Chat With Traders

Experiencing the brutal bear market of 1973-74 impressed upon Tom the necessity to find ways to hedge risk. This began a multi year long quest to find the right combination of uncorrelated assets, technical indicators and adjust the weightings as needed to provide enough protection to fill in the potholes of equity drawdowns while retaining the bulk of upside potential. Having a sweet balance between risk and reward both in the financial markets and in his personal life has enabled Tom to maintain a serene disposition. Tom Basso’s Background: Tom Basso is an American hedge fund manager. He was president and founder of Trendstat Capital Management. He has authored two books, Panic-Proof Investing and the self-published The Frustrated Investor. In 1998, he was elected to the board of the National Futures Association. Basso graduated from Clarkson University in Potsdam, New York in 1974, where he majored in chemical engineering. Prior to his career in trading, Basso worked as an engineer for Monsanto Company. He became a registered investment advisor in 1980 and a registered commodities advisor in 1984. Basso established Trendstat Capital in 1984 and served as its CEO until his retirement. Having retired from active trading in 2003, he now manages his own portfolios and provides guidance to aspiring traders. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Every now and then, we like to switch things up and take a break from our usual program. Today, we present a special episode for that purpose. So, what keeps you in the trading game? The voices you hear in the podcast introduction belong to our listeners from all over the world. We share these voices with you because we believe you will be able to relate to them, just as we do. These voices mirror those of many traders like us who are on similar paths. They also serve as a reminder that we are not alone on this journey. We also reflect on the key messages and valuable lessons learned from the amazing guests we have interviewed, as well as the common threads that distinguish them from the rest. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The shock of his first major losing year in 2004 as a discretionary trader, propelled Rob Hanna to find quantifiable statistical advantages that would help mitigate the fluctuations in his equity curves. Knowing the dangers of curve fitting, in trying to find that ‘perfect’ system, Rob zeroed in on simpler approaches that would combine seasonality, overbought, oversold and Federal Reserve days. The result is a system that helps minimize anxiety and drawdowns while keeping him invested for the bulk of bullish moves. Rob Hanna’s Bio: Rob is a Registered Investment Adviser Representative for Capital Advisors 360. He has worked as a full-time market professional since 2001. Prior to joining CA360, Rob managed his own private investment fund from 2001–2019 and has also run Quantifiable Edges since 2008. Quantifiable Edges offers a subscriber letter and other services focused on quantitative market analysis. Over the years, Rob has spoken at major conferences for the Market Technicians Association (MTA), the National Association of Active Investment Managers (NAAIM), and the American Association of Professional Technical Analysts (AAPTA) among others. Rob is a 1992 graduate of the Boston College Carroll School of Management. He lives and works in Massachusetts but serves institutional and individual clients across the US and Europe. You can find Rob through Quantifiable Edges, or on X (Twitter) @QuantifiablEdgs Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Paying to take and pass the Series 7 license as a teenager in the 1980’s led Bryan Holdford into the high commission world of stocks and options without mentors or the internet. Starting with investment newspapers Bryan tried many trading ideas without any risk controls. Despite frequent and numerous losses, he was hooked on the game of trading. Obsessive determination drives him to stay in the game despite a boom bust performance. Recently he seems to have found the right balance. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Stinging losses with mutual funds in 2008 drove Dan to become an active manager of his portfolio. Enticed by the legalization prospects of marijuana, he dived into learning the fundamentals and technicals of the sector. Learning how these stocks traded relative to each other, he cultivated an awareness of the correlations between these companies. These interrelationships would later be applied to large cap stocks, Commodities and Crypto across different time frames to give insights on when to participate in Bull and Bear runs, and when to back away. Feeling the pain of big early profits evaporating over months, Dan was forced to cultivate a mental flexibility in trading by considering both Bull and Bear signs in every stock he follows. Combined with correlations over multiple time frames with other stocks in the same sector, influences from Commodities, the dollar and various sectors, he flushes out nuances with scalpel-like precision and is ready to flip bullish or bearish without attachment. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An engineer at the core, Mark Bennell, a Private Trader who has been trading full-time for 15 years breaks down what it really means to “Treat Trading As a Business” and why this mindset was incredibly important in turning his trading around and why it has kept him in the game for this long. About Mark Bennell Mark Bennell is a Private Trader who has been trading for the last 18 years, 15 of those being as a full time trader. He holds a Diploma in Technical Analysis, a Diploma in Share Trading and Investment and the International Accreditation as a Certified Financial Technician (CFTe). His trading preferences include discretionary swing trading, scalping Australian equities, and swing trading and scalping the Forex markets. Mark is also a trading mentor and enjoys utilizing his knowledge and experience to conduct live daily analysis on the Forex, Commodities and Indices markets, weekly workshop sessions and assisting others on their journey to become consistent traders. He has also been on stage and presented for the Australian Technical Analysts Association – Victorian Chapter and National Conference, and appeared in Trader’s Edge magazine in Australia, ‘Traders Story’ article. