We started our day trading exploits on a return trip from Venezuela.
We spent the holiday season with grandmother trader and had fun day trading from Internet cafés in the center of the city.
This trip to Venezuela was extremely uneventful compared to our previous soirée in the country were we were kidnapped and shot at. Not shot, just shot at. Much better scenario.
Visit our sister site WanderingTrader.com to read the full story where our CEO and founder, Marcello Arrambide, tells the story on the Venezuela travel blog.
After Venezuela we spent some time in Colombia followed by our big move to Brazil. Day trading in Brazil was nothing short of serious day trading masked in festivities of caipirinhas and the glorious beaches of Rio de Janeiro.
Here’s a clip of a day traders daily life in Rio de Janeiro:
We were able to explore a significant amount of the country. Rio de Janeiro in itself could be explored for six months and it has grown to be one of our favorite cities to day trade from.
Everything from spending the afternoons on the famous Copacabana and Ipanema Beaches to even doing some one on one trading. We got together with one of the newly christened members of the LTD Project and had a great time day trading from a penthouse looking over the entire city of Rio de Janeiro.
We found an incredible oasis that many people haven’t heard of. It is what we now call the Brazilian Maldives. A fresh water lagoon that can be found in Northern Brazil near the city of Jericoacoara.
The exotic beach of Lagoa Paraiso (Paradise Lagoon) in Brazil
Following the entire Northern Brazilian Coast all the way down to the infamous island of Florianopolis. There aren’t too many bad things to say about Brazil other than the internet problems we encountered.
If one plans to visit the country and day trade in Brazil ensure that the hotel or the apartment that is being rented has high speed internet that is reliable. Keyword reliable.
We have contacts to the landlord of the apartment that we rented and would be happy to share that info if requested. 2014 World Cup in Brazil anyone?
For a visa run we visited our 2nd to last country in South America, Peru, as well as the serene and mysterious island of Easter Island. A visa run wouldn’t be same without tasting a bit of wine in Argentina’s famous wine city of Mendoza either.
Ahu Tongariki – The most popular of all the Moai Status on Easter Island
The serenity of Easter Island is unlike anything we have experienced in the world. Miles away from civilization the island is a marvel of mankind and still a mystery as well. We have the Japanese to thank for helping erect the statues after a major earthquake that toppled them into the ocean.
It was also quite interesting to day trade from the only internet cafe available in the tiny town of Easter Island. Many of our training program students already know that when we trade most of us analyze the market and repeat things out loud.
Imagine a man sitting in a small cubicle day trading yelling out random trade setups and mumbling market structure. Good times.
Machu Pichu, Peru
The cities of Lima, Cusco, and even Nazca in Peru are quite different to Easter Island but impressive none the less. Every time we travel The Day Trading Academy reviews internet availability and even ease of living. This allows us to report back to all of our traveling day traders around the world via our day trading blog.
Peru was a surprise with a bustling economy and blazing fast internet. It was also interesting to find most cities in Peru to be so accommodating and inexpensive as well.
Witnessing Machu Picchu, one of the new seven wonders of the world, is something we would recommend to everyone in their lifetime.
Similar to the Taj Mahal it will leave you speechless.
We held our very first day trading seminar in London and it was an incredible success. We try to go above and beyond with all of our traders and give them everything they need.
We have a very open community which loves to share and back-test new setups and techniques. This is the main reason why we have been able to adapt to the ever changing market dynamic and stay ahead of what the market throws at us.
Our great group at the day trading seminar at the Ritz in London
We treated our traders to the Ritz Carlton and it was great to put faces to names!
We finally arrived in India to celebrate the new year in Mumbai. We continued to look for opportunities to open day trading centers in Mumbai and New Delhi which are high on our list.
Mumbai is where many (if not most) algorithm trading programs are developed in the world. India is one of the most unique countries in the world but if a day trader is visiting we would highly recommend only spending 2 or 3 weeks in the subcontinent.
India is a tale of two extremes with a rich culture and infrastructure issues. Internet was never high speed even at 5 star hotels and electrical and internet shortages were very common.
And that ladies and gentlemen is a small recap of our adventures day trading and travelling around the world in 2012.
Now onto the full year results from 2012….
There were no surprises throughout the year with volume and volatility fluctuating wildly. The year started with a vast amount of movement with some of our best early days of the year. The market settled during the first quarter and we saw a significant spike in movement during the second quarter.
2012 stock market volume
What followed in August was what led us to start keeping track of our intermediate results, the lowest volume on record since 2006/2007. We saw an increase of roughly 150% in profits just by incorporating risk management.
This has now become a part of the training program where all of our traders learn how to learn to take trades first followed by how not to lose money 2nd.
Average Points Per Day in 2012
One can really see the extreme points on both ends in January & September. If we look closely we will find that the average points per day settles around the 2 point mark. Two points a day is what we believe every beginner can achieve. Remember that the chart above does not include intermediate or advanced/pro results.
The total points per month looks very similar:
Points per month 2012
The chart above includes the intermediate results which you can see are drastically higher toward the end of the year. We start tracking them in September as stated earlier and have seen a 150% increase in profits once our risk management principles are employed correctly.
We have looked at the previous months in 2012 and have seen similar results as well.
Above is the win ratios for just the beginner results. We did incorporate the intermediate results into the win ratios and found roughly 10% increase, beginner was 75.03% and intermediate was 88.17% respectively.
Quantifying the results allow us to see what is working and what is not working with out trades. While we have certain rules for targets and exits we have seen that depending on market behavior that can change. This is why it is so important to be able to read market structure and understand the dynamics of the market when trading.
One of the reasons why we don’t hire any employees and instead use the high number of successful students in the program to teach is to continue to refine the strategy as well.
Assuming that a trader can make just 2 pts a day based on the beginner results of the program one may be able to make upwards of $200,000 in the first calender year once the strategy is mastered.
This assumes 10 contracts, no risk management, and 200 trading days. There are actually 245 trading days in a year. Please peruse our disclaimer & disclosure about the results listed on this site.
We look forward to a successful 2013 where we will begin growing our day trading army. The question is are you ready to enlist?
Stay profitable my friends….
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