Spencer Li

How to Build a $1M Dollar Portfolio by 30 (The Practical Stuff)

A million dollars by 30 - personal finance

How to Build a $1M Portfolio by 30: The Practical Stuff

Last updated: 30 September 2026 · By Spencer Li, CFTe

You build a million-dollar portfolio by 30 with three boring steps repeated for years, not by finding one perfect stock. First, build multiple sources of cashflow so you have capital to invest. Second, buy long-term assets only when market cycles say they are cheap, never all at once. Third, reinvest the passive income those assets throw off, so compounding does the heavy lifting. That is the whole machine. Cashflow fills the tank, patient buying gets you a good entry price, and reinvested dividends and yield turn a steady saver into a snowball. None of it is fast, and none of it is clever. The edge is that most people quit at step one or skip step two and overpay for everything at the top of the cycle.

When I was in my 20s, this was my dream too. So I read over 2,000 books across investing, trading, psychology, philosophy, business, and finance, and I kept arriving at the same three principles below. Here is how each one works, in the order you actually do them.

Three steps stacked with arrows: cashflow, then buy cheap, then reinvest, with a red loop from reinvest back to buying that is labelled snowball
Build cashflow, buy only when assets are cheap, then reinvest the income so it snowballs.

The 3 principles, side by side

What you doWhy it mattersEasy to skip?
1. Multiple sources of cashflowSave hard from your job, then add side income (a side job, an online business, trading)No capital means nothing to compound. This is your ammunitionMost people stall here
2. Time your portfolio purchasesBuy long-term assets only when cycles say they are cheap, not all at onceA good entry price does years of the work for youMost people overpay at the top
3. Reinvest the passive incomePlough dividends and yield back in, on top of your monthly contributionsThis is where compounding turns steady saving into a snowballThe patient win, so it gets skipped

How do you get the capital to start investing?

The first thing you need is a solid base of capital. At the start, if you do not have much, almost all of your time and resources should go into generating as much cashflow (the money coming in each month) as possible, to build up your ammunition.

If you have a well-paying job, you can start by saving aggressively. To speed things up, most people add multiple sources of income on top: a side job, an online business, and so on.

For me, I chose forex trading (trading currencies). It did not need much capital to start, and I did not have much spare time, so I could only afford 15 to 30 minutes a day. It now adds to my income, though it varies month to month, and that is what let me move on to step 2.

Personally, I would not overthink which side income to pick. Pick the one that fits the time and capital you actually have, and start. The point of step one is simply to have something to invest with.

When should you buy your long-term investments?

Once you have enough capital and consistent cashflow, you start building your long-term portfolio.

Start with a rough picture of your ideal portfolio and the risk and return you are after. Look for assets with a good chance of capital appreciation (the price going up over time) plus passive returns in the form of dividends or rental yield. Over the years I have leaned more and more toward the passive-income type of holdings.

Do not be in a hurry to buy everything at once. Watch and study the market cycles, and aim to buy only when something is cheap or undervalued. You can get a feel for this just by looking at the chart of any product over the past 50 to 100 years of history. There is no need to spend hours on financial reports or analyst notes. Remember, the goal is to get the most out of limited time.

A scanner will tell you the price. It will not tell you to wait two more years for a better one. That patience, the discipline to sit on cash through an expensive market and only buy when the cycle hands you a good price, is judgment, and it is the part no tool buys for you.

How does compounding actually grow the portfolio?

As your portfolio grows, and you keep adding to it from your monthly cashflow, the real kicker is when compounding kicks in.

The best move is to also reinvest the passive income the portfolio itself pays you. That creates a snowball effect, where your gains start earning their own gains, and the portfolio grows exponentially rather than in a straight line.

Once you have assembled your ideal portfolio, the maintenance is light. Check on it once every three months or so and do some rebalancing (selling a bit of what has grown too large, topping up what has shrunk, to keep your target mix). The rest of the time you can enjoy the fruits of your labour and focus on living your life instead of worrying about money.

