Successful Trader Emotions:
Calm: Trader feels little emotion, even if the market goes against him. A good trader stays calm, on good or bad days.
Comfortable with self: Trader already has a sense of self worth and confidence, not necessarily by trading.
Logical: A good trader is a problem solver and knows a high percentage trade when he sees it. He finds a good trading system and sticks with it.
Patient: An excellent trader waits for just the right moment before making the trade. A patient trader can go for a month without making any trades and it doesn't bother him.
Realistic: A successful trader knows that the markets do not know him or care about him. He realizes that the equity markets are not for him or against him.
Successful Trader Work Ethic:
Hard worker: the successful trader researches stocks/funds every day using an unbiased equity analysis website, such as Morningstar.
apex trader funding saleKnows trading is not a "get rich quick" scam. A good trader considers trading his job or his own small business. He is content to break even or make a little money the first year. After that, he sets yearly profit goals.
The ethical trader never gives others buy/sell advice. He never charges anyone for his knowledge. He knows no one is an expert and that every trader does things just a little differently.
Watches at least one business news program daily
Reads any news on the wires, especially if they concern equities he owns or is thinking of buying
Gathers all information together and sifts through it in a logical fashion. He realizes that the final decision(if any) is his alone. The successful trader is a "white box" investor.
Successful Trader Characteristics:
A confident trader never listens to stock tips. He knows that if the "man in the street" has heard something, it is way too late to take advantage.
A good trader never relies on other's "expert" opinions. He knows that it will be much more satisfying to make his own decisions using his own research.
A well-grounded trader realizes that the market may crash on any given day. He also knows to expect the unexpected, no matter how well he has been doing.
A realistic trader knows that the past is never any guarantee of future results.
The successful trader is looking towards eventually making a living trading. He says to himself: "Why work for someone else when I can be my own boss?"
The practical trader knows that he must be well capitalized and that this may take awhile. He realizes, for example, that to make about $4000/month in consistent profits(a good living), he must have about $250,000 equity. These numbers yield a monthly percent profit of about 1.6%, a very attainable goal. A successful trader never has to take unreasonable risks with a well-capitalized account.
Trades for the very long term; does not day trade.
Knows the importance of diversification among all asset classes and asset sizes.
Never trades on news or rumor. The good trader knows that the market is made up of thousands of people, who sometimes act irrationally. He waits until the news is past, then trades if he's still interested.
The careful trader uses exchange traded funds(ETF's). He might have a few mutual funds/stocks, but he realizes the inflexibility of mutual funds and the volatility of the naked stock. He does not bother with options(of any kind), futures, or currency trading, since the prudent trader does not want that much risk..