28th July 06 - My Trading Strategy

After waiting 1.5 months, our (mine and Eric's) S&P System finally gave a buy signal for entry yesterday evening. The recommended signal was to go long @ 1277.00, with a target of 1282.00 and stop of 1272.00.

A pity, the market only went to a high of 1281.75 (for the e-minis), one tick shy of profit. As the market came off, I advised my fellow traders to shift the stop to breakeven 1277.25 which was shortly triggered. Rule of thumb: never let a winning trade become a losing trade. For yesterday, if we had not shifted up the stop to breakeven, the stop would have been triggered @ 1272.00 later in the session.

So far, I am quite pleased with the performance of the system. Not only there's no losing trades so far, 50% of the entries actually gave 20pts within 2 days of entry with little or no drawdown. A profit of 20pts equates to US$5,000 per big S&P and US$1,000 per e-minis. Interesting, ya? Let's see if S&P visits 1295.00 by next Monday, hehe... ...

Some of you may ask, "What has the S&P system got to do with his trading strategy?" In fact, the S&P system is the pivot of my trading strategy. Although the system only generates 1 -2 entries per month, it still accounts for the majority of my trading fund's profits. In April 2006, I devised a trading strategy which would greatly enhanced my odds of making $$ consistently month in month out.

The strategy is as follows: Everyday, I trade my other intra-day systems (which will all be shared in the Trading Mastermind Programme) with the target of making around US$200 - US$300 per contract which is not a difficult task :) With these trades alone, my fund should be able to grow at least 10% per month. In the meantime, I would wait for the signals of the S&P system. When the signals come, I would go in for the kill and that possibly add another 5% to the fund. If things don't turn out well, I am still buffered by the daily profits. As such, consistently making $$ month in month out should be easier to achieve, isn't it?

As a trader, it's very important to come out with a trading strategy that works for you. As the saying goes, "Fail to Plan, Plan to Fail". If one is just recklessly trading the markets everyday, sooner or later, he or she will burst the account and be forced to the gates.

I hope my 2 cents sharings here does allow you to learn something here. I am so happy that my daily page views smashed past the 100 barrier and registered 155 impressions yesterday. Once again, thanks for your time :)

27th July 06 - Stand Up for Singapore

Today, our home-grown SIMSCI did an amazing run, one-way traffic to the north pole from start till end. With Taiwan, Nikkei and Kospi ending near their highs, it's 2nd nature for me to buy August SIMSCI after lunch @ 286.0. I was not surprised that subsequently Hang Seng and SIMSCI also ended at their highs. Repeated patterns after all. I look forward to a strong move in US markets tonight. Once again, let's stand up for Singapore :)

24th July 06 - The Footprint of the Big Funds

Today is probably one of the easiest trading day of the month. Traded alongside the funds and trade aggressively today, buying 3 regionals markets at one time, namely Hang Seng, Taiwan and SIMSCI.

Basically, today all my entries are generated by this system called RUSE. The beauty of this system is that it can detect smart money movement and give almost perfect entries with little or no drawdown. Interesting, ya?

Below are the entries which I traded today. Personally, I was awed by the beauty of the entries , especially the Hang Seng one. Caught it right where the trend explodes. Enjoy ...



Can't wait to share the system to the Trading Mastermind Program people. My goal is to see all of them succeed. Cheers :)

19th July 06 - A Sweet KOSPI Trade

After waiting for 1 month, my KOSPI trading system finally generate an entry. Kudos to my partner in my trading fund for initiating the position. Eric, thanks for the belief in my system :)

Have to admit, this KOSPI trading system does not generate alot of entries. In fact, it only generate a measly 24 entries in 5 years. But out of this 24 entries, only 1 got stopped out, the rest are all outright winners. The unbelievable part is, 20% of the entries are market turning points. When I look at the potential profits, my jaw dropped to the floor.

Some of you might be shouting, "but there's so little entries...!" Well, my answer would be: I am more interested in the quality of the entries rather than the frequency of occurence. I am totally fine with trading lesser and spending more time with my loved ones, knowing that at the end of the day I am DEFINITELY PROFITABLE.

