Are Traders bad people? | Forex Factory

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Are Traders bad people?

  • #1
  • First Post: Jul 28, 2011 4:07am Jul 28, 2011 4:07am
Yeah, I always hear bankers are bad people. Greedy, selfish, irresponsible and so on...

I have to admit when I first heard about Norway I was switching to my platform to look where the USD/NOK is. I made money when the Yen crashed in March (by buying USD/JPY after the crash) and I felt happy about the profit.

Am I a bad person?
  • #2
  • Jul 28, 2011 4:10am Jul 28, 2011 4:10am
If you made money on someone's misery, you are a bad person imo, unless you at least donate some of your profits to the sufferers.

Traders are all different hence no generalisation is possible.
Don't get mad, get even!
  • #3
  • Jul 28, 2011 4:16am Jul 28, 2011 4:16am
Quoting stulic
If you made money on someone's misery, you are a bad person imo, unless you at least donate some of your profits to the sufferers.

Traders are all different hence no generalisation is possible.
I didn't donate.

But I kind of thought - I'm just the small retail trader who had the luck to be live there when the Yen crashed and I was able to buy at a good price. The guys who really caused the crash are worse. LOL
  • #4
  • Jul 28, 2011 4:17am Jul 28, 2011 4:17am
Quoting Forex5050
Yeah, I always hear bankers are bad people. Greedy, selfish, irresponsible and so on...

I have to admit when I first heard about Norway I was switching to my platform to look where the USD/NOK is. I made money when the Yen crashed in March (by buying USD/JPY after the crash) and I felt happy about the profit.

Am I a bad person?
It all depends on your conscience. I personally do not see you (me, or anyone for that matter) as a "bad person" for profiting off someones tragic situation.

People praise doctors and lawyers, yet those are both considered noble professions that would not be in business unless someone gets hurt in someway or another.
  • #5
  • Jul 28, 2011 4:21am Jul 28, 2011 4:21am
Quoting Jhig
It all depends on your conscience. I personally do not see you (me, or anyone for that matter) as a "bad person" for profiting off someones tragic situation.

People praise doctors and lawyers, yet those are both considered noble professions that would not be in business unless someone gets hurt in someway or another.
lol at comparing traders and doctors
Don't get mad, get even!
  • #6
  • Jul 28, 2011 4:32am Jul 28, 2011 4:32am
Quoting stulic
lol at comparing traders and doctors

Not sure if I would consider lawyers to be a noble profession...just a profession...lol
  • #7
  • Jul 28, 2011 12:03pm Jul 28, 2011 12:03pm
I was thinking the EXACT same thing about the Norway thing. Furthermore, I also started thinking about how the yen reacted during the earthquake/nuclear fiasco not long ago and how forex traders probably made big swings off it. I was telling my wife how it's interesting my train of thought has shifted from "Oh man, that's terrible!" to, "OH MAN, HOW WILL IT EFFECT IT'S VALUE AGAINST THE DOLLAR?!"

The other thing I would think about is that I come from a heavy poker background and most professional poker players (at least until it became a major spectator debacle for a little while) really doesn't contribute really anything at all to society or to the local economy except for whatever bankroll they decide not to keep and spend.

I used to think similarly about stock traders etc because I couldn't fathom how the little guy sitting in his office listening to music could create enough volume to really stir the pot but apparently it does a great deal.

Does retail forex have a sizeable influence or contribution to any level of the economy? Or are we all just vultures fighting for pips?
  • #8
  • Jul 28, 2011 12:10pm Jul 28, 2011 12:10pm
Quoting Forex5050
Yeah, I always hear bankers are ..
Am I a bad person?
Hi,
I won't consider you as a bad person.

You are just a warrior in the battlefield called 'markets'.. You won this time.. but you also stand equal risk of losing.
Every warrior is a good person in his own right.
Its our karam (deed/duty), we have to do it with utmost responsibility.

We may, however consider someone a bad person, who exploits others/ take advantage of others weakness. But IMHO, its life- survival of the fittest. It was, it is and probably will always be the modus operandi of life.

