Become a Better Trader By Doing This…

If only I knew then what I know now. Hindsight is priceless… it has the answer to almost everything. Just imagine the advice you’d give your younger self. Chances are your career would progress faster, your parental skills would be better, and you’d sidestep a few financial blunders.

But relying on hindsight can be a hard slog. You see, learning this way often involves trial and error. And there’s also no guarantee you’ll find the best way forward. You could stumble down dead ends for years. If only you could benefit from hindsight without the setbacks along the way.

Well, it just so happens that you can… The secret is to tap into someone else’s experience. This lets you learn from their mistakes, and their triumphs. It gives you an up-close look at what it takes to be successful.

And that’s exactly how I began my career. I was lucky enough to get my start in an investment bank dealing room. My colleagues were some of the best traders in the business. I learnt to do exactly what they did. I make their trading strategies my strategies. And I used their mental tricks to sidestep fear and maximise my profits. This helped me improve quicker than I would of on my own.

There’s no doubt about it, being around the right people is one of the best ways to lift your game. They provide a ready-made model of success. It’s then a case of adopting their tried-and-tested strategies for yourself.

Hopefully these videos, and perhaps my trading service, do something similar for you. If you don’t know, my approach involves buying stocks that are rising and selling them when they falter. This gives my portfolio a strong stock bias. As simple as it sounds, many people do the opposite. They buy stocks that are falling and then sell them if they see a modest profit.

Just think about your own trading. Have you ever bought a weak stock hoping for a recovery? Don’t worry if the answer is ‘yes’. Many traders fall for this trap. While it may seem like you’re getting a bargain, weak stocks often remain weak. And many get a lot weaker. It’s generally best to avoid these situations altogether.

Another lesson is to let your winners run. This is a key factor in maximising profits. And it’s one of the most important things I can tell you. Sure, a quick 10–20% profit is appealing. But cashing in modest gains could really hold you back. If you do this, you can’t get the big 100%-plus winners. It simply isn’t possible. And it’s these trades that my trading approach targets.

The mental side of trading is just as important. I’ll talk more about this in the weeks ahead. Hopefully this all leads to you becoming a better all-round trader — without the years of trial and error.

So that’s all for this week. If you liked this video, or even if you didn’t, scroll down and leave me a comment, or maybe a thumbs up. Also, if you’re watching this anywhere other than my website motiontrader.com.au then head over and have a look.

So until next time, I’m Jason McIntosh, and let’s find some trends this week.

Meet Jason

I'm Jason McIntosh, the creator of Motion Trader. My career began in 1991 on the trading floor at Bankers Trust. Nowadays, I trade my own systems from home in Sydney. 
Motion Trader is for investors who value robust analysis, data driven entry and exit signals, commentary, and education. I use engineered algorithms to identify when to buy and sell ASX stocks. No biases or guesswork, just data driven signals.