specialties" truly fit with talents and passions.  Only then can we find sound mentoring to help us play the right game the right way.  There are some excellent resources in the appendix to my blog book that point the way toward such mentoring.

That is the challenge of trading:  There is no single path toward winning.  The challenge is to find our path.

Further Resource:

The Six Characteristics of Successful Traders

.