The Intelligent Trader - March 16, 2009

The Intelligent Trader's - Long and Short of It

From: Robert A. Christy

Editor/Publisher, ‘The Intelligent Trader’

http://www.christyinvestments.com

This comment was posted to our blog http://forex-coach.blogspot.com

Date: March 15, 2009

I’ve been talking to a lot of folks lately about trading. Their specific inquiries center around whether or not trading the currency or forex markets is easier than the stock market.

During the Jon Stewart – Jim Cramer fiasco last week, Stewart said something rather odd for someone in the media. He basically said hat wealth is a function of work. No kidding.

Anyone who thinks there is such a thing as easy money, there is not. So save your money and don’t buy the next best whatever that lands in your mailbox. If the systems did what they claimed, they wouldn’t be for sale for any amount of money.

Everyone wants to be a winner and there is a seduction and lure of making money hand over fist in just a few minutes a day. Thomas Tusser summed it up best when he said, “that a fool and his money are soon parted”. (Note: Tusser made this comment in the mid 1500s)

My dream has been to take a $100 grubstake and turn it into $50,000. So far – it’s been tough going with a lot of mistakes made and learned from. (I am doing this as a bet with someone from my alma mater – that whatever I earn will be given to the school as a cash gift)

What I want to impart on you is this – trading in the currency market is really a tough way to make a living. To the unskilled, I do make it look easy, but that’s because I have been a trader for more than 25 years. I learned trading from a skilled technical analyst who taught me the ins, outs and the art of trading. (I learned this in the years BEFORE the personal computer was invented.)

It takes time and effort to learn a skill such as trading. I’ve spent years honing and perfecting my trade. The mastery that I am talking about is similar to that of a master mason or painter.

I’ve spent hours in research, analyzing markets, analyzing my behavior and learning from my mistakes. My track record is built one trade at a time.

The most important lesson that I have learned along the way is that it takes discipline (thankfully I was in the US Marine Corps) to hold fast and NOT TRADE when every fiber in your body is itching for some action.

There is a time to trade and a time not to trade. Just knowing this one fact will add at least 10 percent to your annual return.

What I do is not Las Vegas or Atlantic City. I do not consider myself a professional gambler. I am however I professional trader.

It’s my calling and what I do for a living. I have dedicated my life to it and now in what little spare time I have, I am attempting to teach the next generation and leave the trading community simply a better place.

So the next time you get an easy money flyer in the mail, simply toss it out and save yourself the aggravation. Nothing is easy and if it was, it certainly would not be for sale.

That’s about it for now. Let me here from you if you have any questions.

Robert Christy

The Intelligent Trader

P.S. The currency market (forex) is the place to make money this year. If you’d like to know more about how you can participate in this, just send me an email and I’ll send the information to you.

P.S.S. Please fee free to forward this to your peers, friends and anyone you think would benefit from its contents. They will thank you for it - and so will I!

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Robert Christy is a professional currency trader, stock trader, money manager, author and speaker. Mr. Christy is the President CEO of Christy Investment Group, Ltd., a fee-only registered investment advisory firm. He is also the Managing Partner and Portfolio Manager of Crabapple Capital Group, LLC and the editor/publisher of The Intelligent Trader, a subscription based long/short trading service. At the time of publication, Mr. Christy may from time to time write about stocks in which he, Christy Investment Group Ltd, Crabapple Capital Group, LLC or The Intelligent Trader has a position. In such cases, appropriate disclosure is made. Under no circumstances does the information in this column represent a specific recommendation to buy or sell stocks. Mr. Christy appreciates your feedback and invites you to send it to rac@intelligent-trader.com .

Robert Christy

The Intelligent Trader

The Christy Investment Group

P.O. Box 625

Alpharetta, GA 30009-0625

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The Intelligent Trader's - Long and Short of It