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Seeing and feeling the intensity and chaos of the trading pits back in the 1980’s, Pete knew immediately that trading was the career he had to have. Starting as a floor runner making $5/hr to later trading full time for a living Pete discovered the importance of finding stocks with relative strength during the bear market of 2002. Pete uses a top down 3 step methodical process which helps him zero in on stocks to go long or short. From longs to shorts, conservative credit spreads, high leverage options to occasional Lotto trades, Pete fine tunes his versatile strategies to match current market conditions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Growing up poor in the Philippines, Gabriel sought a way to supplement his income. Dealing with the emotional challenges of giving up his profits in his long-term positions, he switched to trading to have a sense of greater control of the outcome. Starting out using many technical indicators, he later switched to just price action as it gave less false signals. After blowing up several accounts, he honed his skills to become the winner of the 21-Day Trading Challenge Contest inside the Chat with Traders Community and become a funded trader. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Seeking financial opportunities overseas just before the Great Financial Crises, Andres Granger was motivated to learn how to trade after falling victim to a Ponzi-like trading scheme. He worked hard and diligently studied order flow and scalping while trading Futures in different markets. Later, he was introduced to crypto through a prop firm, where he honed his skills to exploit large market inefficiencies through market neutral trading. Emboldened by these incredible opportunities, Andres then went on to create a crypto strategy fund. He’s the Co-founder and Head of Trade and Strategy Development at Active Digital Funds, one of the very few Crypto funds that runs all of their strategies fully automated, and one of the few audited crypto funds to make a positive return for clients in 2022. Recently, they won the award for Best Market Neutral Fund under $25m from HedgeWeek European Digital Asset Awards. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is a special episode of a recording of a recent discussion that occurred within the Chat With Traders Community on a Zoom call. The discussion centers around Henrik Johansson, a beginner fellow trader, who embarked on a journey to obtain funding from a proprietary trading firm within a 60-day timeframe. Patrick Petersson leads the conversation with Henrik. If you recall, Patrick was a guest on episode 260. Patrick and Henrik traded together during this period with the goal of helping Henrik to achieve the goal of getting funded. They provide an overview of these 60 days for the CWT Community and offer valuable insights. We learn about their process of selecting a suitable prop trading firm that catered to Henrik's requirements, strategies that helped him to overcome psychological barriers, factors behind Henrik's decision to modify his trading style, and the tools and indicators he incorporated in his trading practices, and about the three most significant lessons Henrik gained while trading alongside Patrick. This episode is especially enlightening for traders interested in the route of getting funded. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

First seduced by advertisements of easy money, Shay a.k.a. Humbled Trader learned that she had to find her own way of trading. Taking the skills she learned as a special effects artist in Hollywood, she created the popular Youtube channel for traders to share her trading wisdoms in a humorous creative way. Join us in the story of how Shay was able to quit her full time job to trade full time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Growing up in a family and culture strongly critical of trading as a profession, Patrick Petersson opened his first trading account on his 18th birthday and risked his reputation and family money to follow a deep growing passion he had for years. After blowing up many accounts, he found himself homeless and rejected by all in his family despite fully paying them back. Passion, determination, and persuasion gave Patrick another chance as he started managing money for wealthy clients. Join us in this unusual and fascinating journey as we learn about his trading and intuitive Jedi skills to make lightning-fast discretionary executions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lacking education, mentors or money, Lukas Frohlich, known to many as The Short Bear, became fascinated with financial markets when only 13 years old. Saving everything he could from jobs, he started trading before he could even legally drive a car. He created Youtube and Twitter accounts to share strategies, victories and defeats to help fellow traders improve their game. Obsessed with learning from mistakes, understanding gains and improving his process lead to outrageous gains in 2020 with his Agenda Trading strategy. Changing market conditions propelled Lukas into innovating new strategies quite different from what he started with. His focus, dedication and discipline for self improvement allowed him to branch out in new business areas helping others that go beyond just the trading world. