FROM AN EXPERIENCE
A meet with Kunal Desai on Twitter....
Pretty quickly I found out this was a guy to continue tracking
as he easily made me thousands of dollars in just a couple of days
based off his stock picks.
Flash-forward a couple years later
and now Kunal is one of the most followed stock traders
on Twitter and is co-founder of stock trading community,
BullsOnWallstreet.
I was surprised to find out that Kunal actually had a full-time job as the guy was spitting out stock picks every 2 seconds; however, now he has left the job behind and has officially become a full-time trader.I thought it would be interesting to ask him a couple questions on the subject of becoming a full-time trader and what made him make the jump. You can read the interview below.
1. Could you first give a little background about yourself? What got you into trading?
I got into trading during 2000 my freshman year of college. It was the end of the dotcom boom. I’d see every weasel in the country driving a 3 series BMW with a “I Love Yahoo” license plate. It immediately hit me that this was a way better option than working or trying to get good grades. So I immediately opened an account at buyandhold.com and started dabbling in some stocks.
As pretty much everybody – especially at that tailend of the dotcom boom – I did very well trading technology stocks. I had built myself up quite a bankroll and then preceded to give back 1/2 my gains in March when the market tanked. That summer my parents went to
I still continued to trade in college but the late 2000-2003 was a very tough environment for a new trader especially one that knew nothing about technical analysis, risk management, and position management. At that time I would see Nortel Networks at 30 cents and think it was cheap so that was my basis of my buying. I built and lost a ton of bankrolls in those 3 years trying to game the market.
2. What made you believe you were ready to jump into becoming a full-time trader?
Even though I had always had a fulltime job I considered myself a fulltime trader during that time as I would trade 10-30x a week. But I knew I needed to be a fulltime trader when I got to the point where I was getting pumped to go to work but the reason I was pumped was to trade stocks while at work.
However, I knew I was ready as I had navigated both 2007-2009 markets with great success. Like many MOMO traders 2008 was a fantastic trading year as was 2009.
A lot of people say that you shouldn’t be a fulltime trader until you have 1 year of expenses in cash and X amount of dollars for bankroll and X amount of years of consistent success. That’s all baloney scraps right there. You should trade fulltime when it becomes the only thing that you can think about during the day. When you dream of it during your sleep. Thats when you know.
3. What have you liked the most about becoming a full-time trader?
Best part of trading is being in control of your own destiny. You choose your income on however much it is that you want to make. Followed by a close second: not having to shower and being able to sit around in your underwear all day.
4. What don’t you like about full-time trading? What is probably the most common misconception about the “fabulous” life of full-time trading?
Probably the biggest misconception of trading is that when you beocme a fulltime trader people think that your not working or dont have a job. Trading is a grind. Especially day-trading. Everyday is a battle.
The hours are not 9:30-4pm. Your hours are 7am to 7pm. The research and the prep time matches the amount of hours you trade. But in the end it is a fabulous life. With smartphones, laptops, ipod/pad thingies you can trade from anywhere. This summer I’ve gone all over the place to do things but I never missed any trading. You can always be connected.
5. Like I am sure it was with you, when I started trading there was no Twitter and there was definitely nowhere near the amount of blogs and media as there are today. Overall, do you think this has made learning to trade easier or harder for new traders?
The one negative about all this information out there is that it can prey upon people who are looking for the holy grail or some magic bullet. With the economy the way it is a lot of people are struggling and search for something..anything…and its easy to fall in traps.
6. We already know what your best advice to a stock trader would be, but what would be some words of wisdom to somebody who is specifically looking into becoming a full-time trader?
If you want to becomea fulltime trader someday. I personally would find a mentor. This can shave years off your timeline.
There are so many aspects of trading and analyzing stocks/market that are not written about in books that really havent been conceptualized in a concrete way. Often I look at a stock and I just know that its gonna go. But there is no technical setup it mgiht be an anti-setup but for some reason there are things in the market that clicking and you see the ticker flash and it gives you that look. Every trader knows that look. Only a beautiful women or a beautiful stock can give you that look. So you either got to be a player or an amazing trader to figure it out.
Having a trader to teach you will save you those bankrolls you lose in the beginning. See new traders lose their rolls because they focus on picking stocks and entries when a pro is focused 80% on risk management. John Welsh is the best daytrader I have seen and he has a 50% win rate, yet he can go for 20-30% returns in 1 month. Plus the guy has a killer faux hawk. Its all based on risk/reward ratios
7. Finally, as everybody who follows you on Twitter knows, you are part of BullsonWallstreet. Briefly, could you tell the readers what that project is about and what we can expect in the near future with it?
BullsOnWallstreet – we are going to have a great 2011. We are adding in tons of features onto our website that will make it very interactive for our users. We have developed a great partnership with OptionsExpress where our very own Leigh Jones aka @coppersl will be speaking and teaching at some of their events. The first one will be in
Awesome. I want to thank Kunal again for taking the time to answer these questions make sure you follow him on Twitter and check out BullsOnWallStreet.
(to be contd)
FROM TOP NOTCH STOCK TRADERS
What is your best piece of stock trading advice?
