RE: Automation vs. Professional vs. Self
Thanks geula4. I appreciate your prompt response. I have looked at some of the reviews of EAs on this and other websites, and it seems like some of them work some of the time, but very few (if any) work all the time [unless of course, one is able/willing to spend $5-10M/year like Wall Street firms do to get their trading system developed and continuously tweaked/enhanced]. I therefore tend to agree with you that it may be best to learn to trade (e.g. swing trading on a daily chart for someone like me who doesn't have the time, desire, patience or inclination to sit before a computer all day waiting for specific trade setups or alarms), or to find a money management firm or newsletter (in equities, forex, options or futures) with a solid track record (over 1, 3, 5, 10 years), and to entrust one's trading to them. As may be obvious, I recognize the importance of active trading/investing (as opposed to passive buy-and-hold), and frankly I don't care what specific asset class it is as long as I can achieve 5%/month in returns (before tax). Again, I hope I am not being naive in thinking that one can actually achieve those kinds of returns (50%/year). Conventional wisdom is that 10% a year is a good return, but I have a feeling that there are many active traders who do way better than that. Correct me if I'm mistaken here (more or less than 50%?).
Bottom line: As I write this (and I may change my opinion later as I think more about this), I am inclined to go with the following rationale ... If I put my mind to it, I can become a good trader. But why bother? There are so many good active traders out there who have mastered these skills over a decade (or more), that it may be best to just have one (or more) of them manage my investments rather than me trying to learn/reinvent the wheel. Meantime, I can continue to do what I do best (in my own industry) rather than trying to learn in a year what may have taken 5-10 years for them to learn/perfect. It probably makes most sense for me to learn to trade if I am inclined to change my industry (that is, start a money management firm or fund). Sure, I would enjoy doing that, but from a financial perspective that would not be smart on my part since I would be setting myself back many years. I therefore like your response and your thoughts, geula4, and they resonate well my thinking: do what you know (unless you are afraid that what you know will become obsolete, in which case maybe trading is the way to go since that will not be obsolete anytime soon).
I welcome any other thoughts/ideas/suggestions that anyone else may have on this subject. As a "newbie" (I have "experimented" with trading stocks and forex) I am at the point where I would like to decide on a long-term trading strategy:
- do it myself vs.
- professional vs.
- automation vs.
- anything else?
Thanks in advance for any/all ideas/thoughts/opinions on this subject. - SA