Lessons From a Volatile Past Two Weeks | Off The Charts
They are only losses if we don’t learn something from the experience.
When traders woke up on Monday, August 5th to the VIX at 65 and the Nasdaq index down 5% overnight, they didn’t need a cup of coffee to snap into high alert.
The easy first question to ask was: “What happened?”
Many ideas were tossed around in the media and on the socials that morning, but nobody seemed to pinpoint the real cause. The narrative eventually coalesced around the gradual, then sudden unwind of the popular Yen Carry trade; but to many of us, that didn’t quite sound like a viable reason to sell everything.
Nevertheless, when sucker-punched in the mouth by unexpected market turbulence, traders did what traders do when they don’t know what’s happening – they sell first and ask questions later.
In this episode of Off The Charts, Sean and Steve talk about the mistakes they made during this tumult, the things they didn’t do but wish they had, and even a couple of smart things they did.
If you traded during this wild couple of weeks of trading, you’ll find this talk both poignant, affirming, and inspiring.
We talk to a lot of traders. Not just on this podcast, but across everything we do. And one thing that is common to most of them is some level of stress which must be routinely navigated. And it’s often a real struggle.
From an early age, David Hale had hustle in his DNA. At just 10 years old, he was sneaking into casinos to play slot machines. By 11, he was betting on horse races. And before long, he was hunting for arbitrage opportunities in baseball card values.
It’s hard to believe Denise Shull is a product of parents and grandparents who believed in “buy and hold” and wouldn’t even know how to sell a share of stock if asked to.
“I would not give a fig for the simplicity on this side of complexity, but I would give my life for the simplicity on the other side of complexity.” ~ Oliver Wendell Holmes
Reinventing your career after 20 years is no small feat. Now, imagine trying to do that by becoming an active trader. That’s exactly what Andrew Moss is doing—but he isn’t going in blind.
Among the many things that stood out during our conversation with David Lundgren, it was this quote: “I want to find a way to listen, and learn, and get a little bit better every day.”
