My basic salary was very good and
the bonus worked on a scale, I had to make the budget they set to get
any bonus, which was about 5% of budget. But everything over the budget I
shared in by about 25%. So budget is $1mil I get $50k bonus, I make
$2mil I get $300k bonus. My biggest bonus ever was only $150k. It almost
matched my basic salary, so I decided the negative on health is not
worth it. Also if you did not make budget but came within like 80% of it
then you just got a 13th cheque. If you made less than 80% of budget
then you got another year to make budget else you get trouble. Now I
earn almost the same basic as before but without the promise of a "big"
bonus.
Trading is not like many newbies think...very passionate and exciting career etc...in the beginning yes it is, it makes your heart beat faster, slower even makes it stop and the adrenaline is major but as time walks on you dont care anymore. Trading just becomes a numbers game little numbers going up and down all day long, it will be there long after you have passed away. You become detached to any one trade all you think about is the end result - budget -and will I make budget this quarter, this year, that is the big goal? You don't care about losing money nor do you become ecstatic about a big winner - it is just the natural flow of ups and downs - you dont care anymore. Once you reach this stage you dont find any meaning in your trading anymore. What am I doing to really help the people around me? Who will remember me once I die? All those crappy human questions come up and you ask yourself if the money is more important than other more human things. Like enjoying the sunshine on your face or walking in nature. When trading you can become detached to all these things and may even lose the people you really love and who are the reason for you trading in the first place. In my career I have become personal friends (and still am friends) with about 11 traders and of those 11 only me and 2 others are still married to the same people. I have known many more on other desks but never really got to know them on a personal level. I really miss the camaraderie when trading and also the sense of belonging to an exclusive few. I miss the pride of stepping out of the lift onto the trading floor and knowing the people behind me in the lift are looking at me in admiration, and probably have a job because of my contribution to the bank.
Now I help people by being a risk manager thus minimising the probability that my bank might go belly-up due to risky trading behaviour. It makes me feel good but not as good and respected as when I was a trader. However, now in the evening when I get home I am home and I am not tuning to financial news nor am I opening my homeline to the brokers. I have a wife who loves me (I think :-) and I am so relaxed I cant believe I was once a trader.
I must also add that the money never really was a motivator as I inherited a lot even before I started studying. So it was more a challenge to see if I can do it or not. Maybe for someone for which money is the real motivator it will be easier to keep on trading. During my last year of trading I met a guy who has been trading for about 22 years and he obviously made a lot of money. I asked him why he continues on and on year after year and he said that trading drives him. He didn't get out while young to pursue other interests and today this is all he knows and he is OK at it. He enjoys it and lives the lifestyle of a very rich person with all the toys and holidays etc. but speaking to him you soon realise that his life is still unfulfilled. That conversation decided me, I changed gears a bit. I learned a lot from the old hands but also saw them make typical newbie mistakes (like holding on to a loser) for far too long. I learned that everybody makes mistakes and if you are not 100% disciplined and focused whenever you are trading then you are going to drop the ball, no matter how experienced you are. That is when I decided that I do not wish to live my life constantly thinking about the market, being on edge trying not to make mistakes. Yes, it does become easier over time but you let slip your attention just for one moment and you are in trouble.
I hope all you guys and girls enjoy your trading and dont allow it to rule your world. If I can give one word of advice to any new trader it would be this: TRADE THE LONG TERM FORGET ABOUT INTRADAY YOU WILL LOSE YOUR MONEY BEFORE YOU HAVE LEARNED WHAT TRADING IS ABOUT.
Trading is not like many newbies think...very passionate and exciting career etc...in the beginning yes it is, it makes your heart beat faster, slower even makes it stop and the adrenaline is major but as time walks on you dont care anymore. Trading just becomes a numbers game little numbers going up and down all day long, it will be there long after you have passed away. You become detached to any one trade all you think about is the end result - budget -and will I make budget this quarter, this year, that is the big goal? You don't care about losing money nor do you become ecstatic about a big winner - it is just the natural flow of ups and downs - you dont care anymore. Once you reach this stage you dont find any meaning in your trading anymore. What am I doing to really help the people around me? Who will remember me once I die? All those crappy human questions come up and you ask yourself if the money is more important than other more human things. Like enjoying the sunshine on your face or walking in nature. When trading you can become detached to all these things and may even lose the people you really love and who are the reason for you trading in the first place. In my career I have become personal friends (and still am friends) with about 11 traders and of those 11 only me and 2 others are still married to the same people. I have known many more on other desks but never really got to know them on a personal level. I really miss the camaraderie when trading and also the sense of belonging to an exclusive few. I miss the pride of stepping out of the lift onto the trading floor and knowing the people behind me in the lift are looking at me in admiration, and probably have a job because of my contribution to the bank.
Now I help people by being a risk manager thus minimising the probability that my bank might go belly-up due to risky trading behaviour. It makes me feel good but not as good and respected as when I was a trader. However, now in the evening when I get home I am home and I am not tuning to financial news nor am I opening my homeline to the brokers. I have a wife who loves me (I think :-) and I am so relaxed I cant believe I was once a trader.
I must also add that the money never really was a motivator as I inherited a lot even before I started studying. So it was more a challenge to see if I can do it or not. Maybe for someone for which money is the real motivator it will be easier to keep on trading. During my last year of trading I met a guy who has been trading for about 22 years and he obviously made a lot of money. I asked him why he continues on and on year after year and he said that trading drives him. He didn't get out while young to pursue other interests and today this is all he knows and he is OK at it. He enjoys it and lives the lifestyle of a very rich person with all the toys and holidays etc. but speaking to him you soon realise that his life is still unfulfilled. That conversation decided me, I changed gears a bit. I learned a lot from the old hands but also saw them make typical newbie mistakes (like holding on to a loser) for far too long. I learned that everybody makes mistakes and if you are not 100% disciplined and focused whenever you are trading then you are going to drop the ball, no matter how experienced you are. That is when I decided that I do not wish to live my life constantly thinking about the market, being on edge trying not to make mistakes. Yes, it does become easier over time but you let slip your attention just for one moment and you are in trouble.
I hope all you guys and girls enjoy your trading and dont allow it to rule your world. If I can give one word of advice to any new trader it would be this: TRADE THE LONG TERM FORGET ABOUT INTRADAY YOU WILL LOSE YOUR MONEY BEFORE YOU HAVE LEARNED WHAT TRADING IS ABOUT.
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