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How To Find YOUR Profits:

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Written by Timothy Sykes
Reviewed by Jack Kellogg Fact-checked by Ellis Hobbs
Updated 11/19/2024 5 min read

It’s Tim Sykes here.

Even the best traders in the market lose now and then.

The goal is to keep our losses smaller than our gains.

See Jack Kellogg’s trades below:

Source: Profit.ly

Understand, you’re not alone if you lose a trade … 

Sometimes, from a new student’s perspective, it seems like me and my millionaire students are trading perfectly. Then the new student gets frustrated trying to replicate perfection in their own trades.

Pay attention: I’m not perfect. Neither is Jack Kellogg.

You need to accept your faults to succeed as a trader.

For example, to keep my losses smaller than my gains … I have to accept when I’m wrong and get out of a trade before it falls apart even further.

This is an essential mindset for traders.

Even Jack Kellogg, one of my most successful millionaire students, had to modify his process recently after taking some losses.

He didn’t give up. He accepted his mistakes. Then he buckled down and figured out how to get back in the groove.

Follow Jack’s lead!

Here’s how to get in the groove and find YOUR GAINS right now:

Jack’s Process

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It’s easy to think that Jack trades perfectly …

But earlier this year he started taking some big losses. And as a result, he modified his process.

Below is an image of Jack’s trading spreadsheet for the month of September.

Everyone should keep a spreadsheet to track and learn from their trades.

Notice how certain days show big swings in his profits and losses (+ and – $100k). Jack mentioned that he was trading with larger sizes in September and that he was swinging for the fences. He tried to make big trades and pull big profits.

Sometimes the added risk led to larger losses than he would have liked.

Source: Profit.ly

Now, let’s compare September to October and November …

Jack lowered his position sizes and focused on taking singles. The result: He was more controlled and didn’t get emotional about his trades.

The potential for profits might not be as large, but his losses are much more controlled.

Take a look:

Source: Profit.ly

And so far in November:

Source: Profit.ly

Here’s what we can learn from Jack’s process right now:

  • Stop swinging for the fences.

And …

  • Review your trades to find what works.

You don’t have to print out charts or spend hours pouring over past trades.

Just scroll through your orders for the week and make a note:

“This was a dip-buy trade, how did it go? This was a breakout trade, how did it go?”

You’ll realize pretty quickly which plays work best for your account.

Once you figure out what works, you can size up to trade with more money.

Jack’s Next Trade!

Source

Even I’m learning from Jack’s process right now…

The student has become the teacher!

When I started trading in college, over two decades ago, nobody was teaching this. I had to figure it out on my own.

To contrast, my students had the benefit of following my journey. They learned from my successes and my mistakes.

And as a result, Jack Kellogg is a better trader than me.

After starting in 2017, he passed my career profits of $7.8 million and is sitting at $13.4 million (including losses).

I’m not afraid to admit that Jack is a better trader. Instead, I plan to learn from his positions.

It starts by following his next setup … 

In the video below, you’ll learn Jack’s next BIG trade:

Make sure to take notes and study his process! These plays repeat in the market.

The pattern that Jack uses for his next trade, it’s not the last time we see an opportunity like that.

Focus on what works and apply it to our own account!

Cheers.

 

*Past performance does not indicate future results

 


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* Results are not typical and will vary from person to person. Making money trading stocks takes time, dedication, and hard work. There are inherent risks involved with investing in the stock market, including the loss of your investment. Past performance in the market is not indicative of future results. Any investment is at your own risk. See Terms of Service here

The available research on day trading suggests that most active traders lose money. Fees and overtrading are major contributors to these losses.

A 2000 study called “Trading is Hazardous to Your Wealth: The Common Stock Investment Performance of Individual Investors” evaluated 66,465 U.S. households that held stocks from 1991 to 1996. The households that traded most averaged an 11.4% annual return during a period where the overall market gained 17.9%. These lower returns were attributed to overconfidence.

A 2014 paper (revised 2019) titled “Learning Fast or Slow?” analyzed the complete transaction history of the Taiwan Stock Exchange between 1992 and 2006. It looked at the ongoing performance of day traders in this sample, and found that 97% of day traders can expect to lose money from trading, and more than 90% of all day trading volume can be traced to investors who predictably lose money. Additionally, it tied the behavior of gamblers and drivers who get more speeding tickets to overtrading, and cited studies showing that legalized gambling has an inverse effect on trading volume.

A 2019 research study (revised 2020) called “Day Trading for a Living?” observed 19,646 Brazilian futures contract traders who started day trading from 2013 to 2015, and recorded two years of their trading activity. The study authors found that 97% of traders with more than 300 days actively trading lost money, and only 1.1% earned more than the Brazilian minimum wage ($16 USD per day). They hypothesized that the greater returns shown in previous studies did not differentiate between frequent day traders and those who traded rarely, and that more frequent trading activity decreases the chance of profitability.

These studies show the wide variance of the available data on day trading profitability. One thing that seems clear from the research is that most day traders lose money .

Millionaire Media 66 W Flagler St. Ste. 900 Miami, FL 33130 United States (888) 878-3621 This is for information purposes only as Millionaire Media LLC nor Timothy Sykes is registered as a securities broker-dealer or an investment adviser. No information herein is intended as securities brokerage, investment, tax, accounting or legal advice, as an offer or solicitation of an offer to sell or buy, or as an endorsement, recommendation or sponsorship of any company, security or fund. Millionaire Media LLC and Timothy Sykes cannot and does not assess, verify or guarantee the adequacy, accuracy or completeness of any information, the suitability or profitability of any particular investment, or the potential value of any investment or informational source. The reader bears responsibility for his/her own investment research and decisions, should seek the advice of a qualified securities professional before making any investment, and investigate and fully understand any and all risks before investing. Millionaire Media LLC and Timothy Sykes in no way warrants the solvency, financial condition, or investment advisability of any of the securities mentioned in communications or websites. In addition, Millionaire Media LLC and Timothy Sykes accepts no liability whatsoever for any direct or consequential loss arising from any use of this information. This information is not intended to be used as the sole basis of any investment decision, nor should it be construed as advice designed to meet the investment needs of any particular investor. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future returns.

Citations for Disclaimer

Barber, Brad M. and Odean, Terrance, Trading is Hazardous to Your Wealth: The Common Stock Investment Performance of Individual Investors. Available at SSRN: “Day Trading for a Living?”

Barber, Brad M. and Lee, Yi-Tsung and Liu, Yu-Jane and Odean, Terrance and Zhang, Ke, Learning Fast or Slow? (May 28, 2019). Forthcoming: Review of Asset Pricing Studies, Available at SSRN: “https://ssrn.com/abstract=2535636”

Chague, Fernando and De-Losso, Rodrigo and Giovannetti, Bruno, Day Trading for a Living? (June 11, 2020). Available at SSRN: “https://ssrn.com/abstract=3423101”