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dedicating significant hours to books and market analysis, Alexander Moreno sought regular counsel from a seasoned trading mentor. After refining his abilities through months of paper trading, he ventured into live trading, reaping consistent profits as planned. This success bolstered his confidence to trade full-time as a livelihood. However, the unforeseen market turbulence in 2008 unleashed his psychological struggles, leading to impulsive trading and ultimately, homelessness. This harrowing experience granted Alexander invaluable insights that he now imparts to others. This might be one of the most important episodes to listen to in a while when it comes to the topic of frank discussion on losses in trading and the practicality of managing risks so that traders can stay in the game long enough to have the opportunity to learn and improve. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Deep in debt after finishing Architecture school, David Capablanca, originally from Miami and host of the Friendly Bear Podcast, desired an alternative career with independence, freedom and potential for high earnings. Naturally drawn to a contrarian psychology, he zeroed in on short selling. The challenge of uncovering scams through a deep dive into company fundamentals, history of founders and visiting company headquarters overseas on a quest to find clues were the things that energized David and brought his trading approach to a whole other level. Let’s go on a “short” adventure with David today! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After an accident ended her career as a professional athlete, Louisa Nicola became a Neurophysiologist and human performance coach, in order to understand and share what improves and degrades the brain’s short term performance and long term viability. Adopting certain habits, diets and supplementing with technology can give us traders the edge needed for peak performance and overall mental well-being. Bio Neurophysiologist and human performance coach, Louisa Nicola is the founder and head performance advisor of Neuro Athletics - a consulting firm that boasts the best athletes in the world. By using science driven data from EEG scans, lab tests and cognitive assessments, Louisa has a first class ticket inside the brain of elite NBA and MLB stars. Louisa graduated from the University of Sydney medical school and is currently completing her doctorate studying the effects of resistance exercise on the brain. Louisa serves on the board of Momentous, Tonal, and Klora. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As a former poker player, heavy gambler, and professor of statistics, and after having had a successful professional career in the movie industry in Hollywood, Vincent Bruzzese (aka Hari Seldon of Real Day Trading group) took his poker skills and expertise on statistical predictive modeling of human behavior and ventured into the world of trading with a goal of finding an edge. But, after blowing up his accounts multiple times, he had to go back to the drawing board and hone his trading skills, mindset, and discipline to become a high probability trader before putting in another dime into the markets. Vincent is an advocate for the small traders, and shares a more holistic and contextual approach to the markets and focuses on following the money which has led to his consistency in day trading. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Growing up poor with kidney disease as an immigrant from Mexico, Christian Carreon’s trauma with health issues and family financial instability resulted in the drive and hunger for financial success and security through redemption in the markets. Despite suffering through physical and emotional pain from his condition, his spirit and determination remained strong. He dove deep into the markets and after trial and error, eventually honed down and refined his systematic approach to a “trading boxes” strategy, which he explains. As an avid student of chart history, he gets comfortable with specific price setups which give him the confidence to go “all in”. Lacking basic day to day health impresses upon him the importance of being grateful in everything he does. In addition to trading using the mentioned "box" strategy, Christian is also the founder of Create Wealth Management where he applies a modified version of that strategy. He also started a private group called Paradigm Shift Trading. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Patrick is a finance professor, author, quant hedge fund manager and a connoisseur of financial history. As a young investor in Utility stocks, Patrick’s hunger to learn and apply the lessons of financial history helped him to maintain composure during the frenzied bubble market in the late 90’s and avoid most of the losses his colleagues suffered during the dot.com blowup. His studiousness, and growing aptitude for finding opportunities, resulted in him making valuable connections with mentors and business partners. His desire to understand history by analyzing data led to building quantitative trading models and eventually launching a quant hedge fund Palomar Capital. This episode is packed with so much rich information, wisdom, and humor. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Growing up poor with learning difficulties, Yvan Byejee’s early trading failures drove him to understand his own emotional turbulence and instability in the mind through deep inner work. With a heightened sense of mindfulness, he embraced uncertainty and became systematic in his trading to develop an edge. Yvan discovered trading in the late 90s and has been trading for a living since 2006. He struggled and failed his way to eventual consistency and market success over time. He’s the man responsible for the creation of Trading Composure, where he generously shares with traders all over the world his knowledge, experiences, and wisdom of the inner game of trading. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices