Chat With Traders is your key to the minds of trading's elite performers. Start listening to learn how a diverse mix of traders went from zero to hero, how they successfully trade markets today, and get their best tips 'n pointers for profitable performance, plus much more. Note: You are responsible for your own trading decisions—this is not financial advice.
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Brian Lee shares his evolution from a professional gamer to a successful day trader, recounting his early struggles, a devastating $100k account blow-up, and his ultimate comeback. He discusses developing a systematic approach to shorting penny stocks with dilution, emphasizing strict risk management using the R-model, and focusing on large wins despite a low win rate. Brian also highlights the importance of peer collaboration and shares his top lessons for new traders.
This episode features Bob Bright, a market legend and pioneer of proprietary trading, who recounts his fascinating career. From expertly counting cards in Las Vegas to trading options and founding Bright Trading, Bob consistently sought a mathematical edge. He discusses his evolution through different market eras, his current strategies involving leveraged ETFs, and the critical role of discipline and understanding market mechanics for sustained success.
Wayne Himelsein, CIO of Logica Capital Advisors, details his firm's mean expansion and long volatility strategies, which aim to profit from market changes. He explains how they overcome the typical low hit rate of such strategies by actively trading around market noise. Himelsein also shares critical insights on model development, including avoiding overfitting, the interplay of systematic and discretionary approaches, and the surprising role of market structure in quantitative trading.
Hayden Beamish, a portfolio manager at Endeavour Asset Management, discusses his institutional investment process, from identifying high-quality businesses using screens and networks to detailed due diligence, exemplified by the Polynovo case study. He delves into advanced execution algorithms like VWAP and Chameleon, explaining how large orders are managed. The episode also explores the unique risk management strategies and the significant emotional pressures faced by fund managers, alongside career advice for aspiring investors.
This compilation features leading traders and coaches discussing the paramount importance of psychology in trading. Guests like Lance Beggs, Ryan Tross, and Tom Baso explain how understanding emotional responses, building resilience, and maintaining discipline are more critical than any systematic approach. The episode explores diverse perspectives on managing stress, pursuing genuine happiness over material wealth, and the compounding effect of small, consistent mental improvements.
Much like the recent Best of Risk Management episodes, here is another compilation. Except this time, I’ve compiled the best clips on trading psychology , for you to hear how varying types of traders deal with mindset maters to stay focused and competitive. Again, I dug up way too much from the back catalogue of almost 200-episodes to pack into a single episode, so this is only part one—part two will follow shortly. Besides creating a go-to trading psychology resource, I hope this might also hig...
In her early-20’s, after graduating from MIT, Christina Qi and two classmates; Luca Lin and Jonathan Wang—who had collectively been trading futures from a campus dorm room—founded Domeyard. It was 2012, and Domeyard was to be one of the few high frequency trading hedge funds… As Christina states during the interview, “By all means we should have failed,” given the three of them had little trading experience and minimal insight to the hedge fund industry. Not to mention, the three had almost no m...
This episode features Haim Ben Ami, CEO of Raft Technologies, who explains the extreme importance of speed in algorithmic trading, where milliseconds can mean millions. He details how Raft establishes ultra-low latency connections using shortwave radio across continents, contrasting it with microwave and fiber optic cables. Haim also shares insights into how firms further optimize for speed using technologies like FPGAs and speculates on the future evolution of the "race to zero" latency in financial markets.
Ryan Trost, an equities trader at SMB Capital, shares his first year trading full-time. He discusses navigating highly volatile stocks like Tesla, his career pivot from biomedical engineering to trading, and the rigorous training at a proprietary trading firm. Ryan also delves into his initial struggles, the psychological aspects of trading, and how he developed a consistent system to overcome losses and find an edge in the markets.
Ilan Israelstam’s a co-founder of Australian ETF manager BetaShares and a principal at VC firm Apex Capital Partners. Betashares first begun trading in 2010, and currently, it manages approximately $10-billion dollars in assets, across 61 funds—all of which trade on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX). The motive in asking Ilan to be on the podcast was to learn more about how ETF managers operate and to delve into some of the technical aspects of ETFs. In summary, the topics we cover: risks...