18th July 06 - 10 Winning Tips to Your Trading Success

Whilst researching for my Trading Mastermind Program (only 5 spaces left), I happened to chance upon an article (by Brian Lee) in which the stuff he generously shares coincide with my trading philosophy. So here goes:

1) Trading is simple, but it isn't easy. If you yearn to have a future in this industry, forget about "hope" and stick to your trading plan.

2) Get out a trade immediately when the reasons that supported your entry no longer exist.

3) Don't open a trade just because it is cheap. Only initiate a position is when it looks set up to make a decent move.

4) Good trading should be boring, like doing the same thing over and over again. If there's one thing I guarantee in trading, it's that "thrill seekers" or adrenaline junkies get their accounts grounded into tiny bits and pieces. It's just a matter of time.

5) The turning point of when amateur traders turn into professional traders is when they stop searching and hoping for the "holy grail in trading" and start managing their risk on each trade.

6) You are buying and trading on the emotions of other traders, not the actual stock. At any moment, you must be aware of the human psychology and emotions present in the markets.

7) Always acknowledge and be in control of your emotions. Failure to do so will bring you to the exit sooner than you think. If you are screaming at your computer screen, begging your position to move in your favor, you have to stop and ask yourself, "Is this rational?" Take a deep breath. No point screaming as it will not 'scare' the market away from your stops.

8) Always remember, trading is supposed to be a business. Don't get too personal when faced with losing trades. Like business, winning and losing are all part of the game.

9) Beware of your number one enemy, yourself! If you start to get too excited, beware! As excitement clouds your judgment, it starts to increases your risk.

10) If you come into trading with the idea of making "big money overnight," you're better wake up and smell the coffee. Most accounts have been blown because of this "account killer" mindset.

16th July 06 - Trading Mastermind Program (14th Aug 06 - 25th Aug 06)

It has been over a week since my last post. Was busy moving to my new home and setting up the internet connection there, hence the hiatus ...

I was surprised at the overwelming response when I wrote about my Trading Mastermind Program couple of weeks ago. Thanks for all the kind support. After weeks of preparation, the details of the program is finalised. It will be held from 14th Aug 06 - 25th Aug 06, Mondays to Fridays, 0900hrs to 1230hrs at the premises of Zone Financial Pte Ltd.

In this 10 days, I will share with 10 individuals all my trading techniques that allows me to grow my portfolio by 5-10% consistently every month. More importantly, I will also share 10 important concepts of trading (1 concept daily) that are paramount to any trader's success. They are as follow:
1) Trading Psychology: Managing Fear & Greed
2) Building Your Trading Business
3) Positioning Sizing
4) Importance of Risk
5) Systematic Thought Process (STP)
6) Planning Your Life
7) System Design, Testing & Optimization
8) Accelerated Learning Process
9) Traders Builder Groups
10) Trading Discipline

All the knowledge covered in the above topics are gathered from interviews of fellow traders, modelling of mindset of trading legends and also my trading experience. The program will be conducted in a proactive manner whereby all the participants will be encouraged to share their insights or trading experience, resulting in a synergy of learning. I can't help but to feel excited learning from 10 other participants too. Imagine how that can shorten your learning curve and prevent you from commiting unnecessary trading mistakes.

The 10-day Trading Mastermind Program will cost S$1,500. I am so confident of the program that I am throwing in a full money back guarantee. If you at the end of the program feel that the program does not benefit you at all, I will unconditionally return you the fee. Fair deal, ya?

For those who are interested, pls email me @ petechia@gmail.com . Likewise, if you still have any questions, pls email me @ petechia@gmail.com too. Remember, 1st come 1st serve, as there are only 10 spaces :)

PS: As of NOW, 4 spaces are taken, so 6 more left

Last Day in MSCI TW Pit

Interesting video of the Pit in my pet market, MSCI TW. Enjoy :)

6th July 06 - Futures Vs Stocks

Just happened to chance upon the website of Robbins World Cup Trading Championships.

