TREATING TRADING LIKE AN ACTUAL BUSINESS

[Fairman]

If the business can't say what happens when the model has a bad quarter, it's still a hobby with a platform login. I'd have failed that test a year ago. I had no number for a bad quarter at all.

The written split for reinvesting profits is something I'm going to set up. Say a green month gives 2,400 dollars on a 40,000 dollar account. A split might be 40 percent withdrawn (960), 40 percent left as operating reserve (960), and 20 percent added to the risk budget (480). Without it I'd likely have added the whole lot to size, and that mood-driven decision is how a good month turns into a bad one.

Monday being for rails and calendar, not for hunting a miracle setup, is a habit I'd like to copy. At the moment my Mondays start with scanning for something to trade, and I probably take one or two tickets I wouldn't have taken on a calm Wednesday.

Tax and downside planning being dull and expensive to ignore is correct. I only looked at my tax position in March, which isn't a plan.

What does your bad-quarter statement look like, a drawdown figure with a response, such as half size for a month? And does the reserve sit in a separate account, or is it just a line on a sheet?

[GrahamW1972]

right, my bad quarter number is simple - if im down 15% from the high water mark i cut size in half for a month and stop adding anything new to the book till it recovers, no exceptions even if im convinced the next trade is a sure thing (it never is, learnt that the hard way). as for the reserve, keep it in a seperate account mate, dont trust yourself with it just sat there as a line on a spreadsheet, you'll find a reason to dip into it on a flat tuesday otherwise. fair play on the written split though, i never bothered with that and just left profits sat in the trading account getting itchy fingers, might actually nick that idea for meself. only thing id add is build in a bit of slack for tax, i got stung once forgetting that green months arent all mine to split