For me, that has meant travelling to 50+ countries to date, and sharing what I have learned to help others do the same.

Tips from the desk

  • Front-load the boring years. Steps one and two feel slow because they are. The compounding in step three only shows up after you have done the unglamorous work for a while.
  • A good entry price is worth more than a good forecast. Buying cheap in a down-cycle does more for your long-term return than picking the “right” asset at the wrong price.
  • Reinvest by default. Set dividends and yield to reinvest so the snowball runs without you having to decide each time.
  • Keep maintenance light. A quarterly check and a rebalance is enough. Over-tinkering is how people talk themselves out of compounding.

FAQ

Is it realistic to build a $1M portfolio by 30?
It is realistic for some, but it depends entirely on your cashflow and how early you start. The framework is the same regardless of the deadline: build income, buy patiently into market cycles, and reinvest the passive returns. If 30 is not achievable on your numbers, the same three steps still get you there later.

What is the first step to building a portfolio with little money?
Cashflow. With little capital, your time is better spent generating more income (saving hard from a job, plus a side income like a side job, an online business, or trading) than on picking investments. You cannot compound money you do not have yet.

Do I need to read financial reports to invest well?
For long-term timing, not really. Studying the long-run price chart of an asset over 50 to 100 years tells you a lot about where you are in the cycle and whether it is cheap. The goal is to make good decisions with limited time, not to do equity-analyst work.

How often should I check my portfolio?
About once every three months. Check in, rebalance back toward your target mix, and otherwise leave it alone. Frequent tinkering tends to interrupt the compounding you are trying to capture.

Why reinvest the passive income instead of spending it?
Reinvesting dividends and yield is what turns steady saving into a snowball. The income you reinvest starts earning its own income, which is what makes the portfolio grow exponentially rather than in a straight line.

So, are you ready to start building your own portfolio? Tell me which of the three steps you are stuck on in the comments.

And if you want the bigger picture on building wealth from trading and investing, read the pillar: The Complete Guide to Trading and Investing for Beginners.

Want the system behind step one? Grab the free 15-Minute Swing Trading Starter Kit. It is the exact routine I use to scan once a day and trade any market in 15 minutes, the same cashflow engine I leaned on to fund my own portfolio.

About the author. Spencer Li is The 15-Minute Trader and the founder of Synapse Trading. He is a Certified Financial Technician (CFTe) with 15+ years of trading, run from 70+ countries. He holds a B.Acc and B.BM from SMU. Every trade he takes is public, dated, losses left in. He teaches low-risk swing trading in 15 minutes a day, one system for any market.

Education, not financial advice. Synapse Trading is not licensed by MAS to advise on investment products. Trading carries risk of loss; past performance is not indicative of future results.

Related

The Beginner’s Guide to Trading & Technical Analysis · How to trade forex with 15 minutes a day · How to build passive income from dividends · Understanding market cycles

by
Spencer Li

3 Crucial Lessons From Jesse Livermore – The Greatest Stock Trader of All Time

Jesse Livermore's three lessons - trader lessons

Jesse Livermore is known to be the most prolific stock trader. Several books have been written about him and his trading track record is legendary. His profits were so great that he was reported to have owned mansions in various places around the world, each fully staffed, complete with limousines and steel-hulled yacht for his holidays.

Some of you might have read that Livermore was worth $100 million after shorting the 1929 great market crash.

Jesse Livermore

Follow the trend and cut your losses. Summary card for the post: 3 Crucial Lessons From Jesse Livermore - The Greatest Stock Trader of All Time.

What Guidelines Did Jesse Livermore Follow As A Trader?

Among the many quips he had about trading and investing, I’ve picked out some of the key ones that could make or break your trading account.

While many complain about the difficulties in trading forex, stocks, or commodities, there is a good minority that makes consistent profits in the markets.

What sets Jesse Livermore apart from his peers?

