Archive for the ‘ETF Trading Articles’ Category
Why would you want to dissociate these two in trading? First off because the American/Protestant work ethic is so strongly ingrained in everyone (which I do agree with in all area's Except once you become an Experienced Trader) it is actually very difficult to make the mental leap and dissociate work from reward. 99% [...]
Yes I know that sounds crazy, but it's true. Why? Because many commodity "traders" are just farmers who want to hedge their prices. Many international corporations just want to hedge their currency exposure. They are not really forex traders. Micheal Dell made a billion one year "trading" the forex…. then lost it [...]
I tell my students to be humble and confident at the same time. How can that be? Simple. First off confidence is not Secondly, humility is not a weakness. Both can co-exist and do in all great traders. I'm sure you do your job well right? Are you confident in the fact that whatever it [...]
Is that a threat, should be the first question you ask yourself when a trade starts to go against you. Many traders look at too many things and trades as threats. Most of the time (except maybe some crazy fundamental news that causes a huge gap) trades that are losing a not a [...]
Have you ever wanted all of the most famous investors and traders quotes in one spot? Well here they are, enjoy! Sir John Templeton Quotes: Bull markets are born on pessimism, grow on skepticism, mature on optimism, and die on euphoria. The time of maximum pessimism is the best time to buy, and the time [...]
This is not exactly 5 tactical ways to trade better because this is a trading psychology article. But I believe if you follow these 5 tips you will indeed trade better. The 5 ways to make change stick. To become a consistent trader you are going to have to make some changes. I'm going to [...]
It's amazing how easy it is to lose perspective. No matter how experienced you are at doing something, no matter how much or how little education you may have perspective more often than not is everything. It can mean the difference between success and failure right out of the gate, simply from of the [...]
We have all heard the cliché there are two sides to every story or two sides to every coin right? Well I am proud to say I am a Daddy to very intelligent children (plus I'm a grandpa). And as I am sure many of you know parenting can be a very challenging [...]
Wanted to send something different today. Here are a few tips that I think will help you. First big mistake: … Failing to master the ego I’m not going to go all crazy on you here but I’ve known many a trader, professional and students, who let a little success go to their head and [...]
It’s been awhile since I sent out some trading quotes. This time I’ve decided to add some general wealth quotes because as your trading account grows you will need these also. This top part will be a few of my favorite trading quotes, near the bottom will be the wealth quotes. Enjoy! —————————— Trading quotes: [...]
I watched Moneyball the other day and the similarities to trading were striking. It stars Brad Pitt as the Oakland A’s General Manager. After a playoff season that they lose in, he realizes he needs to think outside the box because he does not have the budget to buy the stars like the Yankee’s do. [...]
I believe in correct diversification, but to be clear this is not my gas station in Alabama
What did my grandfather teach me about trading when I was 10 years old? Keep in mind; I was not trading then, neither was he. He worked for the railroad. And I suspect many of you have heard a speech similar to this if you grew up when I did (I’m not so sure about [...]
Why teach kids about money management (balancing a checkbook, using debt correctly, building wealth, giving, etc.)? Most people think it’s because, “I want my kids to be successful when they grow up.” True. I used to only think that also. But now that is only half the reason. But first… Did you know that money [...]
And today: 1. My daughters asthma. 2. What, Exactly, IS a Trading System? ——————– It’s official. My 4 year old daughter has asthma. But I believe with God’s help, and medicine she will outgrow it. In fact in our house we say, “She is fighting asthma right now and won’t have it long”. Some say [...]
It’s a little off my usual trading topic but I believe in diversifying across all types of asset classes so I wanted to share this with you. Investing in start-ups has historically been limited to high income and net worth individuals due to regulations designed to protect unsophisticated investors from being scammed. This meant only very [...]
These three mistakes will doom your trading day, week, month and career. 1. Not having a trading plan. It almost doesn’t matter if you have a good plan or a bad plan all that matters is that you have a plan. Most new traders know so little about trading they figure they’ll make it up [...]
Some of you know this and some of you don’t, but I grew up in Sacramento, then lived in Lake Tahoe until I was 24. After that I moved to Houston where I met my wife and stayed. That is why my office is in Sacramento, but I trade out of my house in Houston. [...]
A friend sent me this website with some really funny quotes that go on posters, t-shirts and coffee mugs. They are spoofs on those motivational posters. Quotes such as: “Challenges” I expected times like this – but I never thought they’d be so bad, so long and so frequent. “Economics” The science of explaining tomorrow [...]
