LATEST BLOGS

Big Bonuses Make Wall Street Analysts The Best Paid In The World

Analysts, the most junior-level position at most U.S. finance firms, made an average of $232,112, according to a newly published survey by financial careers site eFinancialCareers. The next-highest earners are in the UK with an average total compensation of $148,283 — nearly 57% lower than analysts across the pond. More – Quartz PS:I am always amazed at…

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What Does A Trader Do At Citadel Securities?

What does a trader do at Citadel Securities? This is a question you have probably never asked yourself – I know I haven’t but it is always interesting to find out what other people do. I usually wake up around 7am and the first thing I do is check my phone to see if any…

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At the Money: Lose the Noise

A constant stream of noise distracts investors: earnings reports, news releases, upgrades, downgrades, economic data, geopolitics. How should we best manage this firehose of distractions? Larry Swedrow, head of financial and economic research at Buckingham Strategic Wealth, speaks with Barry Ritholtz about managing through the noise.

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Stillness and The Art of Trading

Following a few recent conversations with both new traders who don’t yet know the correct path and older traders who have strayed I thought this was worth a repop. One of the most persistent things in traders is the desire to be doing something. There is a perennial confusion between effective activity and activity for…

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When An Edge Fails Part Two

The following chart shows the difference between BRKA and QQQ. It instantly explains why BRKA has for the past 20 years struggled to match let alone beat the broader market. The major drivers of the past two decades have been technology stocks – this is shown by the following table which shows the top 20…

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When An Edge Fails.

All traders require an edge and this edge should persist over time, it should not be reliant on special initial conditions or luck. The chart below shows an edge that has failed for the past two decades. This compares Warren Buffet’s performance via his vehicle BRKA versus SPY an S&P500 ETF. As can be seen…

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Ten Minutes With Tate ETFs Are A Train Wreck

Hardly a week goes by without me receiving some piece of  fluff extolling the virtues of ETFs. Sadly for the average investor or traders the people pumping ETFs have no idea of what ETF actually does whether it is suitable for the investor or what the consequences of getting it wrong are.

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What’s Hedging Ever Done For Use?

Traders go through a series of evolutionary landmarks. These landmarks range from getting stuck in the land of magic indicators and system optimisation to the quest for the perfect exit. Along the way, they often take a detour into the domain of hedging. Part of the attraction of hedging is a misunderstanding of what its…

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The Alpha Cycle

Industries in which capital has become abundant and optimism unbridled often end up disappointing investors. Echoes of these capital cycle pitfalls are also evident in active fund manager selection. In the ‘alpha cycle’ a certain area of the market delivers high returns, stories then emerge not only about the compelling opportunities to be found but…

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I’m a therapist to the super-rich….

While not wanting to diminish the mental anguish that many people, unfortunately, suffer from. It is better to be super wealthy and unhappy than to be poor and unhappy. If I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard the term “first world problems”, my bank account would look similar to those of my clients.…

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