The above is a question I get all too often.
Trying to pinpoint the BEST advice is like asking how much
is too much money – everybody has a different answer and none
of them are necessarily wrong.
So instead of just sharing my input, I decided to seek out
some of the best traders I know and beg them
for their best stock trading advice.
Below is the compilation of that greatness.
Thanks to all the contributors for their input.
Make sure to check these people out on their website and/or twitter.
Damien Hoffman, Co-founder of WallStCheatSheet.com
The Holy Grail of investing/trading is risk management.
If you don’t have an exit strategy or proper position sizing,
you are gambling. I recommend all traders spend 90%
of their time perfecting risk management,
and success will come with time.
Howard Lindzon, CEO StockTwits.com | twitter @howardlindzon
Cut losses, cut losses, cut losses. If I followed my own advice,
my email would be unlisted or a
Timothy Sykes, timothysykes.com | twitter – timothysykes
Cut losses quickly, take gains quicker when the investment
doesn’t act EXACTLY the way you expected it to.
Jim Gobetz, Aiki14 Market Sense | twitter – @aiki14
If I could give just 1 piece of advice to traders of all levels
it would be to know, and trade within, their comfort zone.
One should be physically and mentally comfortable going
into any trade. This allows for the maximum clarity of thought
and the best decision making.
This involves everything from a comfortable workstation,
to limiting the size of trades to that which you can make
without excess fear. It means not trading if you are experiencing
anything that puts you off your game.
If you are not 100% physically or mentally you are at higher risk
of making errors. This is not to say you must be a triathlon runner
and Zen master, but it does mean if you just had gum surgery
or your wife emptied the bank acct and took the kids to
Kunal Desai, Co-founder Bulls on WALLstreet |
twitter @kunal00
Lot of good stock pickers out there millions.
Thats 1 percent of trading.
Trade management/position management
thats the next level stuff that takes you from doing this as a
hobby to a living.
Leigh Drogen, LeighDrogen.com
The number one piece of advice I can give is this.
Know your trading strategy and stick to it. Think of yourself as a
baseball player. Not all hitters hit for power, some go up to the plate
with the intention of hitting singles and stealing bases.
Each player knows what type of game he plays which makes him
successful, there is no one right way about it.
Know your strategy and master it.
John Lee, Charts Gone Wild | twitter – @WeeklyTA
Be self-aware and willing to adapt to change.
Evan McDaniel, HedgeAccording.ly
1. Patience
2. Never risk more than 5% of capital scalping or 10% swing on
any trade
3. Understand how to profit from high implied correlation in the
equity markets
4. Have the correct technology and real time news sources
5. Do not double down
6. cut your losers at a predetermined point.
7. always have a profit goal in mind
Rahul Sood, Co-founder Bulls on WALL Street
Don’t buy on margin. Ever.
Anne-Marie, TheTradingBook.com
The 15 minute rule:
If your stock breaches the high of the first 15 minutes,
it is likely to continue upside for the day.
If your stock fails the low of the first 15minutes,
it is likely to continue downside for the day.
the only caveat here is that your 10 day ema must have slope
(it cannot be flat for this 15minute rule to hold).
Trey Jarmond
Formulate a thesis, stick to it until circumstances change,
build slowly until the thesis is confirmed, then hit it hard
with 15% of it hedged. Always hedge.
Zachary Musso, The Moose Outlook
The most important thing you can do as a trader is psychologically
break down your faults and promote your positives from the trading
session that was – the next time you see something occur that
reminds you of a previous fault or positive, take advantage of it
and either take the trade or pass up on it.
Matt Davio, misstrade.wordpress.com
I would offer two suggestions:
1) more important that picking your next double digit winner is
your exepctancy per position sizing and your reward to risk ratio.
You can have good results wiped out by one or two big losses.
2) Always go into a trade with a solid plan: entry, target, exit stop.
Your plan should come from your diligent research.
Do not blindly follow others, even if they claim to be successful.
Leigh Jones, Bulls on WALLstreet
Understandably, a trader must understand the playing field of the
stock market. When you step on the field, be aware, you are in the
middle of a game that is highly sophisticated.
The market doesn’t care how much you know,
how much risk tolerance you have, or whether you are trading
with the house payment. Constantly the market changes with the
introduction of new technology and intricate software which
essentially trade the markets based off logarithms and algorithms.
You aren’t trading against simple-minded beings any longer;
you are up against the big boys.
Do yourself a favor and find a mentor that has traded
successfully for over 10 years.
This trader has both the hindsight and foresight to provide
a competitive edge. Older traders that can’t migrate to the
newer methods won’t help you. Newer traders that don’t have
the hindsight to place the new methodology into perspective
and tweak are just as dangerous.
Educate yourself with the newest of methods or
it could be difficult to keep up moving forward and remember:
there are times when the trade is not your trade.
ATAD = Another Trade Another Day
Michael Dawson, MichaelDawson.com
Buy high and sell low is a recipe for disaster.
Unfortunately, without a systematic approach to
minimize your emotions its your destiny.