I don’t know how much Freud knew about the Bible. Or about investing for that matter. But one of the theories he “discovered” is actually a 2000-year old Biblical principle. Freud called it, Transference: where the patient feels all sorts of things about the psychiatrist (hate, love, suspicion, trust, dependence) as they work through whatever’s [...]
If you’ve ever participated in a “friendly” competition, you’ve experienced how watching and worrying about what someone else is doing changes your actions. There's no denying that many people ramp up their performance in the face of competition. We ask: "How'd the rest of my age range do?" We listen for someone breathing down our [...]
Chris Rock is quoted as saying when his first daughter was born that he instantaneously knew that from that moment on he had only one purpose in life. Not to make money. Not to be a success. Not to win an Academy Award… but to keep her off “the pole” at any cost. If you’re [...]
When the Dow crashed 514 points last August 8, the market lost $850 billion in market capitalization. High frequency (HF) traders were probably responsible for half of this move, but booked only $65 million in profits, 0.00007 of the total markets’ loss. The carnage the HF traders are causing is triggering a rising cry from [...]
Good morning, This letter has nothing do to with business. I simply want to share a thought that struck me today. None of us Know… None of us know how many more Christmases (or whatever you might celebrate this time of year) we will be around to celebrate. So Many Leave So Soon… Years ago, [...]
I’ve had a lot of students ask over the years about what the best trading books are. Since I’ve read hundreds it was hard to narrow it down. Below is the list and they are not listed in order of importance. I suggest buying them all, then reading the first few pages of each and [...]
I believe there are certain questions any prospective investors MUST ask themselves before putting one thin dime into the market. You truly need to know yourself – and realize you have certain characteristics and even some limitations – that can affect how you’ll approach and deal with the market. Trust me… you really do need [...]
I want to share this new news article that proves again you should learn to trade and manage your own money. It’s about a Hedge Fund manager who is going to jail for 11 years because of insider trading. So when Enron crashed, and financial advisors lost 30-50% of your money, it was not enough [...]
I got this email from a friend of mine and thought this would put the US debt ceiling deal into perspective: The U.S. Congress sets a federal budget every year in the trillions of dollars. Few people know how much money that is so we created a breakdown of federal spending in simple terms. Let's [...]
Most of you probably have heard the unfortunate story of Bernie Madoff. He’s the former Nasdaq Stock Market chairman and founder of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC, who was recently arrested and charged with securities fraud in what federal prosecutors called a “Ponzi scheme” of enormous proportions… involving losses of more than $50 billion. [...]
There has never been a time in history when information was so commoditized. Some amazing technique that didn't even exist a few years ago can now be bought at your local bookstore for $18.95. Then it's posted on somebody's blog for free. Suddenly, because there's no price tag, you can't even tell whether it has [...]
Big A with ETF Trend Trading Everyone has an opinion on the markets these days. It’s the end of the bull for financials just the start of the bull for commodities (or vice-versa). Short bonds because inflation is about to come roaring back. Short the dollar because the Chinese will soon dump their dollars and [...]
Words can’t begin to describe my feeling about the situation in Japan. If you’ve ever lost a loved one I’m sure you have an idea…. or if you’ve ever felt an earthquake. I remember the one time I felt an earthquake. I was is Sacramento and one struck in San Francisco and everything in the [...]
Finally – we’ve got a word for what most of us in the so-called middle-class have been feeling the last few years – Screwflation. As far as I can tell, Doug Kass at TheStreet.com invented it back in Oct of 2010. He defined this way: “Screwflation, like its first cousin stagflation, is an expression of [...]
If you’ve been reading my emails and articles for long you know I place a high value on family. I really enjoy the freedom trading for my own accounts and mentoring other traders gives me to spend more time with my family. I’d go so far as to say that if you can only have [...]
If you don’t have hard and fast rules, you don’t have a mechanical trading system; you’re a discretionary trader. Discretionary traders struggle with their emotions — doing battle every trading day against their fears and their greed. Mechanical traders follow their rules and sleep well at night as long as their system includes ironclad money [...]
Today it’s time to talk (again) about investing and trading and how your emotions will damage your investing and trading returns unless you have an effective method for circumventing them. I keep going back to this topic because it pretty much determines if you make it as a trader or not. There are lots of [...]
So, while I was hanging out with friends and family the other day, we started talking about when we were kids and the celebrities and TV shows that we followed and turns out I’m not the only one that counts Roy Rogers as a big influence. For those of you outside the US, you’ll have [...]
