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The Advantages Of Having A Small Trading Account

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Written by Timothy Sykes
Updated 3/14/2023 6 min read

Have you ever imagined making over $12 million dollars in trading profits during your lifetime…

Jack Kellogg didn’t, either…

Despite only starting with $10,000 when he joined my challenge, he focused on learning and studying every piece of trading wisdom I shared with him.

Now Jack has profited over $12 million and is sitting down with Business Insider to share what strategy he uses.

Many traders believe that making profits with a small account is almost impossible…

However, my strategy is specifically tailored to help traders who are starting with a small trading account!

If you think a small trading account puts you at a disadvantage, think again…

In fact, trading with a small account can give you huge advantages, and today I am going to show you why that is…

And what you can focus on to grow your account faster than you think!

Growing Your Account

If you still don’t believe starting small is beneficial, let’s break it down to show you the advantage that you truly have.

Let’s assume that you have a starting bank account with $1,000.

But maybe you don’t think penny stocks are worth investing in, but large-cap stocks are the way to go…

So let’s take a look at a very common stock, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL).

At the time I am writing this, AAPL is currently trading at $152 a share.

Now, let’s say you decide to buy 1 share of Apple ($152 price x 1 share = $152)…

Which is essentially 15% of your trading portfolio.

In a span of a trading day, the stock may move let’s say 3% (this could fluctuate a little).

You are risking ($152 x 1 share) = $152 and yield a 3% return, leaving you with a profit of $4.56.

Not a whole lot of money, but made 3% on the day, not too bad in terms of a percentage gain.

Now let’s focus on a penny stock Global Developments, Inc. (OTC: GDVM)

I traded this stock yesterday and made 10.57% (Risked $3,831 to profit $405) (I typically look for a 5-10% bounce) with this strategy…

But let’s say you only risked 5% of your account on this trade instead of 15%.

$50 @ $0.0615 would give you 813 shares…

And with a 10.57% move on this trade, it would yield you a $5.28 profit – already surpassing the $4.56 profit you would’ve had with AAPL.

And you risked even less money than you did for your previous trade!

Penny stocks can be incredibly volatile, and that’s why they can be so lucrative….

They can have moves that large-cap stocks may never see!

Penny stocks have the ability to go Supernova

Maybe some of you remember AMTD Digital Inc. (NASDAQ: HKD)…


If you don’t, go take a look at the chart!

Trading penny stocks are one of the best ways to grow a small trading account, especially if you catch a stock before they explode! 

Taking these quick types of trades, with a lot less risk can yield greater results…

And over time, these quick gains could add up over time.

But no matter what type of stocks you trade in the market, it’s important for every trader to understand this…

Risk Management

I hate to say it, but every trader will experience losing trades…

It’s just part of the industry…

And if there is ever a trader telling you they never lose, they are LYING.

The biggest thing every trader should know is how to manage their losses when it happens.  

But only focusing on managing your losses is only part of the battle…

It also boils down to how to calculate your risk on every trade.

Do you think those traders on Wall Street risk the majority of their portfolio on a single trade?

Of course not!

Do you think they stay in a position for a long period of time?

Heck no.

These traders understand the risks associated with trading, and that’s what I strive to teach every one of my students.

That’s why I came up with my #1 rule for a reason.

Traders who refuse to exit trades are bag holders.  They lose so much on a trade, that they are stuck holding and hoping the stock will rebound just to get back to even…

This isn’t a strategy any trader should have.

Instead, it’s all about position sizing and knowing what you are risking.

Never risk a large chunk of your portfolio, these penny stocks have the ability to move quickly so even risking a small amount can yield a large return…

But if they move in the opposite direction and you are holding in hopes to get back to even…

You may be packing your bags early.

I don’t like to be involved in risky trades, or stocks that don’t have ideal setups…

Instead, I like to stick to a pattern I feel most comfortable with…

Morning Panics

Investing in large-cap stocks requires a lot of money, and if you don’t have tens of thousands worth of dollars to throw around on every trade…

That means the morning panic dip buy is perfect for you.

This strategy may not yield a large percentage gain like some other penny stocks could…

But it can build your account from a few hundred to a few thousand each time with consistency.

All you have to do is follow this framework, and wait for them to panic…

And most of these trades all start from a big percent gainer.

Every stock that fits my framework starts from basically nothing…

And sometimes you may happen to find a stock that is going Supernova based on breaking news…

But even then, those types of plays almost follow the steps of my framework every time.

Every time a stock spikes, all you need to do is wait for them to crash back down to earth…

And wait for them to panic before they bounce.

With anything, practice makes perfect…

That’s why I provide all of these different learning lessons and videos for my students.

Stop thinking you need a lot of money to be profitable or focus only on large-cap stocks…

There are several advantages to trading with a small account and making sure you fully understand my strategy.

I’ll see you all here tomorrow!

-Tim


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Author card Timothy Sykes picture

Timothy Sykes

Tim Sykes is a penny stock trader and teacher who became a self-made millionaire by the age of 22 by trading $12,415 of bar mitzvah money. After becoming disenchanted with the hedge fund world, he established the Tim Sykes Trading Challenge to teach aspiring traders how to follow his trading strategies. He’s been featured in a variety of media outlets including CNN, Larry King, Steve Harvey, Forbes, Men’s Journal, and more. He’s also an active philanthropist and environmental activist, a co-founder of Karmagawa, and has donated millions of dollars to charity. Read More

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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”