Trader Mindset

Philip Shaw is a farmer in Western Ontario. In this episode, you'll here someone on the physical side of the commodity business discuss how he thinks about what commodities to grow, how he manages risk, and his thoughts from several decades in the commodity business. 

Thanks to everyone who wrote in about September 11. Here are some of my memories from growing up in Manhattan and spending a great deal of time near WTC 1 & 2. 

Don't build it so they will come. There is no connection to spending money you don't have in order to cast a bigger shadow when you have zero potential clients.  Start small. Nothing wrong with it. Grow as your defined needs grow. 

If the instrument you're looking at has a daily volatility measurement that is greater in dollars than you are willing to risk, you must pass on the trade. 

Money you don't spend when you're starting out is money that you don't need to earn. And that's important when you don't fully understand what you're doing. 

The trading world has changed since I began, but the tenets of good trading are still in tact.  Here's how I would counsel myself at the beginning of my career based upon what I know now and the experiences I've had - both good and bad. 

Focus on one style of trading. Build a system for client communications also. Else, your business is going to run you. 

Cannabis Green Book partners with Equifax and Matt and Michael revisit the High Times IPO. 

Michael Martin and Peter Borish discuss the current environment and when it looked like this before.  We also speak about what inspired him to develop his analog model that anticipated the market crash in 1987.  Peter is on the faculty at MartinKronicle and also joins the "live" Mastermind to answer our students questions.   

Hari Krishnan returns to the show to discuss how the VIX can play a role in portfolio diversification, not unlike Managed Futures.    [Sorry about some of the audio. Hari's schedule is very tight and he was overseas at the time of our recording. No matter how many times we hung up and retried getting a better connection, nothing worked.]

Shareholders of GWPH need two approvals in order for their investment to pay off, one of which they have - the FDA approval.  Trickier to understand is the DEA approval which needs to happen by the end of September or 3 months after the FDA approval.

Check out their videos at YouTube also.

If you're wrong 60% of the time in good markets, why lose on your optimal bet size right away?  Cut that in half for your first entry and then add the second half to your winning trade...

You don't have more control over an instrument by downtiming to 10 minute bars? Trader smaller if you're afraid to lose and trade off of weekly charts, then daily. 

Jeff Dorman is a Portfolio Manager and Head Trader at Arca Funds in Los Angeles. 

Tape readers have had to evolve their process with the proliferation of HFT. This is just one example of what you'll face over the course of your career.

Matt Dula is an expert in the marijuana investment space. You can find out more about what he's doing at Cannabis Green Book .

Trim the hedges or not?