 

  1. Buy rising stocks and sell falling stocks.

The above seems obvious, but many people fail to adhere to this rule. Many people like to ‘pick tops’ and ‘pick bottoms’. Now, professional traders do occasionally try to pick tops and bottoms, but they do so with very strict risk management, and always have a contingency plan for when the trade doesn’t work out.

Beginners often makes the mistake of trying to trade against the trend. While this can be profitable for some, talk to anyone in the trading industry and they will tell you that trend-following is the major money-making strategy that every trader uses. It’s simple, easy to add positions on, and it’s stress free. The problems come when beginners make a buck from trading with the trend, and start to explore ‘new ways’ to trade and invest.

 

2. Keep trades that show a profit, end trades that show a loss.

Jesse Livermore is famous for his humongous profits, but behind every profitable trader is the admirable ability to deal with a string of losses. It’s one thing to know that you need to cut losses, but it’s another to actually cut your losses when you are wrong. George Soros famously quips that it is not how many times you win or lose, it’s how much you make when you win, and how much you lose when you are wrong.

Cutting losses is a psychologically hard thing to do in modern society. We’re ingrained to be always correct, and never admit that you messed up, because it reflects badly on you as a person. However, with investing, no one is marking you for the number of losses; the profit that you make is the final report card that matters, and that’s where we want to be focusing on.

 

3. Never average losses by buying more when your stock has fallen.

Too many people refuse to be wrong on their investments or trades.

I have heard of people say this statement: “Even if the stock drops a lot, I’ll just keep it because I’m buying for ownership and dividend cashflow, not just for capital gains.” Sure, but what happens if the stock you hold drops by 70%? 80%? You’ll buy more?

Buying more when the stock has fallen is a sure-way to get your trading account to zero. It’s taking more risk when the odds are against you.

 

Think About This: Which of These 3 Guidelines Have Brought You Losses in the Past?

Many traders soon realize early in their career, that their trading accounts could have been profitable if not for silly mistakes. Avoiding these silly mistakes requires experience, maturity, the correct knowledge, and of course, proper mentoring.

I was lucky to be mentored by veteran traders early on in my trading career. Their advice, based upon thousands of hours of market experience, contributed greatly to who I am today, and I never fail to mention, during trading seminars or public events, that by tapping on their experience, I was able to quickly attain a level of success that kept me profitable.

If you’re currently struggling as a trader, ask yourself this question: “Which mistakes have I been making?”

Acknowledging trading mistakes is a continuous process of learning and growing.

by
Spencer Li

Why Are More & More Singaporeans Switching from Stocks to Forex?

From stocks to forex - forex

Forex vs Stocks in Singapore: Why Some Traders Switch (and When You Shouldn’t)

Last updated: 21 August 2026 · By Spencer Li, CFTe

Some Singapore traders switch from stocks to forex because forex lets you start with a few hundred dollars, charges no commission, trades 24 hours a day, and gives you enough cheap repetitions to actually learn. Those four things matter most when you are a beginner who needs many small trades to build skill. Forex is not better than stocks in some absolute sense. What changes the outcome is your circle of competence (the set of markets and methods you genuinely understand), not the market itself. So the honest answer is: forex suits the new trader who wants low-cost, high-frequency practice and a schedule that fits around a day job. Stocks suit the trader who wants ownership, dividends, and slower, less leveraged exposure. Below I lay out the real cost differences in a table, the case for forex as a training ground, and the three risk rules I would not start without.

Here is the full breakdown, with the trade-offs left in.

Trade the market you understand. Summary card for the post: Why Are More & More Singaporeans Switching from Stocks to Forex?.

Why are Singapore traders moving from stocks to forex?

The shift started with a real problem on the local exchange. For a stretch in the mid-2010s, the Singapore Exchange (SGX) saw turnover fall and well-known names like Tiger Airways, OSIM, and Eu Yan Sang leave the board. One stockbroker told The Straits Times back then that “stockbroking is looking like a sunset profession now.” New listings dried up too. Across early 2016 the monthly IPO count ran like this:

Month (2016)New IPOs on SGX
April1
May1
June1
July6
August2
November1

(Source: ChannelNewsAsia, 2016. These figures are historical context, not current SGX data.)

