Forex Trading Team

Hey guys,

I've just been bouncing a few ideas around in my head regarding putting together a small team of traders. Myself and probably two others. Hopefully I've posted this thread in the correct area. I don't think it should be classified as 'commercial' as I am not selling anything.

I did have the same idea a few months ago and put it out on oDesk and received a huge response. There were several problems with that, which included people stating they had Forex knowledge, but when it came to the crunch, they only knew the basics. Then the trading method was a little complicated for some due to the language barrier, and if they did understand, they wanted to tweak it, as in their eyes, they thought they could improve it. Then I had issues with people stating they were available at all times, then turn around and give me their schedules which they expected me to work around, after clearly stating that I needed them for a set roster. So it all became a bit too hard and frustrating.

The above idea revolved working off 1hr charts where you had to be able to make trading decisions at the top of every hour for the entire week. It is a workable system but it is very tiring for one person, hence my idea of a team. The system is simple to me but I can understand how others may find it a little daunting.

So that brings me to my new idea. I have lengthened out the time frame to the 4hr charts, and now use a completely mechanical system for entries that involve a couple of customized MT4 indicators. The rules are pretty simple and there is still a little fine tuning to do, but overall it is a fairly profitable system.

Now I was wondering if anyone else here has had any experience in either putting a trading team together or been part of one. If so, what advice could you offer me. I realize there would possibly be issues with different time zones, language, internet connectivity and various other issues. But I do have a pretty good idea of what I want to do, and I am pretty keen to proceed. The long term plan would be to build a track record on a live account on something like MyFXbook and hopefully attract other investors, where a profit share system would be in place. This is just a rough idea for now, and in the meantime, I would be more than happy to grow our own accounts.

Looking forward to any comments from my feloow traders here, whether good or bad. If you do want further info, feel free to private message me. Cheers.

I think what you are proposing is good in theory, but the nature of trading is not necessarily condusive to an effective ad hoc group.

All of the issues you mentioned with time differences, people's personal agendas/levels of commitment and the overall independent streak that most traders innately have, can make trying to pull something like this off more trouble and time-consuming than it's worth.

I'm never one to say never, because just about anything can be done, but trying to organize something like this will probably only wind up taking valuable time and energy from your own trading without providing any value in return.

That being said, good luck. Feel free to contact me as I'm always open to connecting with serious and committed traders to compare notes and network with.

Cheers.

Hey Buff,

I understand your frustration with your difficulty with putting a team together as I'm in the process of testing the waters too.

"...There were several problems with that, which included people stating they had Forex knowledge, but when it came to the crunch, they only knew the basics. Then the trading method was a little complicated for some due to the language barrier, and if they did understand, they wanted to tweak it, as in their eyes, they thought they could improve it. Then I had issues with people stating they were available at all times, then turn around and give me their schedules which they expected me to work around, after clearly stating that I needed them for a set roster. So it all became a bit too hard and frustrating....."

For the most part the traders that I've talked to cannot see what you see because of their limited experience hence their high expectations. Most will say they are committed but I've found a lot of them just want a easy route and with just buy sell signals on a PART TIME basis LOL. I don't blame them, I was like that too in my earlier days of trading.

I'm not sure if this works (and ideas from anyone who has done this will help) but I'm considering hiring young paid trading trainees where at least I can have their attention for a whole week for a lot of hours a day and they are there for most importantly London and US open. My job is to teach them what I see and also keep my analysis grounded, you could say a co-pilot going through a checklist and I do the flying. Something I'm considering and I think it should be ok if I choose someone who isn't a lazy ass.

I can't help you with your original post Buff but I think it will be tough to get dedication as the experienced guys have made it already and trading newbies always look for easier ways.

Nice idea - but why?

short goals - long term objectives?

sorry for the questions, but the concept of looking for a few traders is not a little objective, first they need to understand and trade your system - which is now completly mechanical.

so here's my view's

1. open a thread and share the system - then pick people from the thread that you feel have grasped the idea and invite them to join you.