Isn't that interesting that futures yield a better returns when compared to stocks? I know right in some of your minds, this phrase "futures high risk high return" maybe yelling at you. Yes, futures if not managed correctly can result in a trader losing the capital very quickly. However, stories of people losing their hard-earned savings in the stock market are commonplace too, isn't it? It's amazing how the stock players feel so much better losing their money slowly.


The fact remains that 90% of traders/investors lose $$ in the markets be it you stick your foot in stocks, futures, bonds or mutual funds. To me, I think the good thing about futures is that if one don't manage futures well, his/her account will suffer a hemorrhage and he/she will be out of the game and gets on with his/her life. On the other hand, stocks players' accounts usually suffer a slow death, depleting bit by bit until there's nothing left.

Enough of the doom and gloom... The most compelling reason why I stick to futures is that if I am capable to be the 10% that consistently make $$ in the markets, I will make alot more from futures than stocks. Cool, ya?

PS: I nearly fell off my chair when I got the response for my 1st Trading Mastermind Program. 40% of the seats are snatched up within 2 days of the sneak preview. Thanks for all the support :)

3rd July 06 - Sneak Preview into the Trading Mastermind Program

Yes, some of you have heard about it ... the buzz is definitely in the air :)

After much preparation, I will launching my Trading Mastermind Program soon. A mastermind group (derived from "Think and Grow Rich" by Napolean Hill) is a gathering of like-minded individuals who are commited to pushing one another towards their goals, very much like having a few performance coaches constantly on your side guiding and supporting you. The group also share new knowledge, thereby accelerating the learning curve for everyone in the group.

For my program, it will span over 2 weeks or 10 trading days. Only 10 members will be invited to join this trading inner circle. Each day, I will share 1 key concept about trading, be it position sizing, managing emotions, building a trading business. All the information gathered are painstakingly gathered through months and months of interaction with at least a hundred fellow traders. I will also share my thought process and almost all my trading knowledge and systems. Learning will take place at an accelerated pace as members contribute willingly their experience in the markets.

In this program, results are guaranteed if you have a thirst for trading success. More details out soon. Do email me @ petechia@gmail.com if you are interested to massively improve your trading skills in the shortest time.

30th June 06 - The Enemy Within

"We have met the enemy, and it is us" - Walt Kelly as Pogo

As you might already realise, my blog never talks about indicators or techniques, but focus more on psychological aspects like discipline, patience and mental attitude. The message is clear: The key to success in the markets is internal, not external.

29th June 06 - The Art of Doing Nothing

Everytime I re-read my Market Wizards book, I got something new out of it. Here an excerpt which is especially meaningful to me this time round:

"One of the best rules anybody can learn about investing is to do nothing, absolutely nothing, unless there is something to do. Most people always have to be playing; they always have to be doing something. They make a big play and say, "Boy, am I smart, I just tripled my money." Then they rush out and have to do something else with that money. They can't just sit there and wait for something new to develop" (from Jack Schwager's interview with Jim Rogers)

So well said, isn't it?

26th June 06 - The Folks Whom I Work So Hard For ...

A brief look at all my posts so far, one can only see words, words and more words ...

They say a picture speaks more than a thousand words. I shall dedicate this post to the folks whom meant so much to me.

They are my dad, my mum and my nephew. Thanks for everything !!! You are the reason why everything is worth fighting for :)

25th June 06 - What Do You Foresee of Yourself 1 Year Down the Road?

One fine day, I was chatting with my friends over coffee. One of them popped this question "What do you foresee yourself to be 1 year down the road?" Typical answers like “I really don’t know”, “it depends on what my boss thinks of me” sprung up one after another.

To me, I know exactly what I want to achieve by June 2007 – to earn S$20,000 per month and to manage an S$5 million trading fund. A quantum leap from where I am now but I believe it’s possible, in fact very possible.

On that fine day, the question made me think deeper into the path I am going to take for the coming year. I realize that not only I want a decent income, I want more time to spend with my loved ones and also to do the things which I love – which is to nurture and mentor fellow traders.