With thin volume and a Straits Times Index that drifted sideways, intraday trading on local stocks became hard for the small trader. You needed a large amount of capital to move size in and out, and the liquidity was not always there to do it cleanly.

Forex offered the opposite profile. Deep liquidity, tiny minimum trade sizes, and no commission. For a beginner with a small account, that combination is the draw. The local-stock backdrop has shifted since 2016, but the structural reasons a new trader reaches for forex have not.

Is forex cheaper to trade than stocks?

For a beginner, usually yes, and the gap is mostly about commission and minimum size. Here is the side-by-side I would have wanted when I started.

ForexStocks (typical retail)
Minimum to startFrom around $500Higher; meaningful share lots cost more
Smallest trade size0.01 lots (about $0.10 per pip)One lot or board lot; larger dollar commitment
CommissionOften zero (cost is in the spread)Brokerage commission per trade
Charts and dataUsually freeOften free, sometimes paid for depth
Hours24 hours, 5 days a weekExchange hours only
Economic-event timingPublished in advance on a forex calendarEarnings and news can surprise mid-session

Two lines in that table do the heavy lifting for a new trader. First, zero commission means each trade costs you less in “tuition fees” paid to the market while you are still learning. Second, the 0.01 lot size means you can risk a few dollars per trade and still get real skin in the game. That is the whole point. You want to make many decisions cheaply.

Do note that, “no commission” does not mean “no cost.” In forex the cost lives in the spread (the gap between the buy and sell price). It is smaller for a small trader, but it is still there. Anyone who tells you forex is free is skipping a line.

Is forex harder to trade than stocks?

Not inherently. Some people insist the forex market is tougher than the stock market. I beg to differ. It is your circle of competence that determines your success, not the raw characteristics of the market. If you understand a market and have an edge in it, that is the market you should trade. The difficulty is in you, not in the ticker.

A circle holding the markets you understand, marked trade here, with the other markets scattered outside it marked skip
Trade the market you understand; your circle of competence decides success, not the market.

That reframing matters, because it stops you blaming the instrument. A trader who loses in forex and switches to stocks expecting the market to save him usually loses in stocks too. The market was never the problem.

Forex as a training ground: trade small, trade often

The strongest case for forex as a starting point is that it lets you accumulate experience cheaply. Trading is a numbers game. With a properly developed edge, your account carries a positive expectation, and profit becomes the norm over a long enough run of trades. You cannot reach that long run without taking the trades, and forex lets you take them in small size.

A few things I believe here, hard-won:

Start live, not demo. There is an endless debate about live accounts versus demo accounts. My solution is simple. Start with a live account from the beginning, in tiny size. A demo trade and a live trade feel like different sports. Risking real money, even a few dollars, puts you into the reality of the game, and you learn to sit with the risk that is built into trading. Sooner or later you get used to it. You never get used to it on a demo.

Expect to make silly mistakes early, and budget for them. Every trader with real skin in the game has done at least one of these:
– Traded the wrong lot size (1.00 instead of 0.10, so the position is ten times too big).
– Gone short when you meant to go long.
– Placed a trade only to realise the market was closed.

These sound dumb written down. They are completely normal, and small size is exactly why you want to make them with ten cents on the line, not your rent.

Trade around your life, not against it. The 24-hour market means you choose when to trade. If your day job is punishing, you can trade at night, or over lunch, on a schedule that fits your life instead of fighting it. I like what Tom Sosnoff said about learning to trade: “Trade small, trade often.” Forex is built for exactly that.