As you know this is not a political newsletter (although I do have an opinion), but an investing/trading newsletter. Several students have asked me if I thought the tax cut extensions (if it does go through, even with the compromise) would prop the market up. My answer is 99% yes. I learned a long time [...]
Good times and bad, the scammers are after your money. Run; don’t walk, when you find one of these in your email, your USPS mail or a friend, relative or financial advisor touting them. First up, we have the Ponzi Scheme. I’m trying to have this one renamed the Madoff Scheme – even the guy [...]
If you’ve ever heard my f.r.e.e training webinar I share about how Hedge Funds hunt retail traders risk stops. I also talk about how insider trader, front running, and churning happens every day. Well here is short powerful recent news article about a conspiracy with several top funds that is currently being investigated by the [...]
I just love bubble markets… With trend trading you make money on the upside and when they pop! Here’s a few I’m keeping an eye on these days: Gold Old style doom-and-gloomers are always on the gold bandwagon. When it looks like inflation might be returning, the whole asset protection gang piles in and the [...]
I warned members last week on my live webinar that most forex brokers hunt traders stops. Well a few days after saying that the NFA (National Futures Association) validates what I’ve been saying for years by handing out large fines to two big Forex brokers for that exact reason. Click below to see the NFA’s [...]
It just occurred to me that trading and scuba diving have a lot in common. I was thinking about how traders must follow their plan while in the midst of a trade and realized that’s what I do when diving, especially deep diving which is my favorite sport. When I’m on a dive boat, planning [...]
When I created my ETF Trend Trading system, I expected to meet people who had a few dollars put away in their IRAs and 401k’s who were old enough and smart enough to realize there was another way to grow their net worth besides saving and passive investing. I expected I’d meet some who had [...]
Would you rather have $1,000,000 or 1 cent? Silly question for most, but I had to ask because the other night I was watching the TV show Deal or No Deal. The buggy-eyed greed of the contestant that night reminded me of many traders and money managers. In case you haven't seen the show it [...]
Click below to read my new article which statistically proves that Mutual Funds are not the best vehicle to help you retire on time. Click Here Helping you retire on time, Big A PS- Even if you already hate Mutual Funds like me, read it anyway because I am absolutely certain you will learn something [...]
Wow my Wal-Mart email got responses from both sides of the spectrum, so I'll keep this short. I think a few subscribers missed the spirit of the message. Debt is bad. My house is paid for and I encourage you to work toward the same. Even though I can afford a mansion it is not [...]
Hedge funds failed en masse in 2008, when nearly 1,500 closed their doors. Many of these closures were due to the complexity of the funds themselves. When a bad market hit, they couldn't help but get caught in the downward spiral. And the bleeding continues; in the first quarter of 2009, investors pulled $103 billion [...]
I hate shopping at Wal-Mart. It makes me ill, but the important part is why… (And if you're going to read this, you need to read the entire rant). If you get offened by this, please read my second part about Wal-Mart for some clarification. For as long as I can remember, I've had a [...]
Anyone can look at an old chart and say, "You should have done this or that." But real trading is in the trenches, that is the live market. I want you to have every possible advantage. So I let my students follow my trades, as I buy and sell, real time. Since my system doesn't [...]
I treat my giving like my trading. I analyze, back test, diversify and research before making a decision. In the case of Haiti relief I found this great site that does much of this for you. This is a good resource if you were like me and wanted to do something, but was not totally [...]
We let price prove itself before committing our money. The sooner you accept that you really don't know the future, the sooner you will trade with 100 times less stress. The trend is your friend. We rarely catch the exact top or bottom of a trend so don't expect to. Every trend ends. Every sideways [...]
The title to this article may shock you, coming from a guy that sells trading education, but I've been at this a good long while now and I don't know it all. I do know some ways to make money trading ETFs; and I know some ways to lose money trading. One sure way to [...]
You know the difference between winning and losing trades — we've all experienced both and know the joy and the pain well. But, when we look at losing trades, most of the times it's not the strategy that has failed but, rather, the trader. Yes, that probably means you. But, today I'm going to talk [...]
For the knowledgeable, active investor who wants to participate in big picture trends, the Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) has many advantages over the traditional Mutual Fund. ETFs are far more transparent, efficient and economical. Be A Control Freak. You know it's true: the only person who really cares about the health of your portfolio is [...]
I don't have a clue which way the market is going, nor do I care. One of the best revelations a new trader can get is that you don't need to know which way the market is going to move. When I say the market "should" continue to trend to this major support or resistance [...]