Regards,
K.S.
  • #9
  • Jul 28, 2011 12:45pm Jul 28, 2011 12:45pm
Are traders bad people?

If you are playing within the rules I will say no. I made money on the Yen also and I am proud that I was quick and smart enough to do it. I do have people that get mad when I talk about doing this and they say people like us are to blame for everyone's bad luck in life, mainly cause it's easier to blame others for their misfortunes than to do something about it. Then I look them in the eyes and tell them with some hard work and dedication you too can work to create the wealth that I'm working on.

I know all about the wealth transfer in life, if it doesn't transfer into my family's accounts, it will transfer somewhere else. My family is the most important thing in my life so if others don't like it, screw'em!
A woman drove me to drink, and I forgot to thank her
  • #10
  • Jul 28, 2011 12:58pm Jul 28, 2011 12:58pm
I wouldn't consider traders to be bad people by default. I wouldn't consider bankers to be bad people by default, either. I would however suggest that both professions attract greed by nature.

I certainly wouldn't consider trading or banking to be a noble profession, but just because they aren't noble does not make them bad.
  • #11
  • Jul 28, 2011 1:25pm Jul 28, 2011 1:25pm
How traders and bankers are bad? You gave an example of what happened in a specific region and you got advantage of that thing. You were not the cause of that destruction. Similarly you were not doing anything bad to people by trading.
Infact gambling is the best example where a person is happy while other is sad. In gambling winning/loosing are directly related.
Banking or trading are totally different. There is an element of greed but not something "bad for others".
  • #12
  • Jul 28, 2011 1:37pm Jul 28, 2011 1:37pm
if u made money when yen crashed that doesnt mean u are bad person,u are just smart enough to take the opportunity or some one else would have take it.
Trade responsiblypatience is the key/Swing trader
  • #13
  • Jul 28, 2011 1:39pm Jul 28, 2011 1:39pm
remember we are businesspeople and we are here to make money.every business has some drawbacks,even people lie to sell there products,make fake commercials,so are all business people bad?
Trade responsiblypatience is the key/Swing trader
  • #14
  • Jul 28, 2011 1:45pm Jul 28, 2011 1:45pm
Well I think the topic at hand is more of a "are we desensitizing ourself from human suffering?"

Like I mentioned in my previous post, when something bad happens in a nation, the first thing I think of isn't "I feel terrible." It's "CHA CHING!" and that realization to some people irks their common sense of empathy towards people in general.

Big Businesses however aren't a single, personable entity with a clear concious like how a sole trader sitting on a laptop would be. Some argue that places like Walmart or McDonalds are bad companies because they may cause the suffering rather than just profiting from it. (of course this was an assumption for the sake of my point, I'm not saying they're horrible persay)

However I think the equivalent of comparing a 'bad' company to a 'bad' trader would be if a trader physically caused a catastophe himself for the pure intent to shift the market.

I think there was a John Travolta movie that actually was just that last year maybe? Something about him holding a train in NY hostage to see if the markets would move in a favourable direction. Heh, kind of interesting.
  • #15
  • Jul 28, 2011 1:50pm Jul 28, 2011 1:50pm
Quoting Forex5050
I have to admit when I first heard about Norway I was switching to my platform to look where the USD/NOK is. I made money when the Yen crashed in March (by buying USD/JPY after the crash) and I felt happy about the profit.
Well, it's not like you caused the tragedies in Norway in Japan, or did you?
Thinking in terms of profit even if something bad happens is only natural (it is not to say it is good). We humans are all inherently totally selfish. Even if we do something for other we ultimately do that for ourselves. The only situation when a person acts not of selfishness is when she/he acts on an instinct - and these are rare occasions.

I think that you pondering this stuff is prove enough that you are not all bad

And after all, if you are going to have problems with profiting from someone else's loss then boy are you in the wrong line of work
  • #16
  • Jul 28, 2011 3:11pm Jul 28, 2011 3:11pm
Some great posts here! I like your ones especially King Sigh!