Trader Stewie, The Impatient Trader
“A good trader knows that the best trades work almost
right away and never takes a big loss.
If it doesn’t ‘feel’ right, remove it!”
Blain Reinkensmeyer, StockTradingToGo.com
and tradeWISER.com
Post trade analysis is critical to future success.
Learn from every trade you make by recording your pre-trade
thoughts with a stock chart screenshot and post trade thoughts
with a second stock chart screenshot.
(Store these all on your computer and
you will be amazed at how they help in the future.
Have some of your own stock trading advice?)
Leave it in the comments below post.
TODAY’S DAY TRADING STRATEGY
OF NIFTY FUTURES – OCT 1
Support exists @ 6009-02
After finding a support btwn these levels
Nfutures goes upto 6036-42-62
Day Resistance @ 6062
After finding resistance @ 6062,
it would slide upto 6044-36-24
And taking 6020 as support it could then move upwards till 6042+
Suppose if opens above 6062
a clean jerk upto 6082 is seen
If 6085 is crossed with high volumes,
no one can stop Nifty going new highs
BANK NIFTY
Trading Signals based on Volatality
Buy btwn 12402-23
T1 – 12455-71
T2 – 12482-508
Sell @ 12336-15
T1 – 12283-65
T2 – 12255-30
OPTION PLAYERS – YOUR ATTENTION PLEASE
Buy Entry comes @ 6083
& Sell Entry @ 5974
Buy 6200 CE if NF crosses and stays above 6080 for 2 hours
Or
Buy 5900 PE if NF breaches and trade below 5980 for 2 hours
(Holding time – 12 days)
Targets, trailing stoplosses are updated only to the subscribers
Nifty, Bank Nifty levels and intraday news updated here gives astonishing success rate (more than 95%) that is more than enough for the readers to attain a decent profit daily.
To mint much more money pls subscribe our service and
enjoy daily market with our guidance.
Thank you.
SHARE TIPS TODAY
Sell PATNI @ 410.5
T1 – 406.5
T2 – 402.5
HOW TO START TRADING STOCKS AND GET RICH IN COLLEGE
A talented young dynamic trader
called ‘Amey’ says so……..
There is no doubt that the best time to start learning how to trade stocks is during college. Not only because you start out young, but because the responsibilities and consequences are not as risky
as say somebody who has to support a family.
Now embarking on my second year as a college-grad, I am constantly reminded of just how smart I was to manage my
finances during school. Besides giving me a head start in how much money I have compared to my fellow peers, building a portfolio also helped me learn about business in general.
While the amount of money made from stock trading will obviously vary from person to person, there is no denying how much the experience can benefit in the long-run.
Some external benefits of trading during college include:
- Learn how to manage money.
- Learn what does and doesn’t make a successful business.
- Learn just how greedy the world really is.
- Learn your threshold and what kind of risk you can take
Join an investment club
One of the perks of trading in college is the resources students have access to. An investment club is a great place to meet traders of all skill level that can bounce ideas off each other and share strategies. Some schools even allow the investment club a say on how the school’s fund is invested.The investment club at my school held competitions using virtual trading platforms and winners won prizes… and bragging rights.
While most schools should have some form of an investment club already established, if there isn’t one grab a few classmates that are also interested in trading and start your own club.
Get a smart phone
Odds are you probably already have one, and, if setup correctly, this phone can be the basis for which most of your trades are made through. After all, it isn’t like anybody pays attention during class anyways, right? So why not trade?Unfortunately, there weren’t too many mobile trading options until my last year of college, but nowadays, most brokers offer some sort of solution - a full list of brokers that offer mobile trading.
Save money from summer internship/job to fund first account
I’m sure by now you are probably wondering where do we get the money that we will actually be trading? From personal experience, I was paper trading, or virtual trading in my first year of college. That summer after, I saved money from a summer internship, which I used to fund my first account.Use your school resources
Depending on your school some resources will obviously be better than others, but all schools offer something. Make sure to research into your school’s facilities and see what is all available. Some colleges offer full trading rooms that can be booked, while most schools offer discounts on the Wall Street Journal and other finance publications.Don’t be scared to take risk
Lastly, don’t be scared to lose your money. At the same time, don’t go into stock trading thinking you will make big bucks and come out of college a millionaire. That is a surefire way to lose all your money and whatever else you put into it.Make sure to have fun, learn about all the resources available to you, and prepare yourself for the real world. Its only just beginning.
-AMEY
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MESSAGE TODAY
If I let myself believe anything on insufficient evidence, there may be no great harm done by the mere belief; it may be true after all, or I may never have occasion to exhibit it in outward acts. But I cannot help doing this great wrong towards Man, that I make myself credulous. The danger to society is not merely that it should believe wrong things, though that is great enough; but that it should become credulous, and lose the habit of testing things and inquiring into them; for then it must sink back into savagery.
-WILLIAM KINGDON CLIFFORD, The Ethics of Belief
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Sardar got job in a telenor call centre.
Customer: telenor sim blocked what to do?
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put warid sim.
Thank you for calling ufone.
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