The 3 steps to manage forex trading risk

Cheap practice without risk control just lets you lose faster. Three rules I would not start without:

  1. Think in percentages, not dollars. Risk a fixed small percentage per trade. Percentages take the emotion out of the dollar amount and keep one bad trade from doing real damage.
  2. Find an edge. Only a genuine edge gives you a profit over the long run. Repetition without an edge is just paying tuition forever.
  3. Stick to one style. Do not try to be everything at the start. Too many new forex traders try to scalp, swing, and trend-follow all at once. Become profitable in one style first. Diversifying across styles can come later, once you have something that works.

That last one is where most beginners go wrong. The market rewards depth in one approach long before it rewards breadth across five.

Where the human edge comes in

A broker can hand you a $500 account and a 24-hour market. A platform can flag the setup and place the order in a second. What neither will do is stop you from sizing the trade too big after three wins, or talk you out of trading the one market you do not actually understand. Cheap repetitions only compound if the judgment behind them is sound. That judgment, knowing your circle of competence and staying inside it, is the first of the Five Edges no tool can trade for you.

FAQ

Is forex better than stocks for a beginner in Singapore?
For a beginner who wants cheap, frequent practice, forex has real advantages: you can start from around $500, trade 0.01 lots, pay no commission, and trade 24 hours a day around a job. Stocks suit traders who want ownership, dividends, and slower exposure. Neither is universally better; it depends on your goals and which market you actually understand.

How much money do I need to start trading forex in Singapore?
You can start with as little as around $500. Most brokers allow 0.01 lot sizes, which works out to roughly $0.10 per pip, so you can risk a few dollars per trade while you learn.

Does forex trading have commissions?
Many forex brokers charge no commission. The cost is built into the spread (the gap between the buy and sell price) instead. So it is cheaper than commission-based stock trading for a small account, but it is not free.

Should I start with a demo or a live account?
Start live, in very small size, from the beginning. A live trade and a demo trade feel completely different. Risking real money, even a few dollars, teaches you to handle the risk that is built into trading, which a demo account cannot.

How do I manage the risk in forex trading?
Three steps: think in percentages rather than dollars, trade only when you have a genuine edge, and stick to one trading style until you are profitable before adding others.

So, forex or stocks? If you are starting out and want cheap repetitions to build skill, forex makes a strong training ground. If you want ownership and a slower pace, stocks have their place. Either way, the deciding factor is your circle of competence, not the market. Which one are you leaning toward, and why? Let me know in the comments.

And if you want the wider picture of how to choose and trade any market with one routine, read the pillar: The Beginner’s Guide to Trading.

Want a routine that fits a day job? Grab the free 15-Minute Swing Trading Starter Kit. It is the exact process I use to scan once a day and trade any market in 15 minutes.

About the author. Spencer Li is The 15-Minute Trader and the founder of Synapse Trading. He is a Certified Financial Technician (CFTe) with 15+ years of trading, run from 70+ countries. He holds a B.Acc and B.BM from SMU. Every trade he takes is public, dated, losses left in. He teaches low-risk swing trading in 15 minutes a day, one system for any market.

Education, not financial advice. Synapse Trading is not licensed by MAS to advise on investment products. Trading carries risk of loss; past performance is not indicative of future results.

Related

The Beginner’s Guide to Trading & Technical Analysis · The Ultimate Guide to Forex Trading · Why Paper Trading is a Waste of Time (And What are Better Alternatives?)

by
Spencer Li

3 Insanely Profitable Traders You Probably Never Heard Of – What Makes Them Different?

Three unknown, very profitable traders - trader stories

When people think trader, they think rogue trader Nick Leeson. In 1995, a single derivatives trader caused Barings Bank to collapse, and many people labelled trading an evil profession.

Here’s a photograph of that historic event when it happened:

What Makes Them DifferentSource: The Guardian

As most people know, proper risk management would prevent failure on such a catastrophic scale. At the same time, it is unfortunate that some of the most famous traders in the world shot to fame as a result of one big trade that normally rocks the headlines. This results in some traders having the mentality that they just need that one big winner to retire comfortably.