Last week I watched a TV program on the legend of Bigfoot. So many people are still convinced that it exists! The vastness of the wilderness allows hope to spring up that some prehistoric or otherwise unique critter could be hiding out. The same hope for existence is true of other mythical creatures: the yeti, [...]
Becoming a successful, profitable trader might seem to be difficult to master and, at the same time, it is potentially the most profitable set of business and life skills that you can develop for yourself as an individual. Achieving mastery in trading brings rich rewards, yet it is not really a goal or a destination [...]
Trading successfully is really no different than learning to tie your shoes. Tying a bow is mind boggling to someone that has never done it before (like a child), but once you know how, it's a simple task you take for granted. Pretend for a moment you're a five year old again and you just [...]
In today's information age have you ever considered the vast amount of information we must process daily in the normal course of our lives. This can prove to be a challenge when we can only take in 1% to 2 % of the information available at any one time. As a trader or investor the [...]
Some of you might recognize what I'm talking about and some of you won't. Either way you will learn something new in this email and my new video. A few "gurus" calculate their track record is a way that will deceive the average investor. Instead of me saying how it's done, I'll take it directly [...]
Welcome to part two of my "who's going to bail you out" article. What have bankers & brokers learned from the current crisis? It seems they have learned nothing. You would think they would have learned something after having had to crawl in what should have been disgrace to the U.S. government to be bailed [...]
Yes, I will give you a great technical trading system that works in ALL markets, not just ETFs, but more importantly I will teach you: How to stay disciplined to follow the signals How to be fearful when others are greedy How to be greedy when others are fearful How to milk the trend for [...]
One of my members shared this with me recentlyand I want to pass it on. I like the no cost Think or Swim: http://www.thinkorswim.com It is a no cost Tradestation like app (without the ability to program your own indicators). The nice thing abaout it is you can replicate your Tradestation charts including the channel [...]
Unfortunately the golden rules of trading are not the same as the golden rule; love your neighbor as yourself. That rule will help you have success in life, but won't help much in trading. In trading the 2 golden rules are: 1. Cut your losses short and let your profits run. 2. Use the discipline [...]
Hello, The last century has seen nearly thirty (30) bear markets. The average bear market length has been 17.7 months with an average decline of 30.8%. A bear market begins, on average, every 44 months (3.6 years). Average is the keyword. Some bear markets last much longer. The key is how to do long term [...]
I posted two videos in my FREE Mini-Course area about "Trading/Investing psychology" and "How to use proper risk controls." Even if you never join my 6 month mentorship program I want to help you become a better investor. This is one of my ways of giving back. I guarantee you will learn something of value no matter how many years [...]
We don't control the markets. We can't totally control how long we live. We can't control the kids (if you have any you know what I mean). So what do we really have control over? Nothing I've ever done has provided return on investment anywhere near as good as investing in myself and my trading [...]
Money is not a limit, all the billionaires have proved that. It might be a limit in your life right now, but it does not need to be. Love is not a real limit, yes there is a lack of love in the world, but every human heart has the capacity for love. The key [...]
You probably didn't know this (and it's not easy to break the news to you), but there are at least a few people in your life that are STEALING from you. Not to be overly-dramatic, but the thing that these people are stealing is actually worth MORE than money. It's your TIME and your FOCUS [...]
If you haven't taken the next step in joining my select group of ETF traders, I want to answer a few of the concerns folks sometimes put to me: Concern #1: How will this REALLY benefit me? If you are a trader, investor, or speculator in the market, you can't afford to be without the [...]
I'm really good about working out. With few exceptions, I go to the gym every day after trading and try to work out at least one day over the weekend. Part of why I go is to stay in shape, but I think it helps me a lot business-wise as the exercise helps me release [...]
I've wanted to write about the government bailouts for some time, but have been busy trading and teaching new students. This short note is not about me or my system being your bail out ticket. Yes my system can help you. Yes I want to help you. But, yes you must want to bail yourself [...]
This video will get me a ton of persecution from the "guru trading community", because not only will I expose their trading hype, but I will teach you how to do the same. I made this video because I'm absolutely sick of the trading hype and scams on the internet. If you a new to [...]
Let there be no illusions — long term success in investing is hard. That is why there is only a small percentage that soundly beat the market averages year after year. During the down markets many long term "pray and hold" investors lose their cool and sell out at the worst time. Can economists, the [...]
First let me share what these two types of analysis are. Fundamentals, or as I like to call them fuzzymentals, try to predict ETF future prices by supply, demand, interest rates, government policy, weather, underlying economic factors, etc. In part it does work if you are an economist and very, very good at it, but [...]