2. Mechanical = EA = no team required

3. if your system makes money you no longer require investors, this causes more problems than the short term capital injection will solve, compound your trades and build the account, if people want you to trade for them, use the brokers ability to mirror your trades on other accounts and pay you a flat rate % of profit, this way you have no contact with there money and don't need to get involved with too many of the regulations.

best of pips

MPP

sounds like a very interesting Idea.

Thanks for the replies guys. A few did send me private messages or emails via my website, and I will answer those in the next day or so.

ATrader1, I probably agree with you to some extent as it was very frustrating the first time I tried it. I think I learned a few things though, which will definitely help if I do decide to go ahead with it a second time. You will be kept in the loop if this does occur. Thanks.

Vitaluna, I like your idea of actually getting a group of trainees together and teaching them face to face. I actually considered this using say high school kids that were struggling to find jobs. My youngest is just about to leave high school at 18 and he has no idea of what he wants to do and has an interest in trading. Not sure if I could deal with so many Gen Ys though! I have been a part of a three man trading team in the past, where I was based in Australia, one in Canada and the other in Taiwan. We were all experienced traders working for a guy in Spain, and it worked out very well from a logistics point of view. The guy in Taiwan was from the US, so language was not an issue. I probably don't want to teach new traders from scratch though, but I guess you could mold them to the way you think as they wouldn't be bringing any preconceived ideas to the table.

MPP, I guess the big plan is to build a team of traders that can start with a trading method similar to the one mentioned in my original post, and then if all goes well, then naturally we could look to expanding the business model, by either trading other methods, including a change of timeframe. The Forex market runs 24hrs for 5 1/2 days, and it is just way too physically and mentally demanding to even monitor a system based on a 4hr chart, following multiple pairs. I have tried it, and it just burnt me out after a couple of months. I know the majority of my trading ideas work over the long term, but I just can't trade them to their full potential whilst having to deal with other stuff in my life, hence the idea of a trading team.

With regards to your idea of starting a thread based on my method, that idea did cross my mind, but I decided against it. One thing I have noticed over the years visiting trading forums, once a trading method is posted, it eventually morphs into something completely different by the last post. I don't need this.

Also I'm way ahead of you on the suggestion of an EA. I have had a couple of EAs built in the past by a very good programmer and have actually discussed some future plans with her. I like EAs and can see great potential in them, but sometimes they just can't do what you would like them to do. Even the simplest methods sometimes have limitations when it comes to EAs. But having said that, I am in the process of putting together a breakdown for my programmer with regards to the 4hr method, which will basically cover the entry and at least get an initial stop or trailing stop in place, where I could then manually manage the trade after receiving notification that the EA has opened one. A work in progress.

And on point no.3, I understand what you are saying, but to get to that point, I still need a good trading team. Again though, if the team were to be successful, then we would be looking to expand the business and make it a win win for all involved. I am a people person and I am loyal to those that are loyal to me, and have no problems sharing the wealth, if that is the path we take. Thanks.

Again, thanks for all the comments guys. Cheers.

trader has to be alone )))) team is something that can be very negative. believe me - i've seen it many times...
one guy says buy, another says sell...if you will be wrong your friend will think that he's already Soros )))) and here the problems begin

Cannot imagine how this would work. You will automatically get the wrong kind of reinforcement.

I'm willing to participate in such a "group".

I did a similiar thing in the past and we ended up with 5 good traders and established a managed account company.

The way we did it (provided it's an Ea or fully mechanical system):

1. Any suggestion/improvement must be backed by at least 2 years of backtesting prior to submitting it to the group.

2. Failing to comply with task/schedule without prior advanced notice - you are out.

3. Three prior notices of failing to comply - you are out.

You can "judge" my "credentials" in a non-related forum here:
gg53 "Killing Zone".

G.

domenicfx, I probably disagree that a trader has to work alone. I will train the team to a standard where I am happy for them to make individual trading decisions based on the method. More often than not, there will only be one trader actively following the markets at any one time. I will be overseeing the entire operation, and if there was a problem, then no problems for that trader to contact me for advice or guidance. If mistakes are made, we will debrief to ensure that it doesn't happen again.