In trading, time leverage can be achieved by position trading whereby trades are placed to maximize profits in the direction of the trend, sometimes lasting days to weeks or even months. Trends do take time to build up and blossom and one must be patient enough to hold on to a favorable position longer to reap more profits. At the end of the day, I want to spend less time looking at the markets and yet make more $$. Who doesn’t?

Currently, 99% of my trades are intra-day trades and I only remembered a handful of position trades throughout my one and half year of trading. Moving from a intra-day scalper to that of a position trader might seemed to be a quantum leap however if the switch is done in steps, it should be manageable. One of my immediate milestones is to convert 30% of my trades to position trades by end Sept 06.

On Friday, I decided to take a small step towards achieving my goal. After hours of looking at the market, I decided to initiate a position trade. Interestingly, at times, the ‘chicken little’ side of me would pop up and say things like “maybe it’s not a good idea, let’s do it some other time”. However, after gauging that I have 84% chance of profiting from this trade with limited downside risk, I decided to go ahead.

For that, I bought Taiwan @ 269.6.

I am so happy that I made the 1st step towards my goal and I hope you would do the same too :)


PS: I am now at the final stages of back-testing two position trading systems. They are armed with an amazing 90% accuracy and up to 25% of the entries are market turning points. I traded them and made $$. Exciting stuff, ya? Watch this space...

21st June 06 - Trading on News (Part 1)

Thanks for all the wonderful feedback. Really appreciate it :) Let me illustrate my simple way of trading on news with an example so that you can understand better ...

Let's talk about interest rates hikes since it seemed to be the buzz of the town. Everyone (no, I'm not exaggerating) I know is talking about it, regardless whether they really know it or not. The next news we can trade on (and possibly make $$) is the hiking of interest rates by Bank of Japan (BOJ). There's speculation that it might come as early as July... slurp slurp ... The fact remains thet interest rate hikes hurt equities and may cause major sell-off in the Japanese Nikkei market.

For my system, there's two trades you can look out for: "follow-thru" and "reverse swing".

For "follow thru", you may trade alongside the crowd. For this example, on the day BOJ announce the rate hike, you might consider to short Nikkei as the 'propaganda' of interest rate hikes hurting equities will sink in and everyone from japanese rice farmers to sophiscated fund managers will start dumping their Japanese stocks. Another example of "follow-thru" can be seen in 17th Sept 2001, the 1st day the market re-opened after Sept 11 terroist attacks. On that day, Dow Jones shed 684.4 pts and the sell-off continues for days.

Dear friends, pls take note that "follow-thru" does not work for stock analysts recommendations. It might not be a good idea to buy alongside the crowd when the analysts call for a buy in a certain stock. Do think about it, if the stock that they are recommending is so good, why are they not buying for themselves?

Remember, you only trade alongside the crowd when even the smart money joins the crowd. Such situations happen when there are mass fear (Sept 11, London bombings) or pivotal events (interest rate hikes or cuts).

I hope everyone gain something today :) Before I bring fro "reverse swing" in my next post, do feel free to post any comments/questions/feedback about "follow-thru". (Click on COMMENTS below)

Let's learn from one another, ya?

Disclaimer: The above information are for educational purposes only. I shall not held responsible for the profits or losses for any trades participated.

18th June 06 - Facts, Do They Matter ???

"The trouble with facts is that there are so many of them."
- Samuel McChord Crothers

This quote is so true. In trading, we are bombarded by tons of facts and news, possibly explaining every movement of the market. One moment, when the market soars, the headlines boast of a booming economy. The next moment, when the market comes off, the usual suspects would be 'interest rates concerns', 'bird flu', 'profit taking' and yada yada ... A irony which me and my friends usually joke about during coffee is: If there's so much profit to take, then how come 90% of the traders are still losing ??? Clueless, ya?

The interesting fact of facts and news is that they are always late. The 'stories' only comes out after it has happened and impacted the markets. However, I do have a way to make $$ outta facts and news although they are late ... Got your attention, ya?