Finance author Liam Vaughan delves into the extraordinary life of Navinder Singh Sarao, the London-based "bedroom trader" who amassed a $70 million fortune and was later accused of contributing to the 2010 Flash Crash. The discussion covers Sarao's early trading days, his peculiar personality, the evolution of his trading strategies into elaborate spoofing algorithms, and the controversial circumstances surrounding his arrest and eventual sentencing. Vaughan also touches on the complex role of high-frequency trading firms and regulatory oversight in the unfolding saga.
Greg Newman, CEO of Onyx Commodities, provides an in-depth analysis of the volatile global oil market. He dissects the combined impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the OPEC+ pricing war, explaining why outright crude futures often fail to reflect true supply and demand. Newman elaborates on the importance of trading differentials and swaps, revealing how physical market signals offer clearer insights. The discussion also covers the critical effects on oil producers, refiners, and major corporate consumers like airlines, alongside the key factors needed for market recovery.
Kevin Muir joins to demystify how central banks, particularly the Federal Reserve, add liquidity to markets by purchasing securities and engaging in international swap lines, especially during crises. The discussion highlights the unprecedented scale of these interventions, the Fed's primary focus on credit market stability over stock market performance, and the strategic collaboration between the Treasury and the Fed to acquire corporate bonds. Muir also shares his perspective on the potential for future inflation driven by these policies and the principles of Modern Monetary Theory.
Nishant Porbanderwalla returns to Chat With Traders to share his experience trading through the extreme volatility caused by the global pandemic in early 2020. He details how initial underestimation of the virus led to a rapid market downturn, catching many bullish investors off guard. Nishant highlights the importance of flexibility, rigorous risk management, and leveraging experience to adapt strategies and identify trading opportunities during such intense periods, noting the mental and physical toll on traders.
In this episode, Christian Castillo shares his experiences during his first year of full-time forex trading, including how he transitioned from driving Lyft to funding his initial $20,000 account. He delves into the psychological challenges and lessons learned, particularly from a significant drawdown, and explains his technical analysis strategy using Fibonacci, support/resistance, and multiple timeframes. Christian also provides insights into his daily routine, risk management, and continuous improvement efforts.
This compilation episode features seasoned traders sharing their best advice on risk management. Topics include Greg Newman's insights on stop evaluation and position sizing, Tom Dante's lessons on trading psychology and risk-reward evolution, and Aaron Brown's perspective on defining being wrong and planning for upside. Mike Agney discusses discipline and building risk tolerance, while John Moulton emphasizes detaching from money. Finally, Rob offers a unique view comparing trading to casino management, highlighting the importance of a holistic risk model and avoiding common retail trader mistakes.
This "best of" episode compiles instrumental advice on risk management from nearly 200 past interviews, reinforcing its crucial role in a trader's longevity. Experts share diverse perspectives on handling drawdowns, position sizing, psychological resilience, and identifying inherent market risks, providing a go-to reference for managing trading losses and fostering sustained success. The episode covers practical strategies from individual traders and institutional firms.
In this episode, Josh Evans recounts his path to becoming a full-time intraday trader, beginning with his career as a radiographer and an inheritance that sparked his interest in the market. He discusses his early wins during the lithium boom, the pivotal role of a cancer diagnosis in accelerating his transition, and the practical preparations for trading from home. Josh also shares the unexpected challenges and a significant drawdown he faced, how he overcame self-doubt by setting checkpoints, and the impactful advice that reshaped his trading approach. He explains his scalping style on ASX equities, emphasizing order flow analysis, and outlines his commitment to consistent journaling and adapting to changing market conditions.
This episode features Sudhu Arumugam, co-founder and CRO of CoinFlex, who shares his two decades of institutional trading experience before entering crypto. He recounts his early days on the LIFFE floor, working at Merrill Lynch with exotic derivatives, and the valuable lessons learned in position management. The discussion then transitions to CoinFlex's mission, its strategic move to Asia, the challenges and solutions of integrating the Trading Technologies interface for crypto traders, and the critical importance of physically delivered futures in the volatile crypto market.
In this episode, WallStreetBets founder Jaime Rogozinski delves into the subreddit's unique culture of audacious risk-taking and the "get rich quick" mentality prevalent among its millennial members. He explains the platform's evolution from a learning community to a phenomenon where commission-free apps and gamified trading have lowered barriers to entry for complex financial instruments. Rogozinski also shares notable stories, including the "infinite money glitch" on Robinhood, Martin Shkreli's unexpected moderation, and the most extreme wins and losses experienced by users.