Let’s take a look at two famous examples:

GEORGE SOROS – BREAKING THE BANK OF ENGLAND

Soros famously made $1 billion from shorting the British Pound. This was what made his name famous and he was named the man who “broke the Bank of England”,  apparently due to him shifting (or shorting) $10 billion dollars worth of currency.

ANDREW KRIEGER – TRADED BIGGER THAN THE NZD MONEY SUPPLY

Andrew became famous when he shorted the New Zealand Dollar of almost $1 billion in value,  which was more than the money supply in circulation in New Zealand during that year! Andrew ended up garnering $300 million in profits from this single transaction alone for his trading firm.

We know that these two traders had trading accounts that were unbelievably large. This is not the case for almost all of us. Therefore, we need to gain the skills and knowledge that work on an average trading account size. The key is to look for sustainability, and this is definitely learnable.

“Trading is not about getting a one-hit wonder. It’s a career decision, and requires as much commitment and passion as building a business.”

Below, I’ve picked out three excellent traders whom I believe will change the way you think about trading.

How many of you can recognize these faces? 😀ANDREW KRIEGERSource: philanthrophyroundtable.org, tastytrade.com


EXPERT TRADER #1: TOM SOSNOFF

TOM SOSNOFFTom Sosnoff sharing option strategies on his daily financial show with his daughter
Source: Tastytrade

Tom Sosnoff started off as a political science graduate working in the Chicago Options Exchange as a market maker. An industry veteran, he quickly spotted the market opportunity in online option trading, and co-founded and created the famous Thinkorswim trading platform. He later sold it to TDAmeritrade for a handsome sum of more than US$600 million.

A maverick of sorts, he is currently most famous for his financial network TastyTrade, where he shares professional trading strategies relating to derivatives and covers topics that are extremely difficult, such as advanced option greeks, and also the very basic. He exhibits some traits that are very rare and valuable to a trader:

  • Substantial and deep trading expertise.

Sosnoff’s knowledge of his area of specialization is admirable indeed. If you are familiar with options, or consider yourself a veteran in the options arena, you might want to think twice after knowing how much expertise he has garnered.

If one wants to make it in the trading arena, one has to be absolutely familiar with the tools of his trade, and the lingo used by industry practitioners. Forex traders, for example, know the ebb and flow of orders throughout the day, such as the Asian/European/American session, and can detect upcoming volatility even before it strikes. For price action traders, the trader can become so proficient that he knows when to stay out of the market within a few seconds.

  • Sharp business acumen.

A trader is ultimately a shrewd businessman. His trades are merely expressions of his ability to spot opportunities for profit, and he quickly knows if he has made a wrong decision. When he is right, he presses his bets and makes the most out of it. Just as a professional poker player knows the odds of every single set of cards dealt to him, a trader knows the odds of every market situation presented to him.

“If you can play poker well, you can probably trade well. Every trader is a shrewd businessman at heart, placing bets where it matters, with reasonable, sound analysis.”

The trader is also absolutely clear of his strategy. Trading without a strategy is as good as flipping a coin, but with a clear plan for attack and defence, the trader is able to defend his account and successfully build his net worth in the long term.

  • Continuous growth.

In his daily financial shows, Sosnoff quips that he has learnt far more in his years explaining option trading concepts, than he learnt while being a professional trader and market-maker in the days of the exchange floor. His team continuously churns out data and statistics on the probability of different option strategies, ranging from basic ones like naked put selling, to exotic strategies like jade lizards and the like.

“Perhaps the reason why most traders fail is they fail to see themselves as entrepreneurs.”

The ability to continually analyse his strategies and develop his domain knowledge is the key to his continual success. Where many of his peers in the trading floor days have left the industry, unable to keep up with the fast-paced world of online trading, Sosnoff has soared way above and carved a niche for himself.