Dear readers, I will reveal my "trading on news" system in my next post. Well, before I do that, can I borrow 1 min of your time to write down some comments (click on the COMMENT below) about my sharings so far? :)

15th June 06 - The Day I Made S$6 From Trading

As you read the headline of this post, I know some of you may think "What's so great about making 6 bucks from trading ?" On monetary sense, well it's really insignificant but it's the reasons behind all the trades that made this day meaningful to me :)

Let me share with all my trades:

Trade 1
Bought HangSeng @ 15,400
Sold HangSeng @ 15,369 (loss of S$330)

Trade 2
Shorted Taiwan @ 266.6
Covered Taiwan @ 266.3 (profit of S$38.60)

Trade 3
Bought Taiwan @ 265.1
Sold Taiwan @ 265.2 (profit of S$6.80)

Trade 4
Shorted Taiwan @ 265.3 and 265.1
Covered Taiwan @ 265.0 and 264.1 (profit of $156.70)

Trade 5
Bought Taiwan @ 265.0
Sold Taiwan @ 265.9 (profit of $134)

As you can see, I begin the day with a loss in Hang Seng. After the loss, it sets me thinking: should I just stop for the day or should I repair this trade as much as possible? Soon after, I chose to repair the trade but only to the extent the MARKET ALLOWS ME TO. Please remember that the market doesn't owe any of us a living. It doesn't pat you on the back and say "Don't feel sad over 1st losing trade, let me give you a chance to make back you $$, ya?"

The subsequent trades (Trade 2 to 5) are all recovery trades. If you look at it closely, Trade 2 and 3 gave rather insignifant gains. The reason being, the market was starting to go against my position and if I had got it out at breakeven or small profit, they would have turned to losing trades. Imagine if I lost again after the 1st trade, it would be uphill task for me to repair. Conversely, when the market runs for me, I will maximise my gains, as seen in the last 2 trades. That's my take on "minimize the losses and maximize the gains".

Trading is all about planning, akin to running a business. After I completed each recovery trade, I would punch in my calculator to tabulate the running profit & loss so that I know exactly how much to achieve before breakeven. So now, you begin to realise that the $6 profit isn't a coincidence, ya?

The recovery trades also helped me to gain back my 'feel' of the market and re-established my winning momentum. As such, I look forward to great trading days ahead :)


PS: Recently I have received very good reviews from my readers. Thank you very much. I will continue to share.

PPS: Please do refer your friends to my blog if you find that they can benefit. Remember, what goes around comes around. It's always good to share :)

14th June 06 - Day 1 of Recovery

As mentioned in my post yesterday, I would focus mainly on getting back my 'form'. Took a small bite off the market. Long Hang Seng @ 15,305 and cleared @ 15,325. S$200 in 3mins and that's it for the day. The temptation to trade more is definitely there but I stick to my guns and trade my plan ...

Spent rest of the day mentoring fellow traders. It's always in me to share as I firmly believe that "What goes around comes around". Overall an profitable day for all who came to trade with me with each bagging in around S$200 to S$500. Cheers :)

13th June 06 - Managing Losing Streaks

These 2 days hasn't been easy, with 2 losing days back to back and taking out most of the gains for June.

A valuable lesson learnt is learning to RESPECT THE MARKET AT ALL TIMES...

Well, the 1st week of June has been smooth sailing. 90% of the trades I went in made $$ for me. It seemed that everything I touched, it will turn to gold. I even have friends asking "How do he do it man? Almost buying at the lows and selling at the highs". I guess with this, subconsciously I have begun to take the market for granted. In fact, by end of last week, I have detected that my 'form' has dipped a fair bit but I have chose not to pay much attention to it.

To me, trading is like soccer. A trader, similarly a soccer team, doesn't win all the time. There will definitely come a time where the losing streak sets in. This is the TEST where how you perceive the situation matters. Do you see as yourself as a failure or do you see it as a perfect opportunity to learn valuable lessons from your mistakes? I don't about you, but I will definitely go for the latter! I always stand by "What doesn't kill you will make you stronger"

So you may ask, how am I gonna deal with my present losing streak?

