This business makes an old man out of a young one quickly. From the moment I entered the business its been wrought with drama and collapse, perfidy and mania. There is nothing unique about my tenure in the market. As a matter of fact, I am reading a book written by Henry Clews, 28 Years in Wall Street, circa 1885, and the same stuff was occurring back then. Fred Wilson was alive back then, doing deals just like he is now, only under a different name. Like vampires, the same characters stay with the market, swindling others who aren’t paying attention, not because they need to, but because they can.
Here are some excerpts from this gem.
I rarely recommend investment books here. But if you can get your hands on a copy, you will be doing yourself a great favor. It puts a lot of things into perspective, makes you understand that nothing is fucked up or special about our times in the market. Wall Street always has been and always will be 1.0, the same characters pick pocketing one another, running scams, playing the game.
Many have made and lost fortunes. I can tell you first hand of fortunes that I’ve made and squandered, some are embarrassing to talk about in an age where the internet stock market coach reigns supreme. The truth is, we’re all subject to bad days, weeks, months, even years. I’ve been able to last this long because I’ve been able to adapt. But I haven’t been adapting quick enough the past two years. I’m pretty sure the Fed put has messed with my way of thinking. In the past, if a market looked bad, I took action to hedge or get defensive. But ever since the Fed has intervened in markets, I’ve adopted a perma-bullish position, one that has paid off handsomely since the lows of 2009.
Right now I am undergoing a project to document my missives from 2007-2009, to consolidate my real time posts into book form. I am not doing this to boast about my trading, but to document the anxiety and conditions that existed back then. The unique thing about blogging, as opposed to writing a book, is the fact that it is done in real time. Back then I went through a metamorphosis from bullish to bearish. I had to adjust to the times, else get eliminated from the game. I think my work from 2007-2009 is probably the most important thing that I’ve done since starting the site. That period was somewhat unique and future generations of traders could learn a great deal from what I had to do to survive, despite my prose being somewhat juvenile and abrasive.
Going over my work, I can clearly see that I’ve matured a great deal since then. If you think I’m bad now, you should read the crap I was talking about in 2008.
I’ll keep you fine gents updated on how my project progresses.
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We all mature as we age in spite of our best efforts to the contrary in most cases.
Carry on.
Blue star hasn’t matured since 7th grade
Epic post but the Street was not funded with tax payer money back in the day. The casino was what it was but self funded by gamblers and sharks. As it should be.
A most gracious post, noble and virtuous in its design, as one would expect from these hallowed halls.
Hmmmm…. Railways.
I believe world power agendas either used stock as a tool, or took advantage of human nature in the form of central banks. This time around, bigger than wallst.
Your own conditioning via Fed is something many may realize. And, pick pocketing scams and games, yes, but usually culminates in a reset moment. purge
By the way, that would partly be, Hegelian Dialectic, if yee have the brain to comprehend such
Brilliant post – thanks mate.
If you can’t win how are we supposed to.
You have to understand NOTHING that is reported is true. The unemployment figures are a lie! The reported economic growth is a lie. (as weak as they are) We have Americans siding with the enemy in our White House, This criminal administration has done nothing for our great country. it has spread hate and made enemy’s of once great allies. It has given the nuclear to the enemy. This market can only hide the truth for so long than all hell will rain down on us.
Villard a true 19th century raider, gettin as much as he could get while he could get it, its been happening forever ever. A moment of reflection from Doc Fly. Youll have to work in Nocturn No. 9 as the project becomes fluid. We must stay the course with diligence, time to dig deep gentlemen.
For those of us who don’t need to make money in the market, day to day because it isn’t our sole source of income, I think making money is still possible. I tried getting fancy with options and got smoked. Then I tried day trading and that isn’t for me. I have a job that requires 75% of my attention during the day. That being said, Exodus has led me into a lot of good short and longer term trades. It is a luxury not to have to extract money from the market day to day. Fly has a MUCH harder job than many of us do. The rest of us will always be able to buy stocks of good companies like $AMCX and make money. Stop gambling with margin if you don’t need it, position size for your level of risk tolerance, and don’t trade 50 times a week. There are some damn smart people at iBankcoin to help if you need it. Hang in there, it will get better.
I am sure that it will be a great book, Fly. There is so much bs written about trading the markets, by people bragging about things that they may have never even done, and omitting all their mistakes and stress.
An authentic account of the whole roller coaster and what you had to do to survive it– now that will stand out from the pack for sure.
Think this book is free on google play:
https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=kwdDAAAAIAAJ&rdid=book-kwdDAAAAIAAJ&rdot=1
This is one all traders should read, too:
Reminiscences of a Stock Operator