EXPERT TRADER #2: BRUCE KOVNER

BRUCE KOVNERBruce Kovner with his wife
Source: The Kovner Foundation

Kovner made his first trade on credit, borrowing money to execute a soybeans futures trade, where he made $23,000 on a borrowed sum of $3,000. He was interviewed in the famous book ‘Market Wizards’, and in 2003 he reportedly ran an $11 billion dollar hedge fund named Caxton Associates. He retired from Caxton in 2011. He is a rather low-profile guy and shuns media attention.

“I have no bias toward any of the markets… I am just as happy a trader in a bear market as in a bull market, rates up or down, commodities up or down.”
– Billionaire hedge fund manager, Mr. Bruce Kovner

  • Develop a strategy that you are comfortable with.

Kovner’s hedge fund trades based on global macroeconomic conditions. In the hedge fund world, this is called macro-trading, and is a common way to manage a large portfolio. Just as he says in the quote above, he is comfortable trading any kind of market, in any kind of condition.

  • Really understand what causes markets to move.

Fundamentally, institutions and banks move money because of their view on global macroeconomic conditions, and they express this in the form of price action, demonstrating commitment through their buying and selling.

Although most small traders don’t have the luxury to express their view of the economy with hundreds of millions of dollars, it helps for us to understand where the world is heading toward, so that we can ride on the moves of the institutions.

For example, you may have heard of the famous saying “The trend is your friend.” Sure enough, as long as the trend is clear, it shows that institutions are piling into the particular financial product that you are trading. You don’t argue against a trend; you flow with what the majority of market players are doing. The context of the market is far more important than the trading signal; just because you see a bearish candlestick pattern does not mean it’s a wise trade to short the market – you have to see whether the surrounding price action supports your trade idea.


EXPERT TRADER #3: LEWIS J. BORSELLINO

LEWIS J. BORSELLINOBorsellino trading in the pits as a young man.
Source: Tastytrade

Lewis Borsellino came out of a troubled past. As a young man, he had to live with the shocking murder of his father and having to deal with emotional blow while working at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. He started off as a runner before becoming a formidable opponent in the S&P futures pit. At one point, he claims that he traded so large that market participants looked to him as a sign that the market was going to turn. Apparently, his trading volume accounted for as much as 10% of total trading occurring in the futures pit!

  • Get very, very good at what you do.

His confidence on the pit was astounding. He knew what he was doing, and traders around him could feel it. In those days, the expression and emotional state of the trader contributed to the mood around the arena. With electronic trading, this plays a less important role, but the market still expresses itself with price, and the despair and ecstasy of traders can be understood if you examine price very carefully.

He almost exclusively traded the Standard & Poor’s 500 pit during his 19-year career on the trading floor.

“I was very good at what I did.”
– Lewis Borsellino

Many people use multiple indicators, hoping to quickly find a system to get good as a trader. However, what works is to be very good at at most 1 or 2 indicators, or simply trade with no indicators, so that you can gain the most expertise and be familiar with what really matters.

In the proprietary trading world, some traders only use Level 2 quotes, trade ladders, without any charts! There are other traders that make portfolio allocations, while there are some that engage in high-frequency intra-day trading. It does not matter how you get there; once you have selected something, you need to get very good at what you do.

Now that we’ve covered the lives of these three traders, let’s take a closer look at trading as a possible career path.

TRADING AS A CAREER – WHAT DOES IT REALLY TAKE?

Many traders are frustrated with their trading results because they don’t change their behaviour. They make many, many trades, but fail to ask the right people and seek the right guidance, causing them to make the same mistakes over and over again. If you do what you always do, you will get what you always have been getting.

Lewis Borsellino left the trading floor and entered online trading. Initially, he backed a lot of floor traders financially and groomed them to become profitable, but as time went by, he saw the opportunity in backing both floor traders and online traders, and forced himself to re-learn trading with charts.

If you are still unprofitable in the trading arena, what are you willing to do to make things work out for you? Change your actions, and you will see change in your results!

Anthony Robbins says this really well:

TRADING AS A CAREERSource: Goalcast

Perhaps you are someone considering trading as a possible side income, or even as a career. It takes dedication (time!), expertise, patience, as well as some street smarts in order to become a professional trader.

