It won't surprise our regular readers to know that here at TraderLife we're big fans of the Chat With Traders podcast, some of which we've featured in written form in our Trader Interviews section.
So we're delighted to get a bit more trading insight into the man whose job it is to get weekly nuggets of wisdom from some of the best traders in the business - Chat With Traders host Aaron Fifield (check out over 150 episodes of his podcast at chatwithtraders.com)
And we do that in our own inimitable way (ok sure, with a little help from a famous Radio 4 format), by metaphorically casting our traders adrift to discover their trading inspirations and techniques. Read on to find out what trading tricks Aaron has up his sleeve to get off our island of trading doom...
Desert Island Trades
Desert Island Trades: Your Challenge
You've been dumped on a desert and desolate island, and the only way to get off is to make enough money trading to buy a ride from a ruthless local fisherman. You’ve got $500 in your account and you must trade your way to the fisherman’s going rate of $10,000 to get aboard his trawler. You will have only a laptop and a working link to your broker. Should you fail, the fisherman will cut your connection and you'll never trade again, marooned and doomed... To help you, you can choose the following:
- 1 trading book
- 1 trading movie/documentary
- 1 source of news
- 1 twitter account to follow
- 1 quote to inspire you
- 1 trading platform
- 1 instrument/market to trade
- 1 luxury item
- 1 phone call for advice
Book
Click to buy Aaron's recommended book
Fooled By Randomness, by Nassim Taleb. This is the one book which has had the greatest impact on how I view… well, pretty much everything. I dare say, if you're a speculator who hasn't read this; you're a fool.
Movie/Documentary
The Wall Street Code, by VPRO. Fascinating, particularly for those with an interest in innovation and market microstructure. It also features a few noteworthy figures in the trading world too (some, who have also featured on Chat With Traders!). Watch the documentary in full below:
News Source
For day-to-day trading, I pay very little attention to the news. For general everyday news, I probably get it first on Twitter…
Twitter Account
@Dburgh. My buddy, Dave Bergstrom, who frequently posts interesting ways of interpreting data and quant analysis. A recommended follow, particularly for those seeking a statistical trading edge. Follow Dave at @Dburgh.
Quote
Get rich or die trying50 Cent
Platform
TradeStation. It does everything I need. tradestation.com
Instrument/Market
SPY. The nice thing about SPY is the upward drift inherit in its DNA. Or if you want more bang for your buck (without stepping up to futures); UPRO - which is the 3x equivalent.
Luxury Item
A stand-up desk. Because long hours sitting in a chair; that ain't healthy.
Phone Call
Don Wilson. The one person at the top of my hit-list for Chat With Traders guests - the mastermind behind DRW.
Follow Aaron on Twitter at @ChatWithTraders