@ Giansar: I have absolutely no problem that somebody loses when I win, there always have to be losers and it's not my problem that they lose, cause I know my own Money Management rules.

I was just thinking today, it's kind of strange how I didn't really care what happened, but just how I can profit. But it is true, we are humans, we are greedy!
  • #17
  • Jul 28, 2011 3:49pm Jul 28, 2011 3:49pm
I recall a trader that was interviewed on 9/11. He made a ton of money on that day as his system or method already had him short before the disaster happened. The trader told the reporter, " It feels like blood money". He also said he was going to 'give it back'. As I recall he said give it back, he may have said donate it. I never did see a follow-up on him and what he actually did do with his money.

As I watched CNBC during the earthquakes in Japan, I found it funny. Not funny ha-ha, but ironic. The reporters would go through such pains to show concern for the disaster and loss of life, then quickly say, " But how do we make money out of this?".

In truth, I would have preferred for them to say, " This is a business network and the bottom line is profit", with no apologies. I know that may not have played well on "main street", but it's the truth.

They do the same thing on down days. When the market is up 500 points, they are all smiles. As if the world is all rainbows and lollipops. But when the market is down 500 points, the world is coming to an end. NEWS FLASH: when the market is up 500 points, somebody LOST money. And when the market is down 500 points, somebody MADE money. I can deal with the misinformation and time filler "reasons" for why the market did what it did on any given day, but this tilts me to no end.

So if the Dow is down 750 points and you see me with a smile on my face, please do not think me a bad person. Think, he must have been short......
Without VSA, you're playing checkers while the Smart Money plays chess.
  • #18
  • Jul 28, 2011 3:50pm Jul 28, 2011 3:50pm
I think traders and specially successful traders may have a chance becoming a better human being that they were before they started trading than other professions.

Trading requires us to look more into out inner self and how weak we could morally and psychologically be, so by making us more conscious about those daemons of fear and greed it give us a chance of working on it and becoming a better human being.

Just take yourself as an example. You made a profit on others peoples misfortune and its not a bad thing cause you dint wanted this to happen to them but you just took advantage of a price move that was inevitable no matter you wanted to take a slice or not. But ofcourse it would be sick to put on a trade and hope for a misfortune for others to make some lousy pips for yourself.

So back to what i was saying that you made a profit of others misfortune and it actually made you conscious about how greedy/bad a person you are. Maybe you are actually a bad guy (sorry just using you as an example dont take personally) but being a trader now you are thinking about it and chances are that you may become a better person now.

On the other hand success can also inject Ego and Pride in to you, so gotta keep an eye on that one too as you account balance keeps going up and tell yourself to stay humble.
.
  • #19
  • Jul 29, 2011 7:24am Jul 29, 2011 7:24am
One thing that I can say though (in relation to the recent post by nasir) is I do feel more in tune, or in sync with our society as a whole, especially on an international level.

Since I'm more fundamental than technical, I am now forced to read alot of news, business reports and so forth of the major countries. It makes you feel a little more connected to the pulse of the world. Even though I may not be contributing impactful service, my very small incremental economic volitility will probably never register on the radar, I do feel like I'm more aware and the world indeed feels smaller now becuase of it. Tokyo or London doesn't feel so far away from me despite me living in a northern canadian mining town.

And because of that, I think it makes me a little bit better of a person.
  • #20
  • Jul 29, 2011 8:42am Jul 29, 2011 8:42am
Quoting Forex5050
Yeah, I always hear bankers are bad people. Greedy, selfish, irresponsible and so on...

I have to admit when I first heard about Norway I was switching to my platform to look where the USD/NOK is. I made money when the Yen crashed in March (by buying USD/JPY after the crash) and I felt happy about the profit.

Am I a bad person?
Yeah you are a very bad person, dont do it again. just joking. Isnt that whats call trading the news? If thats your edge then use it and dont feel no way about it. I cant see whats selfish about that afterall you didnt influence the guy to do what he did, you were only making a trade based on the reaction of the market when the news hits the media.
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