“If you are considering making a career switch to trading, what are you willing to do to make it happen?”

 

RESEARCH SOURCES & REFERENCES

https://www.theguardian.com/business/from-the-archive-blog/2015/feb/24/nick-leeson-barings-bank-1995-20-archive
http://www.investopedia.com/articles/forex/100515/these-are-most-famous-forex-traders-ever.asp

by
Spencer Li

5 Practical Tips on How to Trade on the Go (With 15 Minutes a Day)

Trading on the go - trading basics

After trading and travelling to 48 countries across the world, I realised that it is actually not very difficult to trade on the go, since in most countries you can get wifi or buy a data plan, so as long you have your mobile phone, you can easily place trades as you move along.

Here are some useful and practical tips I have picked up along the way:

Trade on the go, 15 minutes a day. Summary card for the post: 5 Practical Tips on How to Trade on the Go (With 15 Minutes a Day).

1. MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A GOOD INTERNET CONNECTION

This is a no-brainer, as the last you want is to be left handing with no internet after entering some trades, and not being able to input your stoploss and targets. Don’t forget to take full advantage of Wifi hotspots at hotels and cafes, or even better, purchase a local SIM card and data plan.

If you have intermittent access to the internet, perhaps because of flights, then make sure you always have a stoploss in place for all your trades.

2. FOCUS ON A HANDFUL OF SETUPS AND PRODUCTS

Since you don’t want to spend too much time browsing the markets, it is a good idea to prepare a simple watchlist beforehand. For me, I usually focus on about 20+ forex/commodity pairs, so that I can scroll through all of them quickly in a few minutes with my mobile phone to look for any good trading opportunities.

And since I won’t be taking many trades, I can choose the best of the best trades, which means that I can focus only the very best setups that I see. When you see an AWESOME setup, it should jump out of the chart and right in your face, and you should feel the rush of adrenaline and excitement to take the trade. If you have to squint at the chart and think thrice about whether it is a good trade, then I would suggest you just let it go.

3. USE A LARGER TIMEFRAME TO PLACE YOUR TRADES

If you are on the move, then obviously you won’t have time to be staring at the charts all day, which means you should not be using smaller timeframe charts like the 5-minute or 15-minute charts. Actually, I won’t recommend using anything less than a 1-hour timeframe.

By using longer timeframes (1-hour, 4-hour, daily), it means that you only need to check the charts at very infrequent intervals, such as every hour, every 4 hours, or once a day. This way, you do not have to constantly worry or stress about your positions, because your stops will naturally be wider (and your positions smaller), so you do not have to worry about the smaller market fluctuations.

4. DO NOT SPEND MORE THAN 15 MINUTES A DAY

Since you do not have to constantly monitor the market, this means that you only have to periodically check and update your positions. You can easily do this by utilising the “wasted” pockets of time that you have throughout the day.

For example, when you are waiting for a bus/taxi/mrt/plane/train, or waiting for your ordered food to arrive, instead of playing some mindless mobile app game or reading random articles of facebook, why not open up your trading app and place some trades instead?

5. LEVERAGE ON A GOOD NETWORK OF TRADERS

Lastly, by leveraging on other good traders, you can learn from their trades and hone your skills as a trader.

See you soon! 😀

P.S. For my full travel photo log and list of countries travelled, please visit: https://synapsetrading.com/travel-log/

About the author. Spencer Li is The 15-Minute Trader and the founder of Synapse Trading. He is a Certified Financial Technician (CFTe) with 15+ years of trading, run from 70+ countries. He holds a B.Acc and B.BM from SMU. Every trade he takes is public, dated, losses left in. He teaches low-risk swing trading in 15 minutes a day, one system for any market.

Education, not financial advice. Synapse Trading is not licensed by MAS to advise on investment products. Trading carries risk of loss; past performance is not indicative of future results.

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