Mingary, I guess I'll never know until I run my own team. Remember I have been part of a successful team in the past. It was disbanded for reasons out of my control but had nothing to do with the logistics or the trading itself.

gg53, if you could PM me with those details on your credentials as didn't appear on your post.

Thanks guys for your feedback.

I, myself, have thought of putting together a team, but not as how you explained it. Your approach is the "one man show" where a person is basically working the whole system and then would change/swap according to a roster-ed shift.

My idea is actually grandeur It started with Henry Ford with his brilliant idea of a production line which accomplishes far more than a 'one man show'. You don't want one person assembling a whole car, it's a wasted resource of time and energy.

What you need is a designated trained expert is a specialized area. Such one person doing all fundamental analysis. Another person doing all technical analysis. Just like a conveyor belt, both these FA and TA is forwarded to another person to look for confluences. Once a confluence is found it is then forwarded to the executioner: a designated person simply to enter a trade (also to decide risk to trade) and nothing more. Once a trade is opened it is then handed to a trade management team or the Exit guy who will close the trade.

This conveyor belt approach will minimize a lot of human error as each individual team member is focused on one task and performing a specialized role. Just like in any sport, a team consist of designated specialized role. It is not a one man show where one man does all the work, that's where errors are likely to occur.

Yeah it was a lovely dream. I quit it because I realized that there is no point of trading billion dollar accounts as life is too short. I'd rather spend time with family and friends than running a company.

^ to be very honest this guy crucial point is just a big talker and most probably making nothing out of forex from trading other then the advertiser payments he gets from his blogs...

I will happily take back my words if he can bring up just a single statement of his trading.

hey ,
do you know how i can take a profit in a broker ?

You are the only one who makes profit as a trader ... Broker will never make profit for you.

Some of you people are so stupid its mind boggling.

sure so u making money yeah? bring the proof and I will take back my words.

infact not a single poster on FF is actually profitable.

Hope you are kidding

The forums full of "hot shot traders", its not hard to post trades and get vouched and convince some stranger that you actually know what you're doing (when chances are you don't). I like Crucial Points posts just because they allow me to think freely and actually just a few posts of his lead me onto some amazing self discoveries. So if he's making a buck or two from his blog, then more power to him.

Most new forum members are under some impression that just because you have 10V's it somehow means you owe them an education in trading. All that aside and on topic..

I think this is a very good idea but difficult in doing with random strangers from all parts of the world. I think a much better idea would be to do this with local people that you know and can be in the same room with.

For one it would cause you to take trading more seriously (hopefully). And you would be held accountable to each other. Can communicate more effectively/ efficiently. Motivate each other... Lots of benefits

I tried this on skype with some people once and it was too distracting in the end because everyone has their own interpretation of things, egos are a big one, they get in the way A LOT... Anyway, definitely a good idea but over the internet not so sure.

Happy Pippin

CindyXXXX, I think you maybe right. The problem is though, that even though there appears to be thousands of forex traders around, especially when you go into forums like this, you wouldn't believe how hard it is to find traders in your local area. I have been a few local traders meetings but they mainly concentrated on stocks, options or cfds. Forex was like the poor cousin from the backwoods and weren't taken that seriously. I have tried all of those previously, including futures, and trust me, forex is the way to go. We are slowly gaining a foothold in mainstream trading. I might end up going down the track of using kids out of high school, as they especially like the idea that they can online game during down time in the markets, and trading off a 4hr chart, there are plenty of them. Thanks for the advice.

And I'm not sure what happened to this thread with regards to the recent posts. do people just hijack other threads so they can carry on their own little tiffs? Come on people, I thought we were all here to help each other out with our trading....

Quoting buff

Disliked

And I'm not sure what happened to this thread with regards to the recent posts. do people just hijack other threads so they can carry on their own little tiffs? Come on people, I thought we were all here to help each other out with our trading..

Ignored

Agh we're merely humans seeking a point of substance. fk em


Well, you know hedge funds are just a group of people who set about to make money... I don't think they really care where it comes from. I mean that's what its all about right.