The plan is simple. As my trading 'form' is currently on a downtrend, definitely it is not wise to trade alot. Usually I trade up to 3 times a day but for the next 3 days, I will at most trade once a day. And, everytime I go in now, I am targeting to go for minimal profit. The objective is to regain the winning form. Sometimes, when you are stuck in a losing streak, it's amazing that even make 1pt from the market can be very difficult.

That's my plan for now; stay tuned for updates :)

12th June 06 - Believing

"You can't believe in a dream until you can believe in yourself"

Dear friends, unleash your passion in trading and bring forth your belief, and you know what, your dream might be alot closer than what you have expected. I see you at the top, ya?

11th June 06 - The Tipping Point of Trading

Months ago, I speed read through this book named "The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference" by Malcolm Gladwell. The focus of the book is on social 'epidemics' - any epidemic by definition must have reached a 'tipping point', a moment where the trend transits from being small-scale and contained to become a major explosive force.

An example of tipping point is the resurgence of the popularity of Hush Puppies, which had long been out of fashion, and were only sold in small shoe stores. Suddenly, a group of teenage boys in East Village, New York, found the cool to wear. Word-of-mouth advertising that these trend-setters were wearing the once-popular suede shoes set off an epidemic of fashion change, and boys all over America had to have the "cool" shoes. (taken from Amazon.com review of the book)

Being a trading coach, I am exposed to hundreds of aspiring traders who wants to make big bucks from trading. I know you are one too, isn't it? After months of observation, interestingly, some of the traders whom I know after much perserverance have reached Tipping Point and has switched from CONSISTENTLY UNPROFITABLE to now, CONSISTENTLY PROFITABLE month after month ... ...

To rise from tininess to greatness in trading, I believe there's 3 important ingredients, namely TIME, ATTITUDE and FOCUS.

In trading, we need time to develop and fine-tune our trading style. Everyone trades with a different style due to differing perceptions of fear and greed. The system advocated by the trading course you've just attended might not be suitable for you if it doesn't suit your risk appetite. I have known of traders who disregard that fact and in the quest of earning back their course fee lost all of their trading capital. Talking about time, we also need time to make mistakes so that we can learn from them and better ourselves. In trading, mistakes cost money and regardless of our account size, we can't afford to repeat the mistakes.

Attitude refers to our mindset in this game. Honestly speaking, how many of you have a "trade to win" mindset before entering any trade or is it more of "Let's hope the market goes my way"? Research has shown that 90% of traders who lose $$ succumb to the latter. To consistently profit from trading, we must have a winning mindset. A winner behaves like a sniper. He/she spends most of his/her time planning for the trade, the contingencies and weighing the risk-reward ratio. After deciding on the plan, the wait for the entry trigger begins. When the market trades to the entry level, no time is wasted. No hesistation on whether to enter or not as the game plan has been thought out and even rehearsed a few times before this moment. The trigger is pulled. BLAM ! One shot one kill! Believe me, this is one of the traits all the great traders have in common.

You can have the best technique and mindset but if you don't know exactly what you want to achieve out of trading, you will not go far in this game. Therein lies the importance of FOCUS. To start off, you must have a goal or outcome to focus on. For example, my goal is to make US$10 million from futures trading by end of 2008 and US$10 million per annum thereafter. Well, some of you may think this is a ridiculous amount but to my knowledge, some traders has done that before, meaning I can do it too :) With a quantum goal in place, next is to come out with the ways to achieve it. For example, I might want to make the US$10 million by making 10% off a US$100 million fund. Next step would to plan how to gather the fund within these 2
years ... As such, you can continue to break down the goal into smaller milestones and that immediate milestone to achieve 10% profit for June 2006 and say 12% for July 2006 and so on and so forth. With this, the mind has something to focus on and the you can look forward to every trading day as it would bring you closer to your dream.

Dear friends, I hope you like what I have shared. If you have any feedback, pls do drop me a comment if possible :)