Frequently Asked Questions

What currencies do you trade and/or write about?

I stick to the majors, and nothing too exotic. The brief list includes EUR/USD, GBP/USD, USD/JPY, USD/CHF, EUR/GBP, AUD/USD, NZD/USD, EUR/JPY, GBP/JPY and USD/CAD.

Do you trade any other instruments?

Currency options. I mainly trade them using volatility based strategies, such as strangles, condors, etc. To speculate long or short bias, I simply use spot FX. The equity portfolio goes longer term because I have personally adapted to it this way and I honestly don't have the patience for it otherwise.

Do you trade futures?

I don't daytrade them, but I monitor equity / bond / commodity etc., futures diligently and incorporate them into my daily trading plan. I treat them as if I actually am trading them, because everything is of course heavily interrelated. Oftentimes I invest in commodity ETF's, but my goals are much longer term.

Do you, have you, or will you ever consider offering a mentoring or signal service?

No, no, and no. Sorry but blogging is just a hobby that spawned from my daytrading.

I receive a lot of requests for closer, one on one coaching and training and though I would like to do more in this respect I unfortunately do not have enough hours in my day left to do so.

In response to these requests, I searched high and low for a professional that teaches much in same way I do, is consistently profitable, and offers clear cut, honest training. My search led me to Chris Lori, who is a registered CTA and fund manager. Chris has been trading for many years and offers much more of I what I could in terms of time dedicated to his clients. For more information about Chris and what he has to offer, please CLICK HERE.

What times do you trade?

I trade pre-London through the early London close, typically (about 1:30am EST - 11:00am EST). I will also take trades during Asia from time to time, based on volatility. Opportunities are everywhere during these hours.

Do you accept guest bloggers?

Yes. I welcome anything that’s going to be of value to others. If you have potential blog post that is in line with the concepts taught here, email it to me, and we’ll talk. No compensation, this is a free community, sorry, but we can link back to your site if you have one in the post. I beg you, however, informed commentary only. If your article is entitled "How to use a MACD" or includes the words "Profit" or "Master" in the title I can almost guarantee you it will end up in the NBT recycle bin.

What do you, personally, use for news / research sources?

I use Bloomberg, IFR, listen to Ransquawk from time to time, and receive a good amount of sell-side bank research sent to me daily. I also frequent a range of news sites, from Reuters to the Financial Times.

Of these sources, the first three are the ones I use the most (two of which are free), and I rarely take direct suggestions for trades from other outside sources, but rather rely on my own analysis.

If you're interested in good old fashioned investment bank research and you don't belong to a hedge fund, Deutsche Bank and Citigroup now offer retail platforms, and provide the same level of research to their retail clients as they do to their more institutional clientele. UBS also offers limited research through Oanda as a provider. Generally speaking, they help from time to time, but just remember that no team is perfect; just because it comes from these sources doesn't mean they're 'spot on'. Goldman and Morgan Stanley, if you have access to them, offer the better research in my opinion, but you have to be a client to get access.

I’m a newbie. Best place to start?

I suggest reading through the materials found in the trading strategy section of the blog. Whether or not you find this strategy ultimately suited for you, the concepts we teach here are vital to any trader’s toolbox, as they’re global conventions followed by market movers across the world. After that, there’s a lot of various articles posted to help you out further. Additionally, I’ve got a few suggested readings I posted a while back.

How long will it take me to get the hang of things?

I wouldn’t think these concepts will take you forever to learn, but I’ve been told otherwise. I try to keep things as simple as possible so that even a dog would understand, though I realize that’s far from the case! My suggestion is to open a live account with any broker that allows very, very small lot sizes, throw a hundred bucks in the account for ‘education’ and trade extremely small until you master a trading style. I don’t like demo trading, unless you’re tweaking an automated system and know what you’re doing. I explain here. Be patient, and understand what you’re doing before you move on and develop good habits.

Do you have more examples of your trades?

Here’s 60 visual representations.

Other random trading techie questions…..

I am a very “uncomplicated” trader. Rarely will you find me getting into nitty gritty, tick by tick, move by move discussions. I shoot for bigger areas and on intraday areas, small pips with tight stops. Please read through the trading strategy articles and general articles section, and you’ll be able to get an idea of my general philosophy.