Mike Mangieri, co-founder of Seven Points Capital, offers a unique perspective on running a proprietary trading firm. He discusses the firm's origin, its pivot from brokerage to prop trading, and the challenges of managing risk and capital for multiple traders. The conversation delves into trader psychology, the impact of social media, and the importance of mentorship and a balanced life outside of trading. Mike also shares insights on identifying talent and the future of the prop trading industry.
Author Gregory Zuckerman delves into the story of Jim Simons and his incredibly successful hedge fund, Renaissance Technologies, known for its unparalleled quantitative models. He recounts the immense challenges in writing "The Man Who Solved the Market" due to Simons' secrecy, detailing Simons' journey from an academic and code-breaker to a financial titan. The discussion covers Simons' early struggles, the evolution of Renaissance's medium-frequency trading strategies, its unique data collection, and Simons' surprising personal moments of doubt, underscoring the triumph of scientific rigor over intuition in trading.
Nico, known as @InefficientMrkt, returns to discuss his career shift from a retail trader to a proprietary trader at Seven Points Capital, where he also heads the San Diego office. He shares insights into adapting to firm trading, emphasizing the importance of hard stops, incremental scaling, and the unique benefits of a collaborative trading environment. The conversation also explores how his approach to trading low-float microcap stocks has evolved, particularly in mastering patient entries and strategic exits in volatile markets.
Robert Greifeld discusses his transformative journey as Nasdaq CEO, taking the exchange from the brink of crisis to a diversified global company. He shares critical moments, drastic actions, and the strategic thinking behind numerous acquisitions, including the pivotal INET technology. Greifeld also provides valuable lessons in leadership, emphasizing work-life integration and the importance of loving your job for long-term career success.
Larry Hite, a market veteran and pioneer of trend following, shares his journey from early life challenges like dyslexia to co-founding Mint Investments, a billion-dollar hedge fund. He delves into his unique, probabilistic approach to trading, emphasizing extreme risk management, diversification, and how being
For many, this will likely be the first time hearing about Mike Komaransky, but those who know him already, know him as a Bitcoin OG—and deservedly so, as he began accumulating the cryptocurrency around 2010. Though Mike has been a professional trader of fixed income derivatives since 2001, when he joined powerhouse trading firm DRW. Mike later became a partner at DRW, and in 2014 he launched its cryptocurrency trading business Cumberland—which grew to become one of the world’s largest market ma...
Systematic trader Nick Radge offers a comprehensive guide to creating an effective trend following system, emphasizing buying strength and cutting losses. He details strategy development from initial ideas, using breakout entries with confirmation filters, to crucial risk management techniques like dynamic trailing stops and market regime filters. The discussion extends to rigorous portfolio-level testing, ensuring parameter robustness, optimal position sizing, and the practicalities of deploying and managing a live system, underscoring the benefits of simplicity and long-term adherence in trading.
Sam Bankman-Fried, founder of Alameda Research, shares insights from his transition from traditional finance at Jane Street to the volatile crypto market. He explains Alameda's approach to quantitative trading, including arbitrage and liquidity provision, highlighting the unique operational complexities and the necessity of a global presence. The discussion also covers their hybrid model of automated systems with real-time human intervention, strategies for fast-moving markets, managing risks, and the philosophy driving their rapid growth, along with a macro view on crypto's uncertain future.
The episode features Alex (@TAGRtrades) discussing a listener's challenge: a 38-year-old with three kids and a full-time job aiming for full-time trading. Alex provides insights on starting with small trades, mastering one setup, and managing risk. They explore swing trading as a practical approach for those with day jobs, discuss the feasibility of aggressive transition timelines, and differentiate between types of prop firms and genuine mentorship. The conversation emphasizes personal responsibility and the dedication required for success in trading.
Jonathan Shapiro's a senior reporter at the Australian Financial Review. While he writes about a range of subjects from banking to hedge funds to private equity, he's renown for stories that uncover dishonesty and the crafty schemes of listed companies—for which, he's won several awards. Our conversation begins with Jonathan telling the story of Blue Sky Alternative, a fund manager that came unstuck following the release of a short sellers research report. From there